As the saying goes, you only get one chance to make a lasting first impression. The beginning of your business’s relationship with a customer is one of many moments of truth that will shape that customer’s continued engagement and loyalty.
Onboarding may be near the top of the sales funnel from the enterprise’s point of view, but it’s likely that a first impression has already been made before that customer even walked in.
In all probability, that customer has already been exposed to your brand and business practices for some time before deciding to come on board. He or she has observed your marketing and promotional messages, visited your website and perhaps your social profiles, and run your brand name past friends, family and search engines alike.
Some of these impressions are carefully controlled by your marketing and public relations initiatives and are meant to encourage adoption. Word-of-mouth, whether collected from personal acquaintances or anonymous online reviews, can be a mixed bag.
But obviously, the first impression was positive enough to bring them to the table to begin onboarding. This next moment of truth is your opportunity to reinforce everything positive they’ve absorbed about your brand, and if necessary, dispel the negative (but only if the customer brings it up).
Think of it as a gesture of good faith, promising that the experience will be everything they expected – and then some. While overenthusiastic selling may leave a new customer overwhelmed, this is a perfect chance to raise awareness of your various products and services and encourage early engagement with these additional touchpoints.
Adoption of those products and services ensures that the relationships are stickier, which means reduced account attrition and reduced pressure on acquisition.
Provided that you have a robust, optimized customer experience strategy and can deliver on your promises to your new customers, the right onboarding process puts you a step ahead on the path to customer loyalty.
This makes it critical to have the right tools in place to identify and measure the key drivers of customer experience across all channels. CSP’s research methods, expertise and resources empower you to keep your brand promise. Contact us today for our insights into customer onboarding and beyond.
