As a company, your goal of course is not just to let customers show interest in your product or service, but to get them to avail it and use it as a part of their lifestyle. However, now that most of the tasks can be done online and people are working internationally via the internet, it is quite difficult to gain customer retention. This is where remote customer onboarding comes in.
Customer onboarding is the first process that customers go through as they decide to commit to your product. This includes signing up, setting up, and the actual usage of the product or service. As a company, you would want them to get hooked as early as possible by providing them with a good first impression of what you are offering so that they may keep coming back.
Meanwhile, remote customer onboarding adapts to the times by making use of internet platforms to further engage your customers and encourage them to commit to the product or service you are offering.
The Positive Side of Remote Customer Onboarding
With the use of the internet, it is no secret that remote customer onboarding is possible, and can even offer a wider avenue for expansion of a product or a service. Below are the positive effects of the remote setup on customer onboarding.
- Flexibility
Unlike in-person onboarding, remote customer onboarding makes use of the flexibility that the digital world gives. In this way, the customers need not be physically present and the schedule does not need to be strict. The onboarding may also be done asynchronously to accommodate the differences in schedule more.
- Reaches more people
Because of the internet, your product or service may reach more people and may get more sign-ups because of the connectivity given by social media. This would allow people from different parts of the world to participate, which is something that an in-person onboarding cannot do.
- More creativity
The online platform allows for an avenue to be more creative in the onboarding process because one can incorporate different multimedia such as videos, PowerPoint presentations, and more. In the in-person onboarding, the presenters would have to rely only on their talking and persuasion skills.
The Negative Side of Remote Customer Onboarding
Of course, remote customer onboarding is not all positive because there are also challenges that come with it due to its usage of the digital space. Below are some of these challenges.
- Less assurance
The online setup removes the body language that allows companies to understand the customers more, and see if they are hooked on the service or if they have complaints about it. Because the client and the company could only communicate via email or video calls, there is disconnect in the relationship that could be built when in an in-person setup.
- Less communication
As opposed to in-person communication where the client can just directly ask all of their queries to the company representative, for remote onboarding, they would need to send an email and wait for a reply. This would also make demonstrations difficult to do because there is an added barrier on how to show the client how to operate a product or make use of service online.
How to Overcome the Barriers of Remote Customer Onboarding?
There is no need to worry about the challenges that may come with the remote customer onboarding process as there are software applications and websites that can be used to address these.
HelpCrunch is a customer service software that allows companies to incorporate chat robots and widgets in their applications so that users would be able to navigate their applications better. It is also well connected with productivity and business apps such as Slack and Google Analytics for a better experience.
Soundest is an email automation application targeted to help small and medium E-commerce businesses. They provide services such as welcome emails, promotional updates, and more to increase customer engagement. They have also been ranked as the first email marketing solution for Shopify.
Zoom Meetings is a video telephony program that allows people to communicate and connect with others easily. They have features such as a shared screen and whiteboard options and can add multiple people to the call. This would solve the problems in connection as you can talk and feel more in touch with the clients through Zoom.
Click here to read our full Zoom review.
Conclusion
There are many ways to successfully onboard your customers, even remotely. In providing a smooth and prepared remote onboarding process, not only will you satisfy your customers, you will also be setting your company up for success. A good experience while using your product or service will always reflect on how well managed a company is, and this would only open more doors for the future.
A successful remote onboarding will retain good customers and attract new ones to stay. This will open more avenues for the company to reach more customers all over the world. The greatest test of its success will be seen in the long run, and the ultimate key to this success is by following consistent and keen practices within and outside the company.