Client onboarding: examples, steps, tools, strategies
A proper onboarding process is mutually beneficial. It gives new clients a quick overview of your product or service, helping them better understand your future cooperation. At the same time, you get key information about your customer’s needs and priorities.
Read on to learn the essential things about client onboarding: when it’s a must, what tools to use, and how to build an onboarding strategy.
What is client onboarding?
Client onboarding is the process of welcoming new customers and integrating them into your business. You address potential questions, explain the rules, and make sure that they fully understand the value of your product or service.
There are two key goals of client onboarding: first, to help new clients navigate your service, making sure you won’t lose them because of confusion and frustration. Second, to collect information about their needs and priorities, which is vital for further cooperation.
Why is client onboarding important?
Onboarding is crucial because it helps businesses build strong relationships with new clients from the very beginning. A well-designed onboarding experience solves a number of key tasks:
— introduces customers to the product and informs them about its key benefits
— makes it easier for customers to get started with the product, explains how to use it
— gathers basic information about the customer
— segments new customers based on their behavior and profile details
— efficiently differentiates the company’s product from competitors with the help of its TOV (tone of voice) and branded user interface, connecting with the customer on both rational and emotional levels.
As a result, a favorable first impression improves the following business metrics:
MetricImpact of effective onboarding
Conversely, if any of these metrics is falling short, you should pay attention to new clients’ initial interaction with your product. Analyze your onboarding process and consider what could be done to improve it.
Customer onboarding examples
Let’s take two examples of onboarding: for a product and a service.
Example 1: product
Imagine we operate an online service that offers personalized meal plans for athletes. A new customer visits your website, selects a meal plan, clicks “Order”, and the system prompts them to register. It seems that the onboarding process for new clients begins at the registration step, but in fact it starts much earlier — at the moment when a new user first lands on the website, explores what it offers, and learns more about the product.
Once the customer moves past the browsing stage, onboarding becomes more technical:
A registration form. The customer provides an email address or a telephone number, and the system creates a personal account with purchase history. Optionally, you can ask for the customer’s name to personalize the experience.
Order details. The customer provides the delivery address, and the system redirects them to the checkout page.
It means that the client onboarding is taking place on two levels: in the product and in the order system.
Onboarding into the product is usually more complex, especially if the client is new to the subject. They may struggle even at the selection stage. Adding a quiz to the website can simplify the step and help the client find an optimal meal plan for their goals:
An example of onboarding into the product with the help of a quiz. A ready-made template
The customer hasn’t bought anything yet, but the onboarding process has already started. The quiz helps the client choose the right product while simultaneously gathering key information about them: gender, age, weight, training intensity, and contact details. This data goes to the CRM system and will be used to improve customer loyalty and retention.
To tell the new customer more about meal plans for athletes, we can use their email address to send educational letters and further nurture the relationship.
Example 2: service
Let’s say we run a travel agency that offers a wide range of tours. When a new customer comes to your website, exploring all these choices will require time. You could leave them to browse the catalog on their own, call, request callbacks, reach out via chat or email — or you could onboard them with a quiz. It helps identify their needs, suggest the right service, and provide more details in the results.
Here’s how it works:
- We create the quiz and add branching based on the client’s task and needs:
— first we add several branches depending on whether they prefer mountains, beaches, culture venues, urban areas, or extreme adventures;
— then we add branches based on the number of travelers, duration of the trip, location, etc.
An example of an onboarding quiz for a travel agency. A ready-made template
In the end we present tailored options that match their requirements, or redirect them to the most relevant section of the catalog.
2️. We implement the quiz in one of the following ways:
— as a pop-up window in the catalog. This option is for those who linger on one page without making any actions. After a few seconds of no activity the quiz appears as a pop-up window, offering to help them find the right product.
— as a CTA button on the homepage (or elsewhere on the website) for those who want to ask for help.
— as a standalone landing page linked to ad campaigns. This option implies that we onboard new visitors using both the website quiz and a landing page quiz.
By onboarding clients with a quiz, we help them solve their immediate needs and collect contact details at the same time. The contact information allows us to nurture the relationship further and guide them toward making a purchase. It’s mutually beneficial.
7 steps: how to onboard new customers
Implement these eight steps into your onboarding process to ensure it’s smooth, engaging, and client-focused.
1. Offer quick and painless registration. A lengthy, complex form can frustrate new clients and drive them away before they even get started. Focus on collecting only essential information upfront, like an email or phone number, and save additional questions for later.
