In-boarding Best Practices: Checklist and Templates

Recall your first experience with the latest product or service, regardless of whether it was a platform for software or a more complex instrument. It was likely that you were excited by the possibilities but also needed assistance to learn how to use it and get the most out of it. This first encounter likely helped shape your relationship to the product.

Effective customer onboarding is all about. It's the process of helping the new customer get familiar to your service, and ensuring that they are reassured, supported and prepared to be successful.

In this blog article in this blog post, we'll look at guidelines, checklists and templates to assist you in creating a seamless customer onboarding process that drives engagement, satisfaction and loyalty.

  Skip ahead:  

•         What is onboarding?
•         The importance of onboarding
•         Types of Onboarding
•         The Four C's of Onboarding
•         The stages of boarding
•         Onboarding is a form of education
•         The best methods for onboarding that is focused on education
•         Onboarding is in motion
•         Place your money into your business relationships

What is customer onboarding?

Customer onboarding involves the process of helping new users through the initial stages of making use of your product. It involves delivering the instruction along with the tools, support, and resources required to make them aware of the full capabilities of your product and how to achieve success using it.

Think of onboarding as the critical phase that takes place between signing up a new customer and becoming a fully engaged user. At this point it is your aim to give them the knowledge and tools they need to quickly realize value from your product.

If executed properly When done well, customer onboarding can set the stage for long-term success by improving customer satisfaction by reducing churn and increase the adoption of products.

Why onboarding matters

Customer onboarding is more than simply a way to introduce your service. It's the basis to a positive customer experience. The first few interactions your customers experience with your service can define how engaged they remain over the course of.

Without proper onboarding, customers might be unable to comprehend how your product fits into their preferences or maximize its value. In fact, 74% of potential customers will abandon a potential solution if the onboarding is too complicated, and another 63 percent of customers consider onboarding one of the main factors in their purchase choice.

Effective customer onboarding will not just help you keep your customers but also encourages them to adopt more features, upgrade to higher plans, and improve their value over time (CLTV).

Types of onboarding

Onboarding customers should be a fundamental part of your overall strategy to improve customer satisfaction that is tailored to meet the various needs of your audience. Here are the most common kinds:

• Onboarding of your product provides customers with the information and tools that they need to start on the right track with your product. This type of onboarding is particularly important for SaaS firms, since initial product use directly impacts retention.
• Onboarding new customers introduces new customers to your brand and helps them benefit from your product or service. This stage focuses on fostering confidence and creating that the transition is smooth from initial usage.
• advanced feature onboarding for customers who are using your service for a while, advanced onboarding helps them discover and master more complex functions or integrates.

Each type of customer onboarding should focus on providing a positive experience that helps customers maximize the benefits of the product.

The Four C's of Onboarding

According to top researchers of The SHRM foundation, onboarding comprises 4 essential components , summed into the four C's'.

Though originally intended as a way to assist employees in their onboarding process the principles are applicable equally to onboarding customers:

• Clarification helps customers gain an understanding of the way your product works and what it is that can do to address their particular challenges.
• Culture : Introduces customers to your brand's values, mission, and the distinct culture of the product. It makes customers feel more connected to your company.
• Connection: Builds strong relationships between your staff and customers via dedicated support teams or customer service representatives or community areas.

These 4 C's are not distinct, but they are overlapping areas that need to be considered throughout the onboarding process, to ensure that your customers become more at ease with every aspect of your brand and product.

Compliance

In a basic sense, onboarding ensures that customers understand any necessary guidelines such as regulations, rules, or usage policies.

Clarification

It helps customers get a clear understanding of how your product operates and how it can address their particular challenges.

Culture

Introduces customers to your brand's principles, goals and the distinctive culture behind your product, helping them feel more connected to your business.

Connection

Builds strong relationships between the team and customers via dedicated support staff and customer success specialists, or even community spaces.

The four C's listed above aren't sequential but overlapping categories that should be addressed throughout the onboarding process, making sure that customers are gradually comfortable with all aspects of your product and brand.

The stages of onboarding

While customer onboarding may look differently based on the sophistication of your solution It typically comprises four main steps:

Preboarding

Onboarding starts before the customer's formal "first day." Provide educational resources or the documentation of your product prior to time, so customers can discover the basic information on their own and come equipped.

