My favorite thing to automate with email is client onboarding.
It’s an often overlooked area to use email automation. Everyone gets so caught up in finding new customers, they forget that the same technology can be used for customers. Sometimes at a greater ROI than prospecting.
There are a lot of reasons to automate onboarding, but the best one from a business model perspective is to increase customer ‘stick.’
STICK is how long your customer remains a customer. This is true whether it’s a one-time purchase or a monthly subscription. One-time purchasers can be unhappy with a purchase and request a refund. Not cool. A quality onboarding sequence can give them a great experience and reduce the rate of your returns.
In the online world, so many companies do the ‘deliver and run.’ “Hey, here’s the product you ordered. Thanks for buying. See you later!” The real challenge for online info products is getting the customer to USE the product. If they never use, receive value and get something out of it, they might return it. At the very least, they’ll have a bad taste about your company and be reluctant to buy from you again.
Even if you’re selling a service, there are so many things you probably need to communicate to your new client. They just laid out a whack of money. They want to know “What happens next?” And they DESERVE to know.
Automating your onboarding also HELPS YOU. It takes a repetitive task off your plate. It reduces the number of phone calls, emails and text messages from your anxious new client. It makes them feel good about their purchase. It lets them know you’re still there and you care about them.
Here are some possibilities of what to include in your onboarding…
- digital product delivery
- notification about physical product delivery tracking
- your product just shipped
- while you’re waiting…
- teach your customer how to use your product
- show them how others are using the product successfully [case studies]
- FAQs
- contracts for signature
- checklists of what the client needs to do next or provide
- timeline of upcoming milestones
- the introduction of your staff
- what to do if they have issues or questions
- how best to work with your company – who to call for what
- a THANK YOU note (could be physical)
You might do a lot of these things already but not in a repeatable way.
How to get started with your onboarding…
Make a list of everything you do once a prospect becomes a customer and the questions they have. Then organize it into a series of steps. Turn those steps into emails and checklists.
If you need any help creating an onboarding process for your business, let’s schedule a time to talk.
Ontraport is one of the great marketing automation solutions available today. Learn more by contacting me.
