Propel23

2023 Customer onboarding - Myths and trends

At Propel23, Rocky Dsouza debunks the myths and trends around customer onboarding in 2023.
April 24, 2023
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Sivaprakash

Further reading

  1. Propel23 recordings
  2. The Launch Station - A podcast for all things customer onboarding
  3. Customer onboarding resources from Rocketlane
  4. Here’s a guide to perfecting the high-touch customer onboarding experience
  5. Check out The State of Customer Onboarding 2023 report to learn the latest trends and common challenges in the customer onboarding space

With over 18 years of professional and customer service experience, Rocky Dsouza is passionate about seeing customers succeed in their business goals and using technology tools to do so. He enjoys setting up new CSM practices and is currently a Senior Practice Director at Netomi, navigating the AI conversation world.

At Propel23, Rocky debunked the myths and trends around customer onboarding in 2023. In his session, he talked about:

  • Customer onboarding as a function and what it means
  • Customer onboarding myths
  • Customer onboarding trends in 2023

What is customer onboarding?

Many definitions talk about getting users comfortable with the product, getting customers to value, and building relationships. While all of them are right, the definition by Wayne McCulloch in the book 'The Seven Pillars of Customer Success' best encompasses all these points.

It describes onboarding as jointly defining a customer success plan and proactively guiding a customer to achieve value in the fastest possible time.

Implementing the product alone does not necessarily equate to success for the customer. Real success is when they've achieved the business value they wanted from your product or service.  This makes crafting a success plan with your customer incredibly important.

So, to provide the best onboarding experience, you need to work with customers to define what success means to them and the value they are looking to achieve. – and do that as quickly as possible.

Debunking customer onboarding myths

Myth #1: Customer Success Managers or Onboarding Managers are the only ones responsible for onboarding

Customer onboarding is more of  a collective responsibility, though it might be a role for CSMs or Onboarding Managers, on paper. You cannot have one person or one group be responsible for it simply because every interaction with the customer – say even sending an email during the sales cycle – contributes to their onboarding experience.

Myth #2: Customer onboarding starts when a customer starts using the tool

Customer onboarding starts with your very first interaction with customers - be it sharing documents or requirements, or your welcome video. That’s why it is best to keep any materials provided to the customer simple and straightforward. You don’t want to overwhelm them with too much information and wreck their onboarding experience.

Myth #3: Customer onboarding is the same as implementation

Implementation is usually focused on the technical aspects of the product that’s being set up. Onboarding is more than just that. It’s about helping customers achieve value from the product.

Myth #4: Customer onboarding is the same as adoption

Onboarding is a finite process that usually has a defined timeline. It ends when your customer has achieved the value you promised them. This might overlap with the adoption period, but onboarding is bound by specific steps and time frames. The adoption journey with your customer is ongoing but usually follows the completion of onboarding.

It's important to set expectations from the start so everyone knows when onboarding is complete. 

Myth #5: Customer onboarding is needed for new customers only

Another common misconception is that onboarding only needs to be done only once for new customers. This isn’t true. Customers may have various departments within their organization using the same product and same setup, but with different business values or goals. So, it’s important to recognize that onboarding isn't necessarily a one-time job for new customers.

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Shuvedha Subramaniam
Shuvedha Subramaniam
Marketing @ Rocketlane
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