Business is unpredictable. However reliable and well-honed our models and pipelines, the potential for plot twists is never far away. Client-based businesses can still take proactive measures to ensure a more secure future. One of the best ways to guarantee a more dependable sense of security? A focus on high levels of client retention.
When it comes to profitability, LTV and ROI, retention tends to trump acquisition. The effort invested in seeking out and securing new clients can feel like a risky expenditure. Of course, some acquisition is necessary for the growth of your business, but the relationships are new and untested…
By pairing the active courting of new clients with a practical plan to keep those who are already doing business with you onboard, you can achieve a better balance. This article will explore five ways that onboarding (and ongoing client management) procedures can help keep your clients sticky, positively impacting their long-term engagement and satisfaction.
Seamless Onboarding For Client Engagement
In order to retain a client, you will, of course, have to get them across the line in the first instance. As you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression, lean heavily on onboarding software that helps maintain momentum.
A streamlined and well-designed onboarding process gets you to value faster, reducing the chance of aborted deals. Setting up automated flows to manage deal progression helps ensure that all necessary information is collected promptly – no last-minute scramble to keep a client from jumping ship.
MyDocSafe’s survey feature also gives you the opportunity to learn more about your clients’ experience in advance of their renewal date, allowing ample time to address and resolve any pain points that may have developed unnoticed.
A Single Source Of Truth
Start as you mean to go on. A solid onboarding experience sets your clients up for success, increasing the likelihood of their retention. A secure and seamless onboarding process allows for clear communication and accessibility for all files and documents.
When designing your onboarding flows, one of the most critical factors is giving dependable access to the tools needed to get the maximum results from your service. This includes easy access to documentation and a straightforward, dependable and secure way of communicating their wishes.
MyDocSafe can help to provide this with dedicated, fully-branded client portals, easily created ahead of the onboarding process to contain everything a client needs to learn about and effectively manage their account. No frustration, more efficiency – it’s easy to get sign-off, permission or feedback as they enjoy one “single source of truth” for communication, information and more.
Keeping Things Convenient For Ongoing Client Retention
A seamless onboarding system can also be used to remove any obstacles from the actual act of renewal. It keeps the process convenient and shows respect for your client’s valuable time. By removing all friction from the renewal process, your clients are able to easily refresh their contract and continue enjoying your services, free of interruption.
How can this be achieved? By working with a system like MyDocSafe, which makes it simple to ask your client for the information that you absolutely require to update and refresh their contract – and nothing more.
Offering a solution with single sign-on can also help to reduce friction when it comes to renewing contracts. This ensures that your clients can easily access everything they need to complete onboarding, transactions or renewal related tasks, without having to remember multiple account details and passwords.
A key benefit of MyDocSafe is the fact that renewal forms can be prefilled. This ensures that there’s no need to place unnecessary burden on your clients, especially when it comes to the more taxing elements of contracting, such as risk assessment.
Quickly establish what’s needed from your clients to renew their contract and only ask for what you require without protracted back and forth communication. A convenient renewal process reduces the stress for both parties and encourages higher client retention, with a painless and less disruptive process.
Showing Attention To Detail
While you want to keep things convenient for your client, it’s still important to demonstrate that you’re putting in the hard work to keep things running smoothly behind the scenes. Working with a system like MyDocSafe gives you the perfect opportunity to show that you’re paying attention to detail.
Take the opportunity to leverage surveys and eforms to quickly learn about any changes in circumstance that might impact the data you need to collect. For example, a client may have become more politically exposed since they started working with your wealth management agency – if this wasn’t picked up in an official capacity, would it be noted and reflected appropriately within their renewal?
Anecdotally, annual checks into changing status and circumstances that might impact the levels of service required are often neglected when accounts automatically renew. By building in measures to ensure you’re double-checking this information, you show your client that you care about delivering a service that remains relevant and which meets all of their requirements. Reassurance of this nature breeds loyalty
A Dependable Paper Trail
One of the most significant benefits of having a high-quality onboarding process is the establishment of a reliable and clear paper trail for all parties involved. Of course, this is especially important within highly regulated industries, but across all sectors it should provide a reassuring demonstration of the care and attention your business assigns to its clients.
Another benefit of MyDocSafe is the ability to automate the chain of command approval, giving your client (and internal team) a clear view of all necessary authorisations and signatures as procedures are advanced.
Client portals ensure that information is easily retrieved and securely stored. This makes questions around renewal easy to respond to, and the longer a client remains active with your business, the more valuable a resource this collection of information becomes.
Having a reliable paper trail covers the bases of your business and clients alike. Your clients will appreciate your transparency and organisation when it comes to documentation, giving them another great reason to stay loyal.
Achieve Higher Client Retention And Engagement
Client retention should be a top priority for any account-based business. A solid onboarding process sets the foundation for a dependable and successful client relationship that can be maintained, managed and retained over time.
MyDocSafe streamlines documentation practices to keep happier, more loyal clients – and a more efficient and cooperative internal team.
Maintaining momentum, a single source of truth, a strong paper trail, convenience and attention to detail are the major components that will continually serve your business and clients alike. Improving your performance in these areas will ensure higher retention, better relationships and a dependable reputation that precedes your business.
