Every customer goes through their own journey when deciding to buy a new product or service, but the key stages of the process tend to remain the same. This means that if you can excel at transitioning potential customers from one stage to the next, it can do wonders for your bottom line.
An onboarding tool may be the secret weapon you need to make this happen. These tools offer a number of capabilities that help companies craft more powerful customer journeys. Keep reading to learn how the right onboarding tool can help you get more out of each phase of the customer journey.
What Are Onboarding Tools, Exactly?
An onboarding tool can mean any technology that helps new customers learn how to use your product. The most common type of onboarding tool is onboarding software. These programs guide new customers to product mastery while generating data you can use to optimize the experience. Onboarding software is typically highly customizable, giving companies the tools they need to put their unique onboarding strategies into practice.
Leveraging Onboarding Tools in Each Phase of the Customer Journey
Onboarding software may seem like it would only be effective after a customer has decided to buy your product. However, it can also provide benefits even before that decision takes place. To illustrate that point, we look at the role onboarding tools play in each phase of the average customer journey below.
1. Awareness
Awareness is the beginning of a customer’s journey toward your company. It starts when a new potential customer discovers your brand's products. This is an important stage, setting the foundation for how the potential customer will think about your company moving forward.
Onboarding tools can help you curate the right type of awareness in potential clients. You can use them to create interactive onboarding tutorials and guides, personalized landing pages, and even automated email campaigns to develop and nurture new leads.
2. Consideration
Customers who are interested in products like yours are probably looking at competitors’ offerings, too. This period of deliberation between your products and theirs is called consideration.
Onboarding tools can help sway the customer’s attention in your favor. You can use them to create a streamlined trial onboarding experience, share in-depth product demonstrations, and highlight your company’s personalized approach as a point of differentiation.
3. Decision
The decision phase occurs when the customer is ready to finalize their purchasing decision. Onboarding software can help you close the deal.
One option is to set up personalized demos that are tailored to each customer’s unique needs. You can also highlight your onboarding software’s integrations with other technology, such as CRMs, to show the client that they'll have an easier time transitioning their workflow to your product than they would with a competitor’s offering.
4. Post-Purchase
Onboarding software may have the biggest impact on client satisfaction during the post-purchase phase. This is a time to develop customer loyalty now that you have them in your system. It’s also an opportunity for cross-selling and upselling.
Your onboarding tool will help you deliver better experiences to every customer with straightforward training modules, goal-based progress, and integrated support. The net result is happier customers, which tends to improve loyalty and increase their lifetime customer value.
The Last Word on Onboarding Tools and Customer Journeys
Crafting a better customer journey can help you convert a higher percentage of people who become aware of your products into users. Onboarding software can be a powerful tool to support you in those efforts during each phase of the buying process.
OnRamp makes it easy to take advantage of the benefits of onboarding tools throughout the customer journey. Sign up for a demo to learn more about how we can help.
