In the world of selling products, it’s not common for people to naturally discover all the good things about what you offer.
You have to actively show and explain to both existing and potential customers why your product is great. Giving guidance is important to help them fully understand its value.
In simple terms, you need to consistently demonstrate and guide people to see how awesome your products are. This doesn’t just create awareness but also makes them appreciate the unique features of what you offer.
It’s like building a lasting friendship with your audience, making sure they really get and like what your products bring to the table.
This is where onboarding steps in
Onboarding is like introducing someone to your product or service. A good onboarding experience should be easy and fun for customers while telling them about all the good things your product can do.
How you onboard depends on what you’re selling. It could include videos, personal chats, product demos, and online sessions.
Remember, onboarding isn’t just for tech companies – any business selling something can do it. If you sell bikes, for example, onboarding can help customers learn how to use their bikes when to get service, and what else you offer.
Even a coffee shop with a loyalty program can benefit. Sending a series of emails can introduce customers to the loyalty program, guide them on when to use it, share tips for enjoying their coffee, and more.
To make onboarding work well, you need a main way to tie everything together. Despite all the ways we can talk to each other nowadays, email is still the best way to talk to both current and possible customers.
For many businesses, just using emails might be enough to create a great onboarding experience. But, you can make it even better by adding links to short videos and helpful articles on your blog.
Email onboarding might seem big, but it can be made easy
Learning all the details about onboarding can take time, especially when you’re starting. This article is here to help by focusing on simple and important ways to do email onboarding.
Know Your Customers
1. Create Customer Personas
Start by creating detailed customer personas. These are fictional characters that represent different segments of your target audience. Include demographic information, preferences, and pain points in these personas. This will serve as a foundational understanding of who your customers are.
2. Collect Data
Utilize data collection tools and analytics to gather information about customer behavior. Track their interactions with your website, products, and emails. Look for patterns and identify the pages or features they engage with the most. This quantitative data provides insights into their preferences.
3. Engage in Customer Feedback
Actively seek feedback from your customers through surveys, reviews, and social media. Ask open-ended questions to understand their experiences, challenges, and expectations. This qualitative data is invaluable in uncovering insights that may not be evident through quantitative data alone.
4. Monitor Customer Support Interactions
Review customer support tickets and interactions. Analyze the common issues customers face and observe recurring themes. This firsthand knowledge of their challenges provides a direct understanding of pain points in the customer journey.
5. Social Media Listening
Monitor social media channels for discussions related to your brand or industry. Understand what customers are saying, both positive and negative. Social media platforms can be a goldmine of candid insights into customer sentiments.
6. Conduct Interviews
Consider conducting one-on-one interviews with select customers. This personalized approach allows for in-depth conversations where you can delve into their experiences, preferences, and areas where they may have struggled in the onboarding process.
7. Utilize Customer Surveys
Design targeted surveys focusing on onboarding experiences. Ask questions about the clarity of information, ease of use, and any challenges faced during the initial stages. Use survey responses to identify areas for improvement.
8. Analyze Customer Success Data
Review the data related to customer success and retention. Identify patterns among customers who have successfully completed the onboarding process and become long-term users. Understanding the traits of successful customers can guide your onboarding strategy.
9. Stay Updated
Customer preferences and behaviors can evolve over time. Regularly revisit your customer personas and update them based on new data and insights. This ensures that your onboarding process remains aligned with the current needs of your audience.
10. Collaborate Across Teams
Encourage collaboration between different teams within your organization, such as marketing, sales, and customer support. Cross-functional insights can provide a holistic understanding of the customer journey and inform improvements in the onboarding process.
Key Takeaways
By systematically implementing these 10 steps, you’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of your customers. This knowledge becomes the foundation for refining and optimizing your onboarding process, ensuring that it effectively addresses the specific needs and challenges your customers encounter.
Maintain Consistency
Make sure the onboarding journey, from the first welcome email to the first payment, feels like one smooth process. No one likes it when things feel all over the place.
Keep Talking
Talk to your customers regularly, not just once in a while. This way, they don’t feel like you’ve disappeared. Keep a regular pattern for when they should get the next onboarding email.
Share Tips
Help your customers by giving them tips on how to use your product or service better.
1. Identify Common Challenges
Start by understanding the common challenges or questions customers face while using your product or service. This insight will guide you in creating relevant and valuable tips.
2. Create Bite-Sized Tips
Break down the information into bite-sized tips that are easy to understand and implement. Focus on practical advice that users can apply immediately to see positive results.
3. Utilize Various Formats
Present tips in different formats to cater to various learning preferences. This could include written guides, video tutorials, infographics, or step-by-step visual instructions.
4. Incorporate Real-Life Examples
Illustrate your tips with real-life examples or case studies. This helps customers relate the tips to their own situations, making them more likely to apply the advice.
