Many companies want to crack the code of how to create repeat customers. These men and women do not need extra marketing and often do not need low prices. They have a loyalty to a company and will often stick with that company for months or even years. But there is no perfect formula for ensuring that a customer will return to a company. User onboarding, however, can help. Onboarding can smooth the experience of customers and leave a positive memory whenever they consider a company or product.
What is user onboarding?
User onboarding is the process by which a company helps individuals get the most use out of their product. It can be a personal or digital experience and may happen in one session or many. The main goal of onboarding is to actively help an individual figure out how to use a company’s product. Onboarding occurs when a representative from a company finds out how an individual is using a product and any of their concerns. He or she then guides the customer through tips and strategies to use the product more effectively. They may also assuage any of the customer’s concerns or suggest that they change their operating system to better handle the product. The actual process is fluid and depends on the needs of the individual.
Benefits
The biggest benefit of onboarding is that it will improve the user experience dramatically. Onboarding helps a user gain the most possible out of their software experience. They will most likely report greater customer satisfaction with their product and an improved view of the company overall. This greater satisfaction will lead to better reviews and a greater chance that an individual will use the products of a company in the future.
Another benefit of onboarding is developing a relationship with the customer. This relationship benefits both the customer and the company. The customer gets the most out of the product that they paid for. The company learns a considerable amount of information about their own product. Onboarding creates valuable data that is both quantitative and qualitative. It is as effective as a beta test or some other form of
What to do
Any company that is looking at improving their onboarding systems needs to first become deeply familiar with their product. They need to know many of the ways that an individual could be confused or overwhelmed by that product. Next, a company needs to train its staff on how to interact with other people. Some companies outsource their onboarding systems to other companies in exchange for a hefty fee. But basic training in human interaction and software education can be enormously effective in conducting onboarding within a company.
Finally, companies need to seek out their customers and help with their needs. Some companies have free websites and chat services that help customers with onboarding. Other companies send out surveys or have periodic check-ups. Companies need to be proactive about the onboarding process. Many individuals are busy and will simply stop doing business with a company if they buy a product that does not work as intended from that company.
Conclusion
Onboarding is not a prohibitively expensive prospect. Instead, companies simply need to spend money and focus carefully on what needs to be fixed and who they should talk to. They should have a plan for working with customers and regularly solicit feedback. This process, if done correctly, should lead to more repeat customers than a company has ever previously had before
