Is your agency struggling to achieve predictable revenue and growth? Are you concerned about the downturn in the economy and impending recession? If you answered “Yes”, then you need to be fully up to date on the very best and most effective client onboarding methods.
In this article, we discuss why agency client onboarding is the real key to predictable revenue and growth! We also examine the long-term impact and understand how properly onboarding a client is the real key to a successful agency that can continue growing.
What is Client Onboarding
Agency client onboarding is your agency’s strategy for bringing clients into the process, getting to know them, and making sure they feel valued. It also involves guiding them through your tools and processes so that they feel comfortable knowing how everything will proceed.
This process is essential for revenue and growth, because it helps ensure that the client is happy with the services provided by your agency, and that you are able to efficiently and effectively deliver those services.
Why Client Onboarding Matters
It is essential to streamline the onboarding process to avoid clients becoming frustrated, and potentially canceling their account – and clearly, lost business is not good for business! Client onboarding is crucial for any agency as it directly affects the client’s experience, and ultimately affects profits. Failing to onboard clients properly can damage relationships – and can even result in losing additional inquiries in the future from people who have heard or read negative reviews.
Onboarding is the first impression that a client has of an agency and its services. By properly onboarding a new client, you can establish trust and credibility with the client, which is essential for maintaining a successful working relationship.
Benefits of Having A Good Client Onboarding Process
A good client onboarding process can bring numerous benefits to an agency. It helps to identify and introduce team members, establish clear communication channels, and outline roles and responsibilities. This can lead to improved efficiency and productivity. A smooth onboarding process sets the stage for a successful project, leading to increased satisfaction for both parties.
Additionally, higher satisfaction can lead to repeat business and positive word-of-mouth referrals. By properly introducing a new client to the agency and its processes, the agency can establish trust and credibility with the client, which is essential for maintaining a successful working relationship. This can ultimately help your business achieve long-term success by building a strong reputation and a solid client base.
Common Setbacks
There are several common challenges that you might face while onboarding a client. Addressing these challenges and obstacles can help you improve your onboarding process and provide a better experience for your clients.
- Lack of a clear and organized onboarding process: Without a well-defined process in place, you may struggle to efficiently and effectively onboard new clients, leading to confusion and frustration for both the client and your business.
- Poor communication: Miscommunication or a lack of communication between you and the client can lead to confusion and potential conflicts. These can not only lead to frustration on the part of the client but potentially waste hours for your agency, which will reduce the profit margin for that client.
- Inadequate training: If you do not provide sufficient training to your employees on how to onboard clients properly, it may result in a subpar experience for the client.
- Insufficient resources: If you do not have the necessary resources, such as the right tools and technology, to onboard clients properly, it can hinder the process and lead to a negative experience for the client.
- Unclear expectations: If you and the client do not have a clear understanding of each other’s expectations, it can lead to misunderstandings and potential conflicts.
A Guide For Implementing An Effective Onboarding Process
There are several things that you should be aware of while onboarding a new client. We have created a helpful guide to help you properly onboard a new client.
Develop A Client Onboarding Checklist
Develop a detailed client onboarding checklist that covers all the necessary steps and tasks for setting up a new client, including tasks such as collecting necessary contact information and documents, setting up a new account, and establishing communication channels.
Here is a template checklist that you can reference:
- Collect necessary contact information and documents:
- Gather the client’s full name, address, phone number, and email address
- Collect any necessary tax documents and financial information
- Have the client sign any necessary contracts or agreements
- Set up a new account:
- Create a new account for the client in your company’s database or CRM
- Assign the client to a specific team member or account manager
- Establish any necessary login credentials for the client (e.g., username and password for a client portal)
- Establish communication channels:
- Determine the preferred method of communication for the client (e.g., email, phone, in-person meetings)
- Set up any necessary communication tools (e.g., email lists, project management software)
- Make sure the client has access to the appropriate communication channels
- Review the scope of work:
- Review the details of the project or engagement with the client
- Make sure the client understands the deliverables, timelines, and any specific requirements
- Confirm that the client agrees to the terms of the project
- Set up any necessary systems or processes:
- Set up any necessary systems or processes for tracking progress and communicating with the client
- Make sure the client has access to any necessary resources or tools
- Provide an overview of the company and team:
- Introduce the client to the relevant team members and provide an overview of the company
- Make sure the client understands the team’s roles and responsibilities
- Review the client’s goals and objectives:
- Discuss the client’s goals and objectives for the project
- Make sure the team has a clear understanding of what the client wants to achieve
- Establish a timeline and schedule:
- Set up a timeline for the project and establish a regular schedule for check-ins and updates
- Make sure the client is aware of the timeline and schedule
- Review any necessary policies or procedures:
- Review any necessary policies or procedures with the client (e.g. confidentiality, payment terms)
- Make sure the client understands and agrees to these policies and procedures
- Follow up with the client:
- Follow up with the client to ensure that everything is set up correctly and that they have any necessary information or resources
- Make sure the client has a point of contact for any questions or concerns that may arise.
