Client Onboarding Process ⋆ Onboarding FAQ

Client onboarding process is just as important as employee onboarding which is not a known fact to everybody. If done correctly, it marks the start of a productive and profitable partnership. If done incorrectly, however, alarm bells may begin to ring.

Once the client signs the contract, the job does not end here. Organizations now must be proactive, especially with client onboarding, and must make an extra effort.

Here are the contents of the article:

On what client onboarding process looks like and how to be the best at it, read more in the article down below.

What Does the Client Onboarding Process Mean?

The concept of client onboarding refers to welcoming new clients into the business and answering all their queries.

This can be made possible by creating an onboarding strategy, wholeheartedly welcoming them, understanding them, and showing value to them. Demonstrating a lack of courtesy, treating them differently, being too slow to respond, ignoring their feedback, or miss communicating are some of the reasons why companies lose a client.

Losing clients can be detrimental to organizations as they are one of the sources of an organization’s success. Therefore, organizations must make countless efforts to keep their clients satisfied with them.

Client Onboarding Statistics

Client onboarding is critical for organizations. Let’s look at some statistics:

74% of the clients will go to competitors if they are not satisfied with the product or service which the company offers. (Dashly)
It is approximately 5 to 25 times more costly to attract new clients rather than working with the existing one. (Dashly)
97% of the companies feel that good onboarding leads to their growth and success. (Userguiding)
86% of the client will remain loyal if continuous education and effective onboarding are provided. (Userpilot)
33% of Americans are looking for competition if they experience one poor client. (Vizion)

Client Onboarding Process in 5 Steps

There are a few standard steps to take to ensure your client onboarding process goes smoothly and does not waste any of the party’s time.

1. Offer, Contract and Payment

First and foremost, you need to get your client to sign a contract. Wait until you have a signed copy in your hands (or your email!) before starting any of their work. You run the danger of squandering valuable time and resources on a pointless project if you move on without this agreement.

This contract should also include important pricing and billing information. The business proposal includes our contract and terms of service. This means you only need to send one beautifully packaged document rather than an offer, contract, and invoice.

2. Gather All of The Important Info About the Client

Before you begin working for a specific client, you must ensure that you have all of the necessary information. Onboarding questionnaires can help with this.

Here are some questions you could include in your client onboarding questionnaire:

What is your company’s contact information? (address, phone number, and so on);
Who will serve as our primary point of contact?
What would make this project a success? (if possible, use real metrics);
Have you previously worked with a similar company?
Can you provide logins and passwords for relevant software?

It could be useful to consider the automated onboarding process. In that case all of the questions asked above will be easily attained by your clients and filled out in their own time.

3. Have a Client Meeting

This is the meeting that kicks everything off. Everyone (including the client) should be enthusiastic and eager to get this project started. Client kickoff meetings are an excellent way to establish trust with clients while also setting the tone for the rest of the engagement.

The following are some of the topics you should cover during the client kickoff meeting:

Introductions of the client to the team;
The client’s business objectives;
Discuss key deliverables and responsibilities;
What will be the next steps;
Q&A Session.

By the end of the meeting, you should have established a strong rapport between the client and your team, answered any questions or concerns the client may have, and outlined how the project will proceed.

4. Provide an Onboarding Gift

Ensure that the client receives a welcome package following your client meeting. This is an excellent opportunity to educate and reaffirm your client’s decision to join your team. Make them feel special – a small amount of effort goes a long way!

Your welcome package can include both digital and physical products. For some additional ideas check out our articles Onboarding gift ideas and Google Onboarding Gift Ideas.

5. Checkup Call

Schedule a follow-up call 30 days after starting work with a client. This is your chance to ensure that no one dropped the ball during the onboarding process and that everything is running smoothly on their end.

Remember that the first 90 days are critical in creating a positive first impression of your company. Besides, it is also a good time to gently remind your clients about some additional information or documents that they haven’t yet sent over.

Hopefully now you’ll have some productive teamwork with the new client after doing all this client onboarding process.