2. Send a friendly welcome message that sets clear expectations. Thank your client for choosing your product or service and let them know what they can expect next. Outline the steps they’ll go through during onboarding and highlight the key benefits they’ll gain along the way.
3. Gather information about the client, their business and tasks. Understanding your client’s needs is essential for delivering value. Use forms, surveys, or quizzes to collect relevant details, such as their goals, challenges, and preferences. The more you know about your client, the better you can tailor your recommendations.
4. Personalize your onboarding — at least use the client's name. Even small touches of personalization can make your onboarding process for new clients feel more friendly and approachable. It shows that you value the client as an individual, not just another user.
5. Focus on the customer when designing the onboarding flow. It should be designed with the client’s journey in mind — not just your internal processes or multiple product features. Map out the steps your client will take and ensure they align with their goals and expectations.
6. Offer value as quickly as possible. Show how your service or product will solve the new client’s tasks. Highlight the key features that address their needs right at the beginning.
7. Choose onboarding tools that are most effective for your product. Not every onboarding tool is suitable for every business. Choose elements that align with your product and audience. Read on to learn more about top onboarding tools and when to use them.
Top 8 onboarding tools
Depending on the complexity of the product or service, a business may need multiple tools to effectively onboard new customers. Below we’ll briefly describe 8 popular ones and their use cases.
1. Registration form
The customer’s goal is to use the product or service. A registration form on your website or app can feel like an obstacle on their journey, so it should be as simple and quick as possible.
Example: Marquiz’s two-step registration process:
When and how to use a registration form
Registration often is a bottleneck in the sales funnel of IT services, e-commerce platforms, or mobile apps. If the process is confusing or too lengthy, users may abandon it altogether. To avoid this, limit registration to just one or two steps, gathering only essential details. Additional information can be collected later as the customer interacts with your product or service.
2. Personalization
Personalized onboarding creates an individual sales funnel for each customer based on the data they share during the initial contact. At a basic level, this could mean addressing users by their first name. A more advanced example involves tailored suggestions, like specific niche templates, relevant articles or catalog sections based on their profile.
When and how to use personalization
Personalization helps to engage a user who is already warm to your product or service but needs an extra nudge to convert. For instance, you can ask for the new client’s name during registration and incorporate it into future communications.
Here’s how personalization works in a quiz. Learn more about setting it up
3. Onboarding screens
The main goal of onboarding screens is to guide new users through a complex product. These screens are like a short training course, showing how the features work and how your service or product can solve the customer’s problem.
For example, PayPal has a buy-now-pay-later service called “Pay in 3”. It has a dedicated webpage with onboarding screens that explain how exactly to use the service at checkout:
PayPal’s onboarding screens demonstrate how to use “Pay in 3” step-by-step
When and how to use onboarding screens
A new user may have no idea what to do after registration. Onboarding screens will help them by explaining and illustrating use cases.
If your product is complex or you have many users who are new to the subject, step-by-step onboarding screens guide them through the key steps in the correct order.
4. Interactive tips
Interactive tips pop up as users navigate your product, offering guidance where confusion is most likely. These can be triggered by hovering over a specific section or word, providing either brief hints or detailed explanations. Here’s an example: while a new user is building their first quiz, the Marquiz platform gives advice on how to choose questions:
Marquiz’s interactive tips appear when the cursor hovers over the trigger text
When and how to use interactive tips
Even if your product is easy-to-use, and its interface is intuitive, testing may reveal consistent bottlenecks. Text-based tips can be of great help when users explore the product on their own, but there are some tricky points that need clarification.
5. Video tutorials
Watching a step-by-step video can be far more engaging and effective than reading a text. For example, we have created a video tutorial for new users on how to build a quiz in just 10 minutes.
Our video tutorial: building a quiz from scratch for a Spanish language school
How and when to use video tutorials
IT products and services often require hands-on demonstration, and that’s where video tutorials come into play. You can create such videos for both newly registered customers and visitors who are exploring the subject. That’s why it’s essential to demonstrate just how easy it is to use your product.
6. Product courses
For multi-functional products or services, onboarding may require a series of educational courses. For example, Notion has a course for beginners where the basics are explained.
The course explains the foundations: how to navigate Notion, create and edit pages, add blocks, and more
How and when to use product courses
Just like video tutorials, a training course can be meant for both new users and those who’re just curious about your product. It’s important for this course to be available without registration — at least partially, so that a potential customer could get the gist of your product or service.
