How Can Agencies Create A Great Onboarding Experience For Their Clients?

A lead can be converted into a long-term client through a series of steps. The typical process begins with marketing to scout out leads and capture your target market.

In the moment of giving the verbal yes to your business, an account executive delivers a pitch that sells the prospect on your business and why it's a great fit.

In this article, you will find actionable steps to help you onboard new clients for your agency, which is an often overlooked part of the customer journey.

What is Client Onboarding?

Onboarding is the process of welcoming and introducing new clients to your business, addressing their questions and concerns, and ensuring they achieve the results they desire.

Stage 1: Compliance and Payments

Documents and contracts

It will give clients an extra incentive to get started on the onboarding process as soon as possible if you prepare a written contract, formal agreements, or confidentiality forms after receiving their verbal agreement. 

• Prepare the contract and send it over with the invoice 
• Collect signed documents and payments from your client

The contract should not be signed or any additional documents requiring the client's signature received before any action is taken.

Maintain CRM records for clients

It is essential that you have accurate contact information stored in your CRM before scheduling any calls. 

A checklist of what should be recorded in your CRM:

• Name and last initial of the client
• Title of client role
• Name of the client company
• Number of direct contacts
• Contact information 

When onboarding a client with a large team, you might have to communicate with different stakeholders. Identify the central point of contact and communicate directly with them.

It is important to identify the primary method of communication (such as telephone, email, Slack, Skype, Zoom) in order to schedule calls and meetings efficiently.

Stage 2: Assign an Onboarding Specialist

The contact information of the new client needs to be kept in your CRM so that your internal team is aware of it. At some agencies, onboarding is handled by an Onboarding Specialist, but if not, it may be handled by a team that manages the new account.

The internal team will need to be informed about all aspects of the new client.

• Information about new clients should be shared with the internal team
• Keep a record of all meetings, learnings, and progress in the CRM

Stage 3: Client Kick-Off

Welcome Email

Before scheduling a call, the assigned onboarding specialist needs more information to begin the kickoff process. The purpose of sending a welcome email is to introduce the client with the team and outline what's needed to begin the onboarding process. A welcome email should only be brief and provide a quick overview of the client. 

• Identify the team members involved in the onboarding process
• Call agenda for kickoff
• Include an onboarding
• Schedule the kickoff call at the most convenient time

Onboarding Questionnaire

A set of specific questions will be included in the onboarding questionnaire to uncover the client's purpose for using your services.

Your client onboarding questionnaire should include the following questions:

• How will we get in touch with you?
• Does the onboarding process involve other team members?
• To what extent does your business define success? 
• If you had to define a buyer's persona, how would you do it?
• Are there any pain points you are currently experiencing?
• Requesting logins

Kick-off Call

Onboarding begins with the kick-off call, which is an opportunity for both parties to make sure they are on the same page. 

Discuss the following information with the client:

• Introduce internally (internal team members involved in the onboarding process)
• Restate the client’s business goals 
• Review onboarding survey responses (for any needed clarifications)
• Cover major deliverables and responsibilities including a timeline of action
• Discuss next steps
• Q&A 

Stage 4: Onboarding Resources 

You want to provide your clients with a mix of digital assets and physical products that they can use during the onboarding process. These can include the following:

• Getting started e-books, PDFs, and white pages (e.g., FAQs, business contact information, highlights)
• Documentation (articles, how-to guides)
• Success stories from clients (case studies)
• Welcome videos (webinars, walkthroughs, or any short clips that welcome new clients)

Stage 5: Scheduling Touchpoints 

A client's journey may differ, and some may adopt the new product or business process sooner than others. Since churn is more likely to occur within the first 90 days after onboarding a new client, the touchpoints will help you identify potential roadblocks. 

• 7 days after the kickoff call, the first touchpoint is scheduled
• It has been 30 days since the last touchpoint 
• The third touchpoint in 60 days 

Stage 6: Collecting Feedback

Once a client has been onboarded, it's important to gauge their satisfaction with your business by sending a CSAT survey. 

After the client passes a major milestone in the customer lifecycle, the CSAT survey should be sent to measure their satisfaction with the product or business. 

• Once onboarding is complete, send a CSAT within one week
• Implement CSAT after client education interactions (e.g., interacting with content or using the product) and client support touchpoints (e.g., help docs).

In order to understand a client's loyalty to your business, sending out an NPS survey can provide more transparency. Sending an NPS survey 30 days after a client has been onboarded will help you understand if they believe your product or service is worth referring to others.

• Within 30 days of the onboarding process, send the initial NPS survey to new clients
• Follow-up NPS surveys should be sent quarterly, semi-annually, or annually

A checklist streamlines your client onboarding process and gives your team a clear list of tasks to complete.

Summary

In this article, we mentioned a client onboarding checklist:

Payments and Compliance

• Please forward the invoice and necessary documents for signing and returning
• Record all contact details in CRM once all documents have been returned

Assign Onboarding Lead

• The new client should be discussed in an internal meeting

Client Kickoff

• You should send a welcome email outlining the onboarding process, who will be involved, and any specifications.
• Onboarding questionnaires must be filled out by the client.
• All team members involved in the onboarding process are introduced, business goals are aligned, expectations are set, and the next steps are discussed.

Onboarding Resources

• Provide clients with how-to articles, FAQs, and educational materials as part of the onboarding process.

Touchpoints

• After the kickoff call, schedule the second touchpoint in 30 days, and the third touchpoint in 60 days to assess progress.

Collect Feedback

• CSAT survey should be sent one week after the onboarding process is complete
• After onboarding is completed, send the NPS survey 30 days later

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