Automation Success Conquer the Challenges of Client Onboarding in a Remote World Cameron Moneo Oct 1, 2020 9 mins read Whether in dating or business, the “getting-to-know-you” period can be notoriously fragile. There is always the risk of rejection, and poor communication at such a fundamental juncture can prove fatal. That said, adopting a clear and personalized approach will usually stand you in good stead. So, while park dates (don’t think we can’t see you) have allowed budding couples to get to know each other in recent months, how are businesses expected to achieve their client onboarding goals in a world where face-to-face interactions are no longer commonplace? The answer: By having a client onboarding process that is fully adapted to the remote realities that many of us currently find ourselves in. The COVID Challenge to Customer Success In a sense, COVID and the subsequent lockdown has accelerated a well-known fact: that more and more customers are used to digital onboarding, and expect it to be easy to follow, with a minimum of touchpoints. This doesn’t mean we can say goodbye to the human element. The likelihood of retaining customers, and earning their loyalty, increases when the onboarding process is fast, frictionless and—let’s not forget—personalized. “Depending on the fortunes of a business, today’s customer success challenges can range from addressing—and being sensitive to—an uptick in churn rate, to dealing with an unanticipated surge in customers.” Fortunately, these values can be near-to-hand even when onboarding is done remotely, for example, with the help of Wrk’s Hybrid Automation platform. More on that later. Like everybody else, Customer Success teams are facing pressure to adapt to the unpredictable—or as it’s perversely called, the “new normal”. Depending on the fortunes of a business, today’s customer success challenges can range from addressing—and being sensitive to—an uptick in churn rate, to dealing with an unanticipated surge in customers. Like dates, client onboarding processes have had to adapt to our remote world. Photo Credit: Hitesh Dewasi Client onboarding can be a stable point of focus in conquering Customer Success challenges on both ends of this spectrum. It’s worth remembering that onboarding also has a role to play in client acquisition—perhaps more so when times are uncertain and trust is paramount. For instance, by some measures, up to two-thirds of customers report that the promise of onboarding support factors into their decision to try a product or service. Clearly, many Customer Success teams are feeling strapped for bandwidth at the moment. While it may be clear that improvements to the client onboarding process are desirable (or downright necessary) to reflect a remote world, the resources to effect this change are less easily grasped. For some businesses, the post-COVID shuffling of resources has regrettably de-prioritized client onboarding. An additional obstacle to improvement might be unbudging organizational culture—a business’s tried-and-true, and let’s-face-it-a-bit-outdated, way of doing things. Nevertheless, change has become unavoidable. In 2020, even the in-person components of some business’s client onboarding processes are forced to go digital, onto Zoom or Skype. Such transitions present an opportunity to make the complete onboarding journey—from automation to human-touch—more seamless than before. This task is eminently achievable through platforms like Wrk. What’s more, seeking out such solutions for remote client onboarding comes with low risks in an otherwise precarious time, as well as the added benefits of greater efficiency and cost-savings. The Knack for Remote Client Onboarding…and How to Get It No matter how complex an onboarding process is, it should appear effortless for your client. Following best practices, their concerns should be anticipated early on, so that nothing too surprising arises as they get acquainted with the onboarding process. A successful onboarding journey will make your client feel personally welcome and empowered sooner. The margin for patience only shrinks with the ease and low time commitment customers expect of remote onboarding. A successful customer onboarding journey should be seamless and easy-to-follow. Photo Credit: David Marcu Complex-yet-simple. Speedy, without skimping on personal touches. All done remotely. This sounds like a recipe to overtask Customer Success teams, combined with everything else they have on their plate these days, right? Wrong! Thanks to Hybrid Automation platforms like Wrk, even the most complex onboarding workflows can be split into individual, automated and configured Wrk Actions™ for optimal results. So just because a remote onboarding process is complex, doesn’t mean it has to be difficult. That goes for businesses and customers alike. Making Wrk Work for You Every business’s client onboarding process will look different, and ideally personalized to match each client’s needs. That said, here are a few fundamental steps in the client onboarding process, which can be delivered in parallel with Wrk’s Hybrid Automation platform: Personalized welcome messages A no-brainer, but heed that “personalized” modifier. Research suggests that 33% of customers will end a relationship with a business if it’s not personalized enough. Nobody wants to feel like they’re going through the (robot-powered) motions when being welcomed to a new product or service. Even when onboarding a large number of clients, a business should never lose sight of the individual. It’s no secret that businesses have begun to adopt automation for prompt delivery of welcome messages, as well as to streamline account setups. At this stage in the game, if you haven’t discovered the role automation can play in customizing onboard messaging, you’re probably tying up resources. Consider how personalized welcome messaging can be automated with one-click Wrk Actions. Helpful video tutorials People love to watch videos! I may or may not be watching a video as I type this. (I’m not.) The video tutorial has become an essential part of client onboarding experiences. Through step-by-step training videos, new customers get up to speed and on the road quicker. In fact, video tutorials may be a preferred way for some clients to learn more about a product or service during the onboarding process. Moreover, Post Funnel even found that 30% of user drop-off was due to the customer not understanding the product. Videos sound fine and dandy, but not every business has the resources to produce them. All the more reason to seek out remote client onboarding tools that offer end-to-end solutions, including video tutorials. Such is the case with the human + machine processes of Hybrid Automation. Explore the benefits of having a skilled Wrkforce in your remote onboarding process, to deliver on those areas where human touch and creativity are frankly required. “The transition to remote client onboarding shouldn’t have to spell an expensive overhaul.” Company webinars Quite simply, would the remote client onboarding experience feel complete without a webinar? Where video tutorials might teach the fundamentals of how-to, webinars offer the chance for more in-depth focus, for instance, on specific use cases for a product or service. Webinars can also be the place to promote cross-sell opportunities, an important feature of any onboarding process that hopes to get a jump-start on customer loyalty. Obviously, we all have our limits when it comes to webinars. It’s always nice to see a friendly face and to learn more about something, but maybe not every damn week. As new customers get acquainted with a business, webinars can be slowly disseminated across the early stages of the customer life cycle. The transition to remote client onboarding shouldn’t have to spell an expensive overhaul. There are user-friendly, scalable solutions like Wrk that will ease the transition in delicate times, and help Customer Success teams, along with their clients, see immediate results. The Benefits of Client Onboarding Remotely Times have changed, but client onboarding remains worth the investment. The odds of retention grow considerably when a customer journey starts off on the right foot. As retention grows, so does your business. You stand to see further material gains by adapting to remote client onboarding. With automated tools such as Wrk, operational costs will lower, freeing up your Customer Success team to focus on other objectives that need deeper attention. In addition, remote client onboarding’s efficiency and seamlessness will enhance your customers’ satisfaction levels. Converting to remote onboarding can also help to identify and solve persistent stumbling blocks in your organization. For Customer Success teams, now is the chance to transform an old onboarding process to the new way of doing things. And with the help of Hybrid Automation platforms like Wrk, going remote doesn’t have to mean a loss of human touch. If you want to learn more about how Wrk’s Hybrid Automation can benefit Customer Success teams today, check out our Customer Success White Paper! Featured Image Photo Credit: Magnetme Share This Article Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email