If you are a new business or if you have just launched a new product, you will need to find clients, attract them, and retain them. Marketing attracts clients, but you will need a lot more than that to keep them. Understand that your approach toward retaining your new clients will have lost-lasting effects. This makes it important to get everything right. What are some of the best practices for new-customer onboarding?
Create a Practical Onboarding Strategy
A lack of a proper strategy is likely to mean a disjointed onboarding process. You ought to plan regarding how you would reach your expected destination. Starting with an objective in mind makes it easier to plan. It also ensures that you come up with a realistic plan. For instance, the strategy has to be specific not only to your product but also your client base. A strategy also ensures that you design an onboarding process that works for all parties involved.
Understand Your Client
The client information you gather during the sales and marketing process will not be enough. You ought to research all of them to know their strengths and weaknesses. When you know their pain points and the challenges they face, it helps you predict what they hope to accomplish. The information helps you tailor an onboarding experience that will address their specific needs. Your clients will feel more valuable if you tailor solutions to their needs.
Start Communication Early
Early communication with the customer is necessary, regardless of whether the work has started officially or not. Keeping in touch makes them feel valued, which keeps them hooked. In this era of the Internet, keeping in touch is effortless. For instance, you can engage clients on the social media platform they use the most.
It is important to keep communications open, too. This makes it easier for clients to communicate, which helps you understand their main goal. It can be that you are the expert between you and your client. However, ignoring what your clients say might ruin your chances of establishing a firm foundation with them.
Show Value Early
Delivering early wins is critical. Clients will wait for results before they can make big decisions. It is advisable to show them some results along the way. Setting checkpoints along the way also helps you mark successes. Most clients will want to see metric results. In such a case, you have to supply them with accurate data. It is important to set a communication schedule regarding updates. If they want to hear from you regularly, a schedule ensures that you do not fail.
Invest in the Right Software Systems
The right client-facing project management system would help streamline collaboration with your customers. Be careful to invest in a system that offers real-time collaboration and the ability to share different types of documents. Most importantly, it should be easy to use.
Keeping your clients hooked with quick wins is important. However, this should not make you lose focus regarding the ultimate goal. You should also continue listening to your clients actively. If you have a team, you should brief them on the client accordingly.
