10 easy ways to improve your client onboarding process

The client onboarding process is a crucial stage of the overall customer journey and one of the final steps of the sales process. A great onboarding experience can set the tone for your entire relationship with a new client.

And an effective onboarding process helps build trust, clarify expectations, and ensure both parties are on the same page. This all leads to better retention rates down the road, stronger utilization of your tool, and higher ratings on product/service rating sites.  

In this article, you will learn 10 straightforward ways to enhance your client onboarding strategy, ensuring a smooth and positive start to your customer relationships.

What is client onboarding?

Client onboarding – or customer onboarding – is the process of welcoming new clients to a business and getting them up to speed with the products or services they have purchased. It involves a series of steps designed to ensure clients have a smooth transition and begin to see value quickly. For example, at Postal when a new customer signs up for our gifting platform, we want to make sure their settings are correctly adjusted for their use case, they understand the different ways to send a gift, and they have the ability to upload their budget for immediate use.

Elements of the client onboarding process can include:

• Building communication channels such as client kickoffs, weekly syncs, quarterly reviews, etc. – and understanding communication preferences
• Setting up systems such as installation & client portal setup, API integration, document sharing channels, etc.
• Setting expectations including project scope, timelines, target audience, key performance indicators (KPIs), etc.
• Training the client on best use of your service or software and educating them on the resources available in your Help Center.

A well-structured client onboarding process can build a strong, sustainable foundation for a long-term relationship and sets the stage for mutual success. People like to see a roadmap, and want to know when they'll be ready to launch their new tool.

Types of client onboarding

The client onboarding experience can vary depending on the industry and the nature of the services provided. Here are some common onboarding strategies:

Digital onboarding

Digital onboarding involves using online tools and platforms to integrate clients. This method is efficient and can be highly automated, making it suitable for tech-savvy clients and businesses.

Digital tools can include webinars, video tutorials, and automated emails that guide clients through the customer onboarding process without requiring significant manual intervention.

This approach allows for scalability and can be especially useful for businesses with a large number of clients, and tools that don't require customization.

Manual onboarding

Manual onboarding is a more personalized, hands-on approach where a human representative works with the client through each step of the onboarding process.

Although it can be more time and resource intensive, the personalized ‘human touch’ can be very effective for high-cost industries like consulting or luxury services.

This kind of onboarding involves regular one-on-one meetings either online or in person, personalized training sessions, and customized support.

This allows for a deeper understanding of the client's needs and can directly address specific concerns and unique questions from the client. Think of it as the "white-glove service" of onboarding.

Hybrid onboarding

Hybrid onboarding combines both of the above in a best-of-both-worlds setup. It uses digital tools to streamline the more mundane and replicable tasks such as software installation, while ensuring a more personalized customer onboarding experience.

This allows you to balance efficiency with personal connection. This might involve an initial digital or automated phase followed by manual check-ins and support where needed for a semi-custom approach. It's always beneficial to put a face to the name for your customers when they want to know who they'll go to for personalized support.

Self-service onboarding

Ideal for easy-to-use products and plug-and-play services, a self-service onboarding gives clients the ability to familiarize themselves independently with their new product or service.

They can do this using comprehensive reports and guides provided by your company. These can include detailed FAQs, video tutorials, user manuals, customer forums, AI-driven chatbots, knowledge bases, and more.

This allows clients to proceed at their own pace, and can even lead to a faster onboarding without needing to wait on a response from your side. Likewise, it reduces the workload on your support team, freeing them to focus on more complex or personalized onboarding scenarios.

Collaborative onboarding

Collaborative onboarding is just that – it involves a cooperative approach between your team and the client’s team. This is common in B2B setups where the client’s internal processes and systems need to integrate with your own in more of a partnership than a business-client arrangement.

This onboarding can include joint planning sessions, status meetings, and even coordinated plans to ensure aligned workflows and KPIs. Teamwork makes the dream work!

Why is the client onboarding process important?

Regardless of the type of client onboarding, having such a process is crucial for several reasons.

It sets a great first impression

You only get one chance to make a great first impression. A well-oiled, smooth process sets the tone for your entire relationship and boosts customer confidence in your competency, reduces customer churn, ensures a more positive utilization of your product, and increases ratings on product review sites.

It increases customer retention rates

We mentioned above the benefit of reduced churn rates and increased loyalty. A strong customer onboarding process helps clients feel valued and understood.

Long-term clients also are more likely to recommend you to others. They may even participate in case studies and customer testimonials, which influence a prospective client’s purchasing decision. Reducing customer churn and keeping current customers happy can multiply revenue growth..  

It reduces the burden on your own teams

A well-structured onboarding process can streamline operations. When you standardize and automate elements of your onboarding, you can ensure clients receive a consistent, high-quality service – meaning fewer resource-consuming support requests.

It ensures clearer communication and expectations

Establishing clear communication and expectations right from the get-go sets the stage for a successful collaboration. Clients like to know exactly what to expect and have a crystal-clear understanding of your processes, and will be happier with you.

10 easy ways to improve client onboarding process

So, how do you improve the client onboarding process? Here are 10 easy ways to do so:

1. Conduct a sales-customer success handoff meeting

Sales has done its job in closing the deal. Now, the final step for your sales representative is to prepare the customer success (CS) team for the new account. To do this, conduct an internal handoff meeting to ensure that CS is well-prepared before the first client call.

During this meeting, review the client’s business objectives, pain points, and expected outcomes. Sales should share clear insights gathered from their interactions with the client, including:

• communication styles
• why they’ve signed on with you
• expected timelines and key milestones
• stakeholders and day-to-day roles on the client side
• any other pertinent information

Roles and responsibilities within the customer success team must also be clarified. Your objective is to ensure a seamless transition and a tailored onboarding experience for the client.

2. Provide a detailed onboarding roadmap and checklist

When you provide a detailed roadmap and checklist to your client, you’re outlining all the steps involved from initial meetings to system setups and ongoing procedures, timelines, key milestones, responsible parties for each task, and other elements. A good measure is to have both sides agree and sign-off on the plan so everyone can ensure approval and accountability.

This ensures that nothing is overlooked and that both you and your client are aligned and know what to expect in the onboarding process.

Once finalized, build a master template and roadmap including every step of the way to ensure a standardized, replicable client onboarding process and a wholly positive customer experience all around. And don’t forget to personalize where applicable!

3. Set up a client project tracker or client portal

Implement a client project tracker or a portal where both parties can check in and provide real-time updates on project progress, milestones, and deliverables.

Include features such as task assignments, progress bars, deadlines, checklists, briefs, chat logs, and anything else pertinent to what you’re both working on.

This also serves as a centralized hub for all documents and communications, keeping everything in one place. Transparency is a quality that customers love.

4. Share essential documents with ease of access

Your client, having invested in your product/service, wants to be able to access any essential document without hassle. This may include onboarding materials, contracts, user manuals, and other important files.

Use cloud-based storage solutions like Google Drive or Dropbox to share files securely, and use clear labeling, naming conventions, and logical organization. This cuts down on the time customers have to spend looking for information and increases their confidence in you as a reliable service provider.

5. Use forms or checklists to gather information

Use standardized forms and checklists that cover all the critical elements of your product or service.

This may include client preferences, goals, technical requirements, points of contact, and other crucial bits of information.

A client onboarding checklist is an important tool when standardizing your onboarding strategy. They help track the completion of onboarding tasks, helping you stay organized and on schedule.

6. Set clear expectations

Set clear expectations around deliverables, timelines, and communication protocols to ensure that both parties are on the same page throughout the process.

Discuss and document the scope of work involved, timelines for projects, and especially any unique requirements that clients may have. Also, brief your client on their own responsibilities and what they can expect from your team.

Consider having a kick-off meeting with your client's team to ensure that their work product required can be delivered on-time and not prevent the onboarding process from proceeding as planned.

Regularly follow up, review, and update accordingly, to ensure you’re both aligned every step of the way.

7. Establish methods of communication

Does your client prefer to do everything via email? Text messages? A dedicated Slack channel? Within the portal itself? Phone calls, video conferences, and/or in-person meetings?

Discuss this at the start and reach an understanding on channels for different types of interactions. Perhaps they want email for formal communications involving higher-ups and stakeholders, and project management tools such as Asana or Coda for day-to-day work.

Timelines are crucial as well. Establish expectations for frequency of updates and expected response times. Don’t leave clients in a vacuum or have them wondering when they’ll hear back from you.

8. Introduce customer to specialists within your business

When onboarding, introduce client-side representatives to the relevant specialists within your organization – such as content managers, campaign strategists, integration specialists, etc. – who can meet unique needs and expectations from the client.

Schedule introductory meetings where these experts can explain their roles and how they can support the client’s goals. Ensure that the client understands how to reach out to them for specific needs. Share contact details and availability for points of contact and follow-up.

This personalized introduction can build a seamless support network for the client, ensuring they feel valued and supported by a team of partners.

9. Refine strategy and plans based on client feedback

Take action. Follow up by refining your strategies and plans, showing the client that you’re willing to adapt accordingly. And, of course, walk through those changes with the client.

Aggregate your onboarding feedback in order to refine your future onboarding strategy for all clients going forward.

10. Set up a schedule for regular check-ins

We continue to mention the value of regular check-ins. Establish a fixed schedule that works for your client – for instance, every Thursday at 9 a.m. These meetings offer an opportunity to review progress, address concerns, and adjust plans where necessary. It also gives your client comfort in knowing that they are guaranteed a time where you'll be dedicated and available to them.

You should also schedule dedicated check-ins at key milestones or intervals – for instance, the completion of a project or at the end of each quarter.

Use Postal to send gifts to improve client onboarding experience

Incorporating personalized gifts into your client onboarding process can further enhance the experience. Postal offers a variety of solutions to help you send thoughtful, customized gifts to clients as a welcome package to show that you value them. We like to say, it never hurts to start a relationship off with a surprise gift.

Chat with us to learn how to build the pillars of your gifting strategy, including:

• Choosing from a wide range of gift options tailored to your client’s preferences and interests, including gourmet treats and branded merchandise.
• Automating gift delivery that ensures timely and consistent engagement without adding to your team’s workload, scheduled to key milestones or events on the client calendar.
• Monitoring the impact of your gifts with tracking and analytics.

By integrating gifting into your onboarding process, you can create memorable first impressions, enhance client satisfaction, and build long-lasting relationships.