Activation

The first time a customer actively uses your product is a critical event. The first step could be a product tour or a meeting with their customer success manager, or an important milestone you have achieved after they've started using your product.

Training

This is the core of the onboarding process. The customers will have to be enrolled in training sessions, tutorials, or courses to help them understand how to use your software fully. The training can last from a couple of weeks to several months and will continue throughout the year, depending the level of complexity you have for your product and how often you release new features or aspects to it.

Ongoing learning and relationship-building

The process of onboarding must seamlessly integrate into a continuous culture of development. This ensures that customers keep expanding their knowledge of your product, and always have the knowledge they need to succeed in the future as your product develops.

When participants go through the onboarding process, you should set expectations that you'll regularly be returning to check to see how they're doing.

Onboarding is education

In the end, the process of onboarding customers is about training. Your customers need to be equipped with the knowledge and abilities required to successfully make use of your software and meet the goals that led them to choose your solution at the beginning.

During onboarding, you're not only welcoming new customers, you're the guide for them to become proficient with your service. If you provide the customer with an easy route to success and establishing the foundation to build a lasting, positive relationship.

A majority of this training occurs in the first stages of onboarding, particularly when preboarding and in training. However, a well-designed onboarding plan doesn't stop there. High-performing businesses foster a culture of constant education by ensuring that their your customers are able to access educational resources throughout their entire journey with your product. Continuous support for your customers to continually discover additional value in your product as it evolves.

  The benefits of online courses for onboarding  

Today's world of digital is awash with online courses are a powerful and flexible way of delivering the information your customers require to make the most of your service. Although some personal, hands-on interactions will be beneficial but online classes should be the core of your customer educational strategy.

Here are some key advantages of using online courses for onboarding customers:

• Cost-efficiency The online courses offer a lower cost of operation than conventional in-person classes or sessions with a one-on-one instructor. You can provide consistently high-quality, quality instruction to all of your customers regardless of their location.
• Scalability: Whether you're trying to onboard 10 or 10,000 clients, online courses are able to grow quickly. After being created, the course could be made available to an infinite number of students, making it the perfect choice for businesses that are growing.
• Accessibility This means that online courses are able to be adapted to different ways of learning by using diverse formats such as video or quizzes as well as interactive elements. This allows for a variety of learning options to ensure that every student has the ability to study in a manner that is best for them.
• Learner-led learning: Online courses empower customers to learn at their own speed, providing them with the ability to access the content when it's most suitable for them. This encourages independence and lets students take charge of their learning journey.

By incorporating online courses into your onboarding strategy You can provide an in-depth training that customers require as well as give them the ability to study on their own terms.

Best practices for education-focused onboarding

The creation of a memorable customer experience during onboarding is more than just delivering information--it's about making sure your customers feel comfortable, welcome and able to be successful.

These are the best methods to consider when designing an onboarding process that's focused on education:

Make it personal

Although online training is central to onboarding, adding the human element is crucial. Consider pairing customers with dedicated customer success management or arranging live Q&A meetings to offer personal help.

      Examples: Begin your online training by having a live Zoom chat and match newly hired students with buddies or mentors, or give your customers a specific Support manager.    

Leap with your values

Customers want to align with companies that reflect their own principles. Use onboarding as an opportunity to highlight your organization's purpose and values, as well as let customers know how your company's values are reflected in everything from product design to support for customers.

      Examples: If your organization believes in transparency, offer regular chances for your employees to offer feedback and discuss their requirements. If you are a believer in the pursuit of innovation, partner with customers to brainstorm fresh, new ways to assist them in achieving the goals they have set for themselves.  

Choose how to assess how successful you are earlier

Make sure you focus on the outcomes of your business by setting key success indicators from the beginning. It doesn't matter if it's the adoption of products or user milestones, you must make certain that your clients know what to aim for--and how you'll support them in getting there.

Make space for different learning styles

People learn in different ways and therefore, we offer a range of content formats including articles and videos to quizzes and interactive exercises. It ensures that each customer can interact with the information in a way that will best suit their needs.

Take advantage of hands-on, practical learning

Encourage customers to apply what they've learned through practical activities or tasks in the software. For example, after a module in the course you can let your customers take on a real task that reinforces the information they've learned.

      Example: Structure your orientation around a real assignment or project. After each unit or lesson, let participants apply what they've learned toward completing the task.  

Schedule regular check-ins

Do not solely rely on course completion rates for assessing the success of onboarding. Regularly check in with your customers to monitor their progress, answer queries, and provide assistance when needed.

      Example: Plan a biweekly, weekly, or a monthly meeting with your customers. Instead of email, chat, or even chat, use video or audio for a true understanding of the experience they've had thus far.  

Ask for feedback on the process of onboarding

As with any other initiative, onboarding must be focused on the end-user which could be a consumer, employee, affiliate, or partner.

The best way to improve your onboarding, and make sure you're meeting their requirements? Just ask!

Be sure you're not only asking about the results and the onboarding content however, you should also inquire about how the content was delivered. Did the onboarding process itself match the expectations of their employees?

Onboarding in action

The process of onboarding will boost your company, however it needs to be done properly.

To illustrate the effect that efficient onboarding strategies can make, let's look at how two businesses transformed their customer relations by adopting a well-planned and focused onboarding process.

Customer onboarding at Chargebee

A leading platform for subscription management was in need of a scaled onboarding system to assist clients navigate the maze of subscription billing. As their customer base grew the company resorted to online courses to deliver an easier and more accessible onboarding experience. Through the Plus platform Chargebee created a structured online school that guided users through product setup, billing integrations, and more advanced functions.

The shift to online education has not only made users feel more comfortable using the product but additionally led to a rise of customer satisfaction with the key product features. Being able to provide self-paced education allowed Chargebee to expand their onboarding, without jeopardizing the level of customer service.

At the time of onboarding, PayShepherd

PayShepherd, a software company specialising in the management of contractors for industrial facilities, required to expand their training for customers and still maintain a personal touch. In the beginning, PayShepherd relied on one-on-one training sessions to walk users through the software which managed everything from costs to contractor relationships. Although this method worked initially, later on, it became unsustainable when the business grew.

PayShepherd collaborated together with Plus to create a flexible self-guided online learning program that could grow alongside the business. Its results were impressive. Within just three months, PayShepherd saved 350 hours of training time switching from manual training sessions to an automated, online learning model.

Their brand new training platform offered:

• Self-paced learning Users could get access to learning materials at their convenience, leading to higher levels of learning.
• Multimedia content that is engaging: By incorporating interactive videos, interactive games, as well as downloadable content, PayShepherd created a rich learning experience that catered to different types of learning.
• Stability and reliability The web-based platform made sure that every client received the same high-quality, reliable training and without the resource constraints of one-on-one training sessions.
• Data-driven insight Analytics enabled PayShepherd to track customer progress, improve content, and provide proactive assistance.

In transforming their learning approach, PayShepherd improved customer satisfaction and made it easier for internal staff to concentrate on more complex customer support issues. Making the switch to scaleable, online training has proved to be an important step for their company providing the efficiency wanted without having to sacrifice the personal touch their customers love.

Invest in your professional relationships

At its core, business is built on relationships--collaboration, cooperation, and trust. Onboarding will be your very first opportunity to invest in these relationships and position your customers to achieve long-term success.

By providing structured, thoughtful onboarding that includes the appropriate guidance and support, you show your customers that you're committed to your success. It's not about selling a product--you're partnering with them to help them realize the full value of what you offer.

Thoughtful onboarding is more than an occasional task. It's an investment that will benefit the future of your business relations. By focusing on your customers' requirements and implementing an onboarding process that caters to them, you'll create durable, mutually beneficial relationships.

Do you have the tools to improve your customer's onboarding?

Get our Guide to Onboarding Customers.

Created to tackle the most common problems that companies face with regards to onboarding customers, this resource offers practical strategies along with a step-bystep process for ensuring a smooth, efficient, and engaging onboarding process.

  Discover how your business can use customer education to improve customer satisfaction today.  

  If your clients win the day, your business also wins.