5. Share Regularly
Establish a regular schedule for sharing tips. Whether through emails, newsletters, or in-app notifications, consistency in sharing valuable information keeps customers engaged.
6. Address Specific Use Cases
Tailor tips to address specific use cases or scenarios that different segments of your audience might encounter. This personalization adds relevance to the advice.
7. Encourage Customer Feedback
Create an avenue for customers to provide feedback on the tips shared. This two-way communication allows you to understand which tips are most helpful and if there are additional topics they’d like guidance on.
8. Highlight Hidden Features
Many customers may not be aware of all the features your product or service offers. Use tips as an opportunity to showcase hidden or lesser-known features that can enhance their overall experience.
9. Gamify the Learning Process
Introduce gamification elements by turning tips into challenges or quizzes. This not only makes the learning process fun but also encourages active participation.
10. Optimize for Accessibility
Ensure that your tips are easily accessible across different devices and platforms. Whether customers are accessing information on a computer, tablet, or smartphone, the tips should be user-friendly.
11. Measure Engagement
Track engagement metrics to understand how customers interact with the tips. This data helps in refining your approach and focusing on the types of tips that resonate the most.
12. Seek Continuous Improvement
Regularly assess the effectiveness of your tips and be open to making improvements. Customer needs and preferences may evolve, so adapting your tips accordingly ensures ongoing relevance.
Key Takeaways
By following these 12 steps, you can provide valuable tips that empower your customers to make the most out of your product or service, fostering a positive and informed user experience.
Tell Stories
Storytelling is a powerful tool that goes beyond just relaying information. It connects on a deeper level by tapping into emotions. When you share stories that evoke feelings, you create a memorable experience for your audience. These emotional connections are essential because they make your brand or message more relatable, human, and trustworthy.
Imagine a travel agency that wants to promote its sustainable and community-focused travel packages. Instead of just listing the eco-friendly features, they could share a story about a specific community they’ve partnered with.
The narrative might revolve around the experiences of a local artisan whose life changed positively due to increased tourism. By highlighting the artisan’s journey, struggles, and the impact of responsible tourism, the travel agency not only showcases its commitment to sustainability but also creates an emotional connection. The audience is likely to feel inspired by the positive change brought about by their travel choices.
Show Value
Every email you send should not just show what your product does but also why using it is the best choice. Make them feel like it will make their life better.
Instead of just listing features, present your product as a solution to specific problems. Showcasing how your product can make tasks easier, save time, or enhance experiences helps users see its practical benefits.
Be Personal
Utilizing your customer’s name in emails is a simple yet powerful practice that makes them feel special and valued. When their name appears in the subject line or body of an email, it immediately grabs their attention, setting the tone for a more personalized interaction. This goes beyond a generic message, creating an atmosphere akin to a one-on-one conversation.
Moreover, taking the extra step to discuss topics aligned with your customer’s interests, based on their purchase history or browsing behavior, adds an additional layer of personalization. By tailoring content to their preferences, you not only strengthen the personal connection but also demonstrate a genuine understanding of their needs.
This personalized approach contributes to building a stronger and more positive relationship with your customers, fostering loyalty and enhancing their overall experience with your brand.
Encourage Help-Seeking
Don’t wait for customers to ask for help. Tell them you’re there to help and make sure they know how to reach you. This helps in making sure they understand your product and how it can make their life better.
Set Goals
Understand that every customer goes through different stages before becoming a big fan. Define these stages to plan your onboarding and decide when to introduce different things.
Tell Them What to Do
Every onboarding email should have a clear goal. Whether it’s to check out a feature or watch a video, always guide them on what to do next.
By guiding users on what to do next, you encourage proactive behavior. Users are more likely to explore and experiment with your product when they have a clear understanding of the next steps.
Let’s consider an example in the context of a fitness app: in your onboarding emails, help users create a fitness profile, set goals, and explore personalized workouts. Clearly suggest next steps, like logging their first workout or exploring nutrition plans, to encourage proactive engagement.
This roadmap empowers users to explore app features such as progress tracking, virtual classes, and community engagement for a comprehensive fitness journey.
Educate Beyond Your Product
Help your customers not just with your product but also with things related to your industry or service. By delivering relevant industry insights, you enhance the customer’s expertise and foster a long-term relationship built on trust and mutual growth.
Choose the Right Email Partner
If no one reads your emails, it doesn’t matter how good your onboarding is. Choose an email partner that cares about making sure your emails reach your customers. Contact Consumers is one such partner, and they even offer free trial accounts.
In conclusion, making email onboarding simple is about breaking down the big concepts into easy-to-follow steps.
It’s about making your customers feel like they’re on a journey of discovery and understanding. It’s not just a process – it’s a way to build connections that last.
So, whether you’re selling bikes or coffee, remember that effective onboarding is like a friendly guide helping your customers explore and appreciate what you have to offer.
