TALKING BUSINESS
only indicates thoughtfulness, it also
improves the speed of onboarding.
Welcome packs and online libraries do
this by serving as customer support that
works for you: customers can get their
questions answered on-demand.
If they are left on your website or
product passively, your new customers
may have to go hunting for information
when they need it.
Much like websites, where first
impressions are formed in 50
milliseconds, customers will have quick
reactions to your product.
small improvements to customer
onboarding can have a sizable impact.
Change in this regard is both critical and
possible - we chose the word ‘hacks’ to
describe the tips below because these
incremental steps have a substantial
pay-off and don’t take a great deal
of time or resources. Here’s how to
streamline customer onboarding:
1. Standardise where you can.
Connect where you can’t
Repeatability is key to increasing
efficiency. If your customer onboarding
looks different every time, it’s important
to establish standards for interaction
with new customers, including
everything from the order of email and
phone communications to required
documentation at different stages. It
is true that some customer needs will
vary and require special attention. A
standard process gives you a straight
line to internal efficiency, but it doesn’t
give all your customers the flexibility
they need in the real world. Not every
customer can come into the office to
make a copy of their identification,
for example. But in this case, when
you can accept a picture taken from a
smartphone, a customer’s experience is
smoother, and they are onboard faster.
Even better, modern web-capture
solutions can connect to your backend
systems, reducing manual effort on your
part to input customer information.
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INTELLIGENTCIO
2. Use paper as an input, not
an endpoint
Customer onboarding typically relies
heavily on paper. In finance, examples
are account/card applications,
credit reports, and loan origination
documents. For law firms, it could be
intake forms, depositions, and release
forms. Every industry has a mountain
of paper documents that come with
new business. Rather than relying on
paper – which can only be in one place
at any one time – modern customer
onboarding uses web capture to quickly
scan, categorise and distribute customer
information to internal stakeholders.
3. Automate where possible
On a first visit with a new client, much
of your time may be spent asking
questions that are fairly routine or
gathering documents that could be
submitted before the appointment.
Where possible automate. Create an
online survey for onboarding questions,
or allow web submission for the required
signup forms. You save massive amounts
of time and your customers are able to
complete their parts at their convenience.
4. Reach out early with helpful
welcome resources
Greeting your customers with helpful
documentation and tutorials not
Don’t let your customers get
discouraged and give up after they’ve
committed to your product and your
business. Proactively reach out with
helpful tips and information, so they
feel comfortable using your offer and
know they have support available a
click away.
A great way to do this is with a welcome
series of emails. After they sign up, use
marketing automation tools to send
them up a collection of emails with tips
on getting started and getting the most
out of your service or product.
You can also bring new levels of
engagement with an automated
physical mailer delivery. Lob.com is
a new service that enables you to
‘programmatically send physical mail at
scale.’ The value to your organisation
is in significantly reduced costs and
increased speed.
You can speed up customer
onboarding today
As far as experience is concerned,
customers need to know you’ve done
this before. You are experts at delivering
great experiences with your products
and services. When they are greeted by
a clear outline, informed of the steps
upfront and guided effortlessly through
the process, the positive first impression
will pay dividends.
And when it comes to efficiency -
making a plan is always a good first step
toward improvement. n
www.intelligentcio.com