Pre-onboarding: Reducing Churn Through Better Customer Preparation Before Onboarding

August 16, 2024 - 10 min read

Arthur Quincé

Most companies don’t see it coming - a customer leaves, just when they thought everything was going well. But what if there was a way to prevent this? Many businesses overlook the critical step of preparing customers even before they start the onboarding process.

In this article, we’ll explore some essential tactics that can make a real difference through tips shared by Jonny Tennyson, Head of Customer Success at Secure Code Warrior, during a recent webinar. Jonny emphasized how vital early preparation is to keep customers engaged and satisfied long term. Stick around, and you might discover something you didn’t know that could transform your customer retention strategy!

The Importance of Pre-Onboarding Preparation
Key Elements of Pre-Onboarding Preparation
1. Setting Clear Expectations
2. Customer Goals
3. Providing Initial Resources
4. Establishing Key Contacts
5. Conducting Preliminary Training
Best Practices for Effective Pre-Onboarding Preparation
1. Personalized Onboarding Plans
2. Proactive Communication
3. Early Identification of Potential Issues
4. Feedback and Iteration
Challenges in Pre-Onboarding Preparation
1. Resource Allocation
2. Scalability
3. Customer Engagement
Case Study: Success Through Pre-Onboarding Preparation
Leveraging Technology for Pre-Onboarding
Future trends in Pre-Onboarding
Conclusion

The Importance of Pre-Onboarding Preparation

Getting ready before a customer officially starts with you can make a huge difference. It’s about talking to them early, making sure they really get what will happen next and that they're excited about it. You need to tell them what to expect, give them the tools they need, and understand what they're looking for.

Jonny Tennyson tells us why this is so crucial: "Whenever we try to deal with this just in post-sales, it’s too late. Really starting to actually understand and prepare the customer to be onboarded was a very key aspect for us.” For example, if a customer is transitioning from a less advanced product, ensuring they understand the enhanced functionalities of your software can prevent confusion and build confidence in using the product.

By tackling these things early on, you can make the whole process smoother and help build a strong, happy relationship with our customers.

NOTE: Avoiding pre-onboarding preparation might lead you through numerous onboarding challenges. Check out our article on SaaS onboarding challenges to understand the troubles that could affect your company if pre-onboarding is not prioritized.

Key Elements of Pre-Onboarding Preparation

Before customers even log in for the first time, there are crucial steps that set the stage for success. Here’s what you need to know to make sure every customer starts off on the right foot.

1. Setting Clear Expectations

Start off by being crystal clear about what the onboarding process will involve. This means clearly communicating the key milestones, what deliverables to expect, and the overall timeline. Being upfront about these details will help avoid any surprises and align both parties’ expectations from the get-go.

Suppose your service includes initial setup assistance, followed by a series of educational webinars. It would be beneficial to inform your customers beforehand about the topics of these webinars, their schedule, and how these sessions will help them maximize the use of your product.

2. Customer Goals

Getting to know what each customer really wants is key. Spend time with them to understand their specific goals and the challenges they're facing. This means sitting down for detailed discussions where you can really listen to what they need and what they hope to get out of your service.

Jonny Tennyson puts it well: "We should be constantly validating that that is the key business driver that our decision maker wants and that all our metrics are aligned to that.” It's all about making sure you're really aiming for what will make a difference to them.

Just think about it - you get a customer that wants to speed up their workflow. In your discussions, you find out that they spend a lot of time on data entry. You could then customize your onboarding to focus on features like automated data import tools, directly tackling their main issue and showing them right from the start how you can make their day-to-day easier.

3. Providing Initial Resources

Equip customers with the resources they need to get started, such as introductory guides, training materials, and access to support channels. Providing these resources upfront helps customers feel more confident and prepared when they begin using the product.

If you're offering a new software tool, you could provide a step-by-step tutorial video, a comprehensive FAQ, and a direct line to customer support. This way, customers can quickly learn the basics, find answers to their questions, and get help when they need it, making their initial experience smooth and stress-free.