7. FAQ and documentation
The Frequently Asked Questions section proactively addresses user concerns during the initial product exploration stage. It also provides the necessary support during use, especially for complex platforms or multi-function services. It’s easier to find an answer to a question because it is already in the knowledge base.
Marquiz has built its knowledge base for over 7 years, regularly updating and expanding it
When and how to use FAQ and documentation
When customers repeatedly encounter the same issues, detailed instructions can be compiled into a searchable knowledge base. It allows users to find answers independently, using the search field or browsing the sections. Each user has their own problems and level of expertise, so sometimes it’s easier to start onboarding new clients based on their queries than to overwhelm them with complex topics.
8. Series of onboarding emails
Such emails are often called “email sequence” because they are delivered one by one — starting at the day of registration or a few days later. After that, the user gets regular onboarding emails during a certain time period. Usually the sequence starts with subscription confirmation and a welcome letter from the company, and further emails gradually unveil the features of your product or service.
A fragment of Marquiz's onboarding email sequence for new clients, based on their user behavior
When and where to use emails
This tool works well for services that aren't used on a daily basis. Such emails remind customers of your product if they haven’t done anything after registration. An email sequence provides small portions of information and works like onboarding screens, interactive tips and knowledge base — all at once.
You can set up your email sequence in different ways:
— Proactive onboarding, when emails guide the user through the product step by step.
— Reactive onboarding, when emails follow the user's significant actions on the service and encourage them to take the next step.
How to build a customer onboarding strategy
To do that, you need to answer five questions:
- Who is the client?
- What are their goals and tasks?
- What tools are we going to use?
- What steps can we eliminate to make onboarding easier?
- How to retain customers by conveying our values during the onboarding process?
But don’t rush to answer them right away. Let’s consider several examples first.
1. Identify your target customer
POV: you are about to embark on a long train or subway ride. Your smartphone’s battery is critically low: 🪫 5%. You must do something to stay online! Luckily, there is an automated powerbank rental kiosk nearby.
Time is ticking, so you try to register as fast as possible:
📱 You download an app and scan a QR code on the station. 🪫 3%
📱 The app tells you to enter your telephone number and confirm it via SMS.
📱 You enter your number, wait until you get an SMS, enter the code. 🪫 2%
📱 You enter the card details into the app. 🪫 1%
📱 You wait for an SMS for your bank to confirm the paym…💀
Of course, there are some people who never let their phones run out of battery. They take their own power bank or charger wherever they go. But in this particular situation we think about the target client — the type who often acts at the very last minute. They are always short of time, and that’s their pain point. In the context of phone charging, our service can make a difference in a critical situation.
Focus on the target audience’s needs and shape your onboarding process accordingly.
2. Find out what your client wants to accomplish
In the example above, the client needs to charge a phone immediately. Obviously, we want to make some money from this situation, but from a client’s point of view, the whole onboarding process should be aimed at quickly solving their problem. In other words, onboarding should be as short as possible, and in the end your company will get more profit from satisfied customers.
3. Define the tools to achieve the goal
In the phone charging example, the tools include a QR code, a mobile app, a rental kiosk and a powerbank. Keeping the target customer in mind, you may add one more tool: a short cable for a 5-minute charge right at the kiosk. As a result, users will have enough time to register and pay for the service. Customer loyalty will boost, and your investments in this feature will quickly pay off.
4. Eliminate unnecessary onboarding steps
Time is critical in our example. But in less pressing situations users won’t be happy either if you make them go through a lengthy and tedious procedure. Onboarding should guide users directly to their goal. If a phone number or an email is enough, remove other fields. If there are too many prompts, you need to simplify the interface. Otherwise, confused and frustrated clients may eventually prefer your competitors with faster onboarding.
5. Add value to the first user experience
The first contact with your product or service should pave the way for smoother interactions in the future. The rules must be explained clearly at the very beginning, and after that the user gets a convenient tool to complete their tasks. No vague terms or potentially controversial situations. Nothing should become an obstacle on the client’s way to their goal.
Here’s one of the key objectives of the onboarding process: to make a product or a service valuable for the customer.
Conclusion
Client onboarding is not a special feature for complex platforms that make anyone feel confused. Even simple and intuitive products can greatly benefit from a smooth, thoughtful onboarding process. Try quizzes as an engaging and effective tool for customer onboarding: you can build one for free and test its functionality without any limits.
