Customer onboarding is the process by which a company guides a new client from signing through to the first real result. This is exactly where it is decided whether the cooperation will be long-term – in the first two weeks, the client confirms or disproves the expectations they had when signing. Good onboarding includes a welcome meeting introducing the people and roles, a clear schedule with a deadline for the first deliverable, a list of the materials and access you need, and an agreement on who communicates with whom and how often. The most common mistake is silence after signing – the client moves from the salesperson's intensive attention into a vacuum lasting several weeks and starts to have doubts. The second mistake is overwhelming them with requests without explaining what they are for. Also note down what the client identified as success, and return to it at every review.
See also: Customer retention, NPS – Net Promoter Score, Case study.
