Are Customers Ghosting You? Four Ways to Get Them to Show Up
The article outlines four strategies to prevent customers from ghosting during onboarding—starting onboarding earlier in the sales cycle to set expectations, using simple visuals to reduce cognitive overload and clarify the customer journey, employing comprehensive success plans that document goals and responsibilities, and fostering proactive engagement to ensure smooth implementation and customer participation.
Do you struggle with getting customers to engage in your onboarding process after the sale? Are your customers missing meetings, failing to complete assigned tasks on time, or not responding to your calls and emails? Here are four strategies to prevent customers from ghosting you and to drive better engagement during onboarding:
1. Onboard Earlier
Start onboarding during the sales cycle. If unprepared customers are delaying your onboarding and implementation teams, it's a sign to begin onboarding earlier. The Orchestrated Onboarding™ Framework starts with the Embark stage, where you show new customers the path to success and set expectations early. By frontloading onboarding, you equip customers to actively participate and take on tasks needed for success.
2. Use Visuals
Simple visuals can make a significant difference when working with customers. New users are often overwhelmed by the complexities of a new solution. Long task lists and complicated requirements can lead to cognitive overload, causing customers to disengage. Visuals help align with how people process information—"a picture is worth a thousand words." The human brain processes visuals much faster than text, and research shows that people pay more attention and understand information better when images are used. Start with basic images that outline the customer journey and build on them as the journey progresses. Include diagrams to illustrate integrations and connections required to go live. Tools like Canva or presentation software's smart art features can help you get started.
3. Employ Success Plans
Success plans ensure smooth onboarding and implementation for both you and your customers. A success plan is a single document that captures customer goals and your plan for achieving them. It should include best practices, quick wins, roles and responsibilities, potential risks, and an escalation process. Success plans help you and your customers agree on the big picture before getting into the details of configuration and integration. They also provide a place to address concerns and risks that could derail the project.
4. Deliver Value
Ultimately, it's essential to deliver value to your customers. Value is the importance, worth, or usefulness of your product. Just because a customer buys your product or goes live doesn't mean they find it useful. During onboarding, aim to deliver value as quickly as possible, even through small, achievable wins. When customers experience benefits right away, they're more likely to stay engaged. Each time customers receive value, they get an endorphin boost, making them more enthusiastic about working with you and using your product.
Shift your mindset from focusing solely on meetings and implementations to putting yourself in your customers’ shoes. When customers understand the path forward, they're more likely to stay present and engaged. Breaking down onboarding into digestible visuals, using success plans for collaboration, and delivering value from day one will help prevent ghosting and foster successful partnerships.
Donna Weber is a leading expert in customer onboarding and the author of "Onboarding Matters: How Successful Companies Transform New Customers Into Loyal Champions." Learn more at donnaweber.com.