What is High Touch Onboarding

What is High Touch Onboarding?

There are two ways to deliver onboarding in B2B SaaS, low-touch onboarding and high-touch onboarding.

Low touch onboarding is as it sounds - a low number of interactions with the customer, there might be a CSM/CEM in charge of the account but their input won’t be more than sending a few links/recordings here and there, and probably answering a few emails/questions as this type of onboarding is intended to mainly be self-serve and will apply to lowered tier/longtail accounts and also to PLG products.

Whereas high touch customer onboarding for SaaS, the CSM is highly involved in the process and the main goal of such onboarding is not only to onboard the customer and train them how to use the product, but also to customize it as much as possible to the customer’s needs and expectations in order to reduce the Time to Value and ensure they achieve their Desired Outcome.

Why is High Touch Onboarding essential?

High touch SaaS onboarding is essential for companies that have a “Service Led Growth” product since a customer wouldn’t be able to achieve (the same type of) success on their own or even with a low-touch approach.

With a high touch customer experience, the CSM can ensure the onboarding is as customized as possible to what the customer needs and reduce the time-to-value, while also developing a strong relationship with the customer in order to build trust and minimize any kind of frustrations if the product/feature doesn’t work as expected.

What are the risks of not having High Touch Onboarