Attracting, converting, and retaining customers are goals of every onboarding strategy. It may sound simple, but with so much competition for people’s attention, it takes a well-executed strategy to succeed in gaining people’s interest and loyalty. A customer’s first experience with your website can make a lasting impression, and so it’s important that you ensure that two of you get off on the right foot and develop a strong rapport immediately. When it comes to onboarding, the biggest mistake is likely the lack of a solid plan, but in addition to that, here are some of the most common onboarding mistakes and how you can steer clear of them.
- Not Setting Goals
- Collect Meaningful Data
- Misleading Information
- Slow Service
- Impersonal Interactions
If you don’t have something to aim for, you won’t succeed in hitting your target. Before your initial interaction with a customer, make sure that you have clearly delineated goals for onboarding. Identify and prioritize your objectives, and make sure that you can measure your progress. It’s OK if your goals end up changing as you implement your strategy. In fact, adjusting to new information and situations is a sign of a flexible plan.
To know if you’re succeeding in onboarding, start collecting information from customers from your first interactions. Information you’ll likely want includes items such as who is visiting your website, what services or products they are looking for or buying, and how much time or money they spend on your site. Knowing the “who,” “what,” and the “where” of your visitors can help you craft a better experience for them.
No one likes to feel like they’ve been misled. Do not make promises to customers that you cannot deliver. Of course, you’ll want to present your products and services in the best possible terms, but while you want to shed light on the benefits your company can offer, don’t exaggerate or boast about things that are untrue.
People have become accustomed to quick turnarounds. Make sure that you respond to customers quickly. Whether they’ve lodged a complaint, need support, or have placed an order, a swift and timely response is imperative. Even if it’s just an email acknowledging and thanking someone for an order, this kind of confirmation can be a vital aspect in customer interaction. With the growing importance of social media, it’s also important that you monitor those channels and respond to chatter concerning your company and its products.
Automating your business is great because it’s efficient and can remove the burden of repetitive tasks from employees. However, customer service needs to retain a personal touch. If you send out form emails, the very least you should do is to address your customers by name. In all your dealings with people, treat them as valued customers of your business. You want to collect data about those who use your website, but the purpose of the data should be to customize services to the individuals’ needs. In other words, collect numbers, but don’t treat people like another data point. Instead of helping you build customer loyalty, impersonal communication can potentially hurt your business.
Your company’s onboarding strategy will depend on the type of products you sell as well as the type of customers you serve. Ultimately, if you’re committed to making customers happy, you’ll be moving in the right direction. There are companies such as ServiceSource that specialize in helping other businesses with their onboarding strategy and all aspects related to customer success, and that’s certainly another resource that companies can look into for additional assistance.
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