An effective onboarding strategy is vital for customer retention. It sets the tone for the entire relationship and can even increase customer lifetime value.
But what actually goes into creating a strategy that turns new customers into long-term, loyal users? At SMS Assist, it’s a blend of project planning, customer interaction and internal collaboration. This three-prong strategy includes frequent meetings with customers to assess and plan next steps, data collection and analysis, cross-departmental collaboration and more.
And the property management platform’s strategy doesn’t just stop once a new customer has fully onboarded.
“We’re more than just the team who helps new customers get in the door,” Senior Manager of Implementation Vanessa Sepiol said. “We’re here to develop meaningful relationships that last for years to come.”
What’s a typical day for you as an onboarding specialist at your company?
I lead a team of professionals who focus on onboarding new customers. Our responsibilities fall into three main themes: project planning, customer interaction and internal collaboration. Our individualized customer project plan is the cornerstone of the entire onboarding process, so we always begin there to make sure our customer implementation team is on the same page from the start.
There isn’t a day that goes by where we don’t spend time working face-to-face (or Zoom-to-Zoom) with our new customers. As soon as a customer joins SMS Assist, it’s our job to uncover every possible way we can provide value for them at every turn of the onboarding process. Our goal is to build a strong partnership and start problem-solving long before day one.
That also means we need to maintain a close relationship with internal stakeholders. I started at SMS Assist as an operations specialist, so I’ve built (and I urge my team members to build) up-to-the-minute expertise of our services by collaborating with our operations and technology teams. Good relationships don’t just extend to our customers — we make sure to form them internally as well.
When bringing a customer on board, we aim to be as meticulous and forward-thinking as possible.
What are some of the most important touch points in your onboarding process?
Because we tailor our onboarding process to each of our new customers’ specific needs, no cycle looks exactly the same. However, there are a few staples to any successful implementation.
First off, our project managers lead frequent virtual meetings with our customers to assess and strategize for the services we’ll be providing them. Setting them up in our portal, performing data capture, and aiding in the transition from previous facilities maintenance methods to ours are all essential touchpoints that take place in the initial few weeks of an implementation. But what’s most important is being active listeners. In order to help our customers get ready to work with us, we need to make sure they know we hear them and are responding to what they need.
Members of our billing, training, compliance and operations teams will also join the meetings and work closely with us, as all customer implementations require a collaborative effort. When bringing a customer on board, we aim to be as meticulous and forward thinking as possible from the get-go to ensure our customers have a seamless transition to begin using our services.
What’s one thing you do to establish strong relationships with your customers from the start?
Above all, we never want our customers to feel out of the loop, so we keep close communications with them throughout the process and well after they’ve been fully onboarded. On day one, we start with an implementation kick-off meeting that’s all about getting our customer excited to work with us. From the sales representative who brought them to SMS Assist to the operations manager who’ll lead their account, we introduce the customer to every individual who will be a part of their journey with our company, so that they know their account is in the right hands.
Maintaining these strong partnerships with our customers doesn’t end after launch. Our specialists stay involved to ensure a smooth transition, checking in with our customers frequently via email or phone calls and a survey that allows our customers to leave valuable feedback about their process. We don’t just want our customers to have a smooth onboarding process — we want them to have an exceptional experience no matter which stage they’re at in their journey with us. For that reason, we’re more than just the team who helps new customers get in the door. We’re here to develop meaningful relationships that last for years to come.
