You’ve just landed a new client or customer and are ready to build a strong long-term relationship. Maybe you plan to have a kickoff meeting or send out a client onboarding questionnaire to learn more about their pain points. You know this is your chance to make a great first impression and identify your client’s business goals.
But successful client onboarding doesn’t just happen on its own. By providing a clear and consistent onboarding process and setting expectations upfront, you can identify bottlenecks, increase user adoption, and reduce customer churn.
Here’s how to use onboarding automation to streamline your new client onboarding process and build stronger customer relationships.
New client onboarding is the process by which you orient new clients or customers to your business, introduce them to your team, and initiate a working relationship. Client onboarding is a two-way process in which you gather information about your client’s needs and they learn more about your policies and procedures.
Client onboarding is similar to the customer onboarding process — it’s just a matter of terminology. SaaS companies tend to have customers, while marketing agencies, law firms, accountants, and other service-based businesses call them “clients.”
Client onboarding is distinct from new employee onboarding, which is the process of welcoming new team members to your organization (and requires a different approach!).
New client onboarding can take many different forms depending on the nature of your business, its size and location, and the complexity of your service. You can conduct it virtually, face-to-face, or with a combination of remote and in-person components.
Here are three ways to structure your new client onboarding process:
The end of the sales process isn’t the finish line, but the start of the onboarding process. Take the time to get to know your new client better and ensure they get value out of the relationship. Here are three ways effective client onboarding makes a difference:
Clients are more likely to stick around if they feel like they’re getting their money’s worth. If it’s an uphill battle to get their needs met — because they don’t know how to use your communication channels, can’t find your contact information, or simply feel ignored — they may have second thoughts about the arrangement.
By making it easy to set up new user accounts and fill out onboarding documents, you can reduce churn and improve your customer retention rate.
Maintaining business relationships involves building trust and getting in sync with your client’s needs. From establishing a main point of contact to asking relevant questions about business goals, a thorough onboarding process shows that you care.
Clients who feel like part of the family are more likely to become repeat customers, brag about you on social media, or make direct referrals.
Clients with unclear or unrealistic expectations can become a drag on your organization, resulting in complaints, missed milestones, and project scope creep. By defining key performance indicators (KPIs) or a service level agreement (SLA) during the client onboarding process, you can set expectations upfront and avoid any issues.
In today’s world, we increasingly expect a seamless user experience — at the bank, at the doctor, even on social media — and client onboarding is no different. Follow these best practices to create a seamless onboarding experience for your new clients:
No-code automation tools like Zapier, Airtable, and RapidBee allow you to set up custom workflows to streamline your client onboarding process and reduce human error. From sending out welcome emails to scheduling a kickoff call, you can make sure each new client gets the support they need at every stage of the process.
While each automation platform has its own functionality, many of them offer integrations with each other and with third-party products. For example, RapidBee’s integrations make it easy to use resources you’ve already compiled in SharePoint, OneDrive, or Google Drive, and connect to enterprise platforms like your CRM or HRIS.
A standardized onboarding process helps you provide a consistent experience, even if different team members are leading the process. Use an onboarding template to guide your workflow, or a client onboarding checklist to make sure nothing gets missed.
For large projects, use cloud-based project management software to track milestones and deliverables and keep stakeholders on the same page.
Your client onboarding process may be standardized, but every client is different. Use the kickoff call to discover their business goals and communication preferences, and assign an account manager as the main point of contact.
RapidBee allows you to create digital onboarding journeys that are tailored to the needs of your business. Monitor each client’s progress individually, and get real-time updates when a member of your team needs to step in and offer support.
Even if your onboarding process involves a face-to-face component, provide an online portal so clients can revisit training modules or update their information later. Consider making it an app so clients can access it on their desktop or on-the-go.
RapidBee’s ticket management system allows you to augment your onboarding process with AI-powered support. Use it to field incoming messages via forms, email, and SMS, and resolve them with an AI-powered chatbot or route them to a human agent.
Finally, don’t wrap up the client onboarding process too quickly. A successful onboarding process can extend for weeks or months, depending on the complexity of your business and the nature of the relationship. Schedule ongoing check-ins with each client to make sure they’re satisfied with your services and to anticipate their future needs.
You can also use HR analytics to track customer success metrics and make improvements to your onboarding process over time.
Client onboarding involves introducing a new client to your organization, learning about their needs, and setting clear expectations. An effective onboarding process may include a kickoff call, a questionnaire, or a self-directed workflow. Use automation to standardize the process while still providing a personalized experience for each new client.
RapidBee’s AI-powered platform revolutionizes the onboarding process for new clients and employees alike. Create a custom onboarding journey to align with your company culture and provide a seamless client experience. Plus, our AI-driven chat and ticket management system provides instant responses and multichannel support.
Take a trial today to learn more and see RapidBee in action!