4. Establishing Key Contacts

Connect your customers with their dedicated support team and key contacts in your organization. This personal touch helps build a stronger relationship and makes sure customers know exactly who to reach out to for help.

When a new customer signs up, you could introduce them to their account manager and provide contact details for the support team. This way, they know who to contact for any questions or issues, making them feel more supported and valued right from the start.

5. Conducting Preliminary Training

Offer preliminary training sessions or workshops to familiarize customers with the product’s basic features and functionalities. This can include live demos, video tutorials, or interactive webinars. Preliminary training helps customers get a head start and reduces the learning curve during the actual onboarding process.

Meltingspot can help you make your educational content more innovative and fun for customers.

Courses: Courses are guided training paths for your members. On the Courses page, you can find all the courses you have access to, divided into different tabs: All, Assigned, In Progress, and Completed. These courses are a crucial tool for providing early preparation, offering a structured and step-by-step learning experience. For example, an introductory course on the product's key features can help customers familiarize themselves with the interface, ensuring they feel confident and ready to start using the software.
Collections: Collections are spaces where you can create, organize, and share content with all or selected members of your Spot. Each collection can contain documents, and you can navigate between different collections to find the relevant materials. Collections make it easy to provide tailored content to customers, ensuring they have access to the resources they need, right when they need them. For instance, you could create a collection with quick-start guides, best practices, and FAQs to help new users get up to speed faster.

Check out our product features that make learning easy and engaging for you and your customers.

Best Practices for Effective Pre-Onboarding Preparation

Ensuring a smooth start for your customers involves following some key best practices. Here are some tried-and-true methods to make your pre-onboarding process as effective as possible:

1. Personalized Onboarding Plans

When you start working with a new customer, take the time to craft an onboarding plan that’s just for them. Look at what they really need and set up a timeline and milestones that make sense for those needs. This approach shows you’re paying attention and care about their experience with your product.

This kind of customization can go a long way. It makes customers feel valued right from the start, and it helps them get comfortable with your product faster. When they see that you've built an onboarding process that seems made just for them, they’re more likely to engage deeply and stick around longer.

2. Proactive Communication

Keeping in touch with your customers even before the official onboarding starts is crucial. Start by sending a warm welcome email, scheduling a friendly introductory call, and regularly updating them about what’s coming next.

Reaching out early and regularly lets your customers know that you're always there to help. Such a communication will help dissolve any uncertainties and will establish a foundation of trust and dependability, which are important for nurturing a successful customer relationship.

3. Early Identification of Potential Issues

It's important to use your early interactions with customers to spot any potential challenges or obstacles they might face. This could involve asking detailed questions about their expectations, previous experiences with similar products, or any concerns they have moving forward. By identifying these issues early, you can address them before they grow into bigger problems.

This proactive problem-solving approach ensures that when it's time for the actual onboarding, you're both on the same page and can focus on making the most of your product. This will not only smooth the transition for the customer but also enhance their overall experience, leading to greater satisfaction and loyalty.

4. Feedback and Iteration

Gathering feedback from your customers about the pre-onboarding process is crucial. Ask them to tell you what they like and what could be better. Their responses are incredibly helpful because they let you tweak and refine how you get new users started.

For example, if several customers mention that the initial setup instructions are confusing, you can create more detailed guides or even a video tutorial to address this issue. By adjusting your approach based on their actual experiences, you make sure your process remains relevant and effective.

Challenges in Pre-Onboarding Preparation

The pre-onboarding process can have some tricky parts that make it tough for new customers to get started smoothly. Let's look at these challenges and how you can tackle them.

1. Resource Allocation

For smaller companies, finding enough resources to dedicate to the pre-onboarding phase can be a real challenge. This initial stage often gets overlooked due to limited budgets or staff.

Solution: Consider reallocating budgets or optimizing existing resources to focus more on this crucial phase. By investing early in customer preparation, such as through automated tools or streamlined processes, you can enhance customer satisfaction and reduce churn, which ultimately leads to long-term benefits for your company.

2. Scalability

It can be tough to grow your pre-onboarding efforts when more and more customers come on board. Using tools like automation and standard processes can help, but it's important to still make each customer feel special.

Solution: To figure out how to scale customer success, you might use customer management software and automatic messaging systems that let you personalize messages. For example, set up emails that automatically include each customer's name and mention things they're interested in. This approach will help you manage more customers while keeping a personal touch.

3. Customer Engagement

Keeping customers interested and responsive during the pre-onboarding phase can be tough. They might not see the importance of this stage right away.

Solution: Focus on clear communication and show customers why this phase matters. Explain how getting involved early can make their experience better and solve problems before they start using the product. Use simple examples to illustrate the benefits, like how a quick tutorial now can save them time later.

We've covered these strategies and more on how to turn new users into loyal customers in our Customer Activation Cheat Sheets, which will guide you through exactly what you need to know for successful customer engagement.

Case Study: Success Through Pre-Onboarding Preparation

Jonny Tennyson shared a story from his company about how important pre-onboarding preparation is for customer success. They started talking to customers early on, learning about their goals, and giving them personalized resources. This approach made a big difference.

By understanding what each customer wanted and needed before they even started using the product, Secure Code Warrior was able to help them more effectively. They provided guides and support customized to each customer's unique situation. As a result, customers were happier and stuck around longer, leading to a noticeable drop in churn rates. This case shows that taking the time to prepare customers well before onboarding can really pay off in terms of satisfaction and loyalty.

Leveraging Technology for Pre-Onboarding

Technology can enhance pre-onboarding preparation by automating certain tasks and providing valuable insights. Tools such as customer relationship management (CRM) systems, marketing automation platforms, and onboarding software can streamline the process and ensure that customers receive timely and relevant information.

For example:

CRM Systems: Use CRM systems to track customer interactions, gather data, and manage the pre-onboarding process. This can help keep all your customer information centralized and accessible to relevant teams, making it easier to provide personalized support and follow up.
Marketing Automation: Automate email campaigns and other communications to keep customers informed and engaged during the pre-onboarding phase. Automated messages can help maintain regular contact without additional manual effort, ensuring customers feel supported and valued.
Onboarding Software: Utilize onboarding software to create personalized onboarding plans, track progress, and provide resources to customers. These tools can offer customized content and training materials that help customers understand and use your product effectively from the start.

DID YOU KNOW?

We at Meltingspot bring everything you need to prepare your customers in one place. It connects with your CRM system to keep all customer data organized, uses marketing automation to send personalized messages, and offers fun, interactive onboarding tools like video tutorials and guides. This makes the onboarding process smoother and more enjoyable, helping your customers get the most out of your product.

Ready to see how we can transform your customer onboarding? Watch this 1-minute video to see how MeltingSpot can help with your onboarding and customer education challenges.

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Future Trends in Pre-Onboarding

As the SaaS industry continues to evolve, the pre-onboarding phase is likely to become even more critical. Companies will increasingly focus on personalized and proactive approaches to ensure that customers are well-prepared and set up for success from the start.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) will play a significant role in enhancing pre-onboarding efforts. These technologies can analyze customer data to provide personalized recommendations, predict potential challenges, and automate routine tasks.

Conclusion

Getting ready before onboarding is crucial for making sure customers are happy and stick around. By connecting with them early, setting clear expectations, and giving them the right tools and support, companies can significantly reduce churn and boost satisfaction.

Jonny Tennyson’s advice highlights the need for a proactive and personalized approach to pre-onboarding. As customer expectations grow, focusing on this early stage is key to long-term success and strong customer relationships. Ready to make your onboarding process smooth and engaging? Try Meltingspot today! and see the difference.