Communicate Expectations
Assign a dedicated team member to serve as the primary point of contact for the new client and ensure that they are available to answer any questions or provide assistance throughout the onboarding process.
Before the start of the onboarding process, communicate the expected timeline and any necessary requirements or documentation that the client needs to provide to the new client. This can include a breakdown of the steps involved in the onboarding process and the timeline for each step.
For example, immediately upon onboarding, the client may need to provide contact information and sign any necessary contracts. In the next few days, the client may need to provide additional documents or set up login credentials for any necessary systems. Continually communicate with the client throughout the onboarding process to ensure that they are informed and prepared for the next steps.
Provide All Necessary Resources
Once the onboarding process is complete, conduct a final review with the client to ensure that all necessary steps have been completed and that the client is ready to begin working with the agency. Provide the client with all necessary training and support materials, such as guides and tutorials, to help them understand how to use the services and tools effectively.
Establish A Communication Channel
Establish regular communication channels with the client, such as email, phone, or an online project management platform such as Atarim. This will ensure that the client can easily communicate with the agency and stay updated on the progress of their project.
It’s important to regularly check in with the client throughout the onboarding process to ensure that they are satisfied with the service, and to address any questions or concerns that they may have. The frequency of these check-ins will depend on the specific needs and preferences of the client, as well as the nature of the service being provided. Some clients may prefer to have frequent check-ins, while others may be content with less frequent check-ins.
It’s a good idea to establish a schedule for check-ins at the beginning of the onboarding process, so that both you and the client are clear on when to expect communication. This could be daily check-ins for the first week, followed by weekly check-ins thereafter, or some other schedule that works for both parties. It’s important to be flexible and adapt the schedule as needed based on the client’s feedback and needs.
Monitor Client Satisfaction
Continually monitor the client’s progress and satisfaction levels to ensure that they are happy with the service and to identify any potential areas for improvement. You can do this during regular check-ins mentioned above, or you can send automated surveys at regular intervals.
You can also consider tracking key performance metrics to identify areas of improvement and can then follow up with your client in a one-on-one meeting where you can ask for feedback and allay their concerns.
Long-Term Benefits of A Good Client Onboarding Process
One of the key benefits of a successful onboarding process is that it can help to improve client retention by ensuring that clients are satisfied with the service and feel supported throughout the process. This can help to build trust & confidence in the agency and can encourage clients to continue working with the agency in the long term.
By providing clear and detailed information about the services and tools, your business can improve client satisfaction. This will help to ensure that clients are able to get the most value from your services, which can, in turn, lead to increased business and more revenue in the future.
Ultimately, a successful onboarding process can help to provide the agency with predictable revenue and growth. By ensuring that clients are happy with the service and are able to get the most value from it, the agency can expect to see increased repeat business and referrals from satisfied clients. This can help to create a stable and predictable stream of revenue, which can support the agency’s long-term growth.
Final Thoughts
Agency client onboarding is an essential process that can have a significant impact on an agency’s revenue and growth. A well-executed onboarding process can help to improve client retention and satisfaction and can provide the agency with a predictable stream of revenue and support its long-term growth. Investing in a solid onboarding process can be a valuable investment for any agency and can help to ensure its long-term success.
Atarim is a platform (and WordPress plugin) trusted by the world’s leading digital teams, from design and dev agencies to freelancers, to improve how they collaborate – including:
- Improving how they can receive feedback on websites.
- Subsequently, assigning those tasks to their team.
- All as a part of our mission to make the web collaborative.
Ready to make onboarding and working with clients easier? Get started with Atarim today.
