You’ve heard it over and over again - customer onboarding is the number one indicator of churn.
As a Customer Success (CS) leader, you know how critical customer onboarding is to your business. However, your CEO, CFO, and COO may not understand its value.
To get their attention and secure their buy-in, you need to speak their language and show them the revenue impact of investing in customer onboarding. In this guide, we'll explore strategies to help you make the case for brining customer onboarding to the board room and get leadership on board.
Position the Problem with a Revenue Focus
Executives care about revenue, so you need to frame the problem in those terms. Instead of talking about self-reported customer success scores like NPS, focus on how customer onboarding can prevent churn and save revenue at risk. By improving the onboarding experience, you can increase retention rates and create more revenue over the long haul.
To get leadership buy-in, you need to speak their language. They care about revenue and growth, not feel-good self-reported customer success scores like Net Promoter Score (NPS). CS leaders need to be comfortable speaking the language of the C-Suite to fully reach its potential. Your guide is helpful in seeing where those opportunities lie. The "default" is short-sighted, "we need revenue now!" But the reality is CS drives more revenue over the long haul. Quantify the value of CS, including projections, to communicate the impact of customer onboarding.
Highlight the Importance of Churn Prevention
Churn is a top concern for executives, and often a hot topic of any SaaS board meeting. Leadership wants to know how investing in customer onboarding can help prevent churn and increase your customer retention rate. You can demonstrate the impact of customer onboarding by identifying bottlenecks and inefficiencies in your current onboarding process that contribute to churn. By improving the onboarding experience, you can boost retention rates and prevent churn, which can have a significant positive impact on revenue.
Showcase Opportunities for Expansions, Upsells, and Referrals
Investing in customer onboarding can also create opportunities for expansions, upsells, and referrals. By identifying areas where customers can benefit from additional products or services, you can increase revenue potential. Satisfied customers can also refer their friends and colleagues, creating a powerful marketing tool. By identifying areas where customers can benefit from additional products or services, you can increase revenue potential. Communicate the estimated growth potential and revenue impact of these opportunities to showcase the value of customer onboarding.
Customer Onboarding Drives Referrals
Customer onboarding can also create opportunities for referrals. Satisfied customers who build strong relationships with their Customer Success Managers are more likely to refer their friends and colleagues, creating a powerful marketing tool. Communicate the estimated growth potential and revenue impact of these opportunities to showcase the value of customer onboarding.
Bring Customer Onboarding Data and Metrics to Board Meetings
Use customer onboarding data and metrics to communicate the impact of customer onboarding. For example, according to a study by Harvard Business Review, acquiring a new customer is anywhere from 5 to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one. By investing in onboarding, you can increase retention rates and reduce customer acquisition costs. Use relevant data and statistics to showcase the revenue impact of customer onboarding.
In conclusion, getting leadership on board for customer onboarding requires speaking their language and showcasing the revenue impact. Position the problem with the right angle, focus on churn prevention, communicate opportunities for expansions, upsells, and referrals, and use data and statistics to back up your claims. With these tips, CS leaders can get leadership buy-in for customer onboarding and create a positive impact on the bottom line.
