So how do you get new customers using your software as quickly as possible and as extensively as possible? The answer is customer onboarding. The Association of Support Professionals (ASP) recently released a great report on this very topic. You can download it free here:
Our favorite takeaway from the report is that the goal of onboarding is to go beyond customer satisfaction and create customer loyalty. While very true, what does it really mean? In essence, customer onboarding is a series of actions that you take to introduce new customers to your company. Similar to the original meaning of onboarding, which was introducing new employees to your company, showing them the ropes, training, etc. customer onboarding has many facets.
These are all components that are applicable to any business. But when we consider the customer experience in the SaaS industry, the definition expands even further. You are building your customers’ experience as soon as they sign up for a trial (which is more often than not in SaaS) – in fact, the process of signing up for a trial itself is part of the onboarding process. Remember that this is your prospects first interaction with your company, and in trials just as with new users, the faster and easier it is for them to learn your system, the more likely they are to buy.
Like any part of a good customer experience, onboarding has be a part of your company’s genetic makeup. Here are some key onboarding activities by role:
Sales: Provide the demo/introduction to the software, get the customer signed up
Implementation Team: Set up the account, give the right access to the right people for the right product(s).
Training: Can be in-person, online, and/or include automated tutorials. Give them access to your online documentation, knowledge base, and community forums.
Customer Support: Support is a key component to customer success, especially during a trial, and during the first 3 months of a subscription when they tend to need more assistance. We recommend using a collaborative customer support software to track onboarding activities, set tasks, and communicate with other members of the team so that you don’t lose track of your customer success efforts. If possible, make sure to tag or segment trial accounts and new customer accounts so you can differentiate between them and long-term existing customers. This way anyone on your team will be able to quickly and easily identify them.