Why is it so important to create an amazing client experience? After all, you’ve just landed the client and been paid––or have you?
For most online businesses there are 2 key important milestones
- The moment clients sign up for your product or service and
- The moment they achieve success
The time period between 1 & 2 is where you as the service provider will experience the most churn from
- clients who are dissatisfied with your communication,
- clients who do not understand what is required of them,
- clients who contact you day and night with questions,
- negative feedback and so on.
If your onboarding process is confusing or non-existent you will experience difficulties with your clients from the beginning, right up to the point you deliver results.
Think about it this way: your client has just parted with money to hire you. They are now wondering:
❓ Did I make the right decision?
❓ Can this person really help me?
❓ Can I trust this person?
It is your job to make sure that they are reassured that they have made the right decision in hiring you to solve their problem. It is your job to make them feel safe.
To minimize this churn in your online business you should be focused on onboarding your client in such a way that they immediately feel confident in the decision to hire you. The onboarding process is the first point of contact with a new client. It sets the tone for their future engagement. I recommend starting this process with the end in mind and determining what you want to achieve.
What is a client onboarding process?
A client onboarding process is a set of steps or tasks that the customer goes through in order to get acquainted with you and your business. This process should be designed to:
- Introduce your client to your product or service and address common questions or concerns
- Build trust
- Establish open lines of communication
- Break things down into bite size pieces – (help the client through any prep-work you may need from them in order to deliver your service)
In short, your client onboarding process should WOW them.
Steps in creating an epic client experience (PSTAR)
- PLOT: out your customer journey from first point of contact to offboarding
Use online mapping tools like Whimsical or Miro or good old pen and paper
Questions to ask: How can I make this a smooth process for my client? Where do clients usually get stuck or confused? How can I make that MY problem instead of theirs?
- SYSTEM: Once you have an overall idea of how clients will be going through your process, it’s time to build systems around each point in the map you just created.
Questions to ask: What can I templatize or create to make it easy for the client to partner with me?
- TOOLS: Make a list of all of the tools you will be using to make it a WOW experience for them.
Questions to ask: What tools do I already have and use in my client onboarding? What do I need to simplify in my client interface?
- AUTOMATE: Automation will be a lifesaver––especially if you are a solopreneur.
Questions to ask: What can and cannot be automated? How can I automate the steps in my process?
- REVIEW: Gather feedback on your process and make adjustments where necessary.
Questions to ask: Where are clients getting stuck? Where are clients getting confused?
How can I refine the process to make it better?
Remember, this is an ever evolving process that you will need to refine over time as you get feedback from your clients. Start Thinking Outside of the Box with Your Client Onboarding Strategy.
If you’re struggling with your client onboarding, we invite you to join us for our onboarding workshop where we map out your client journey: ONBOARD LIKE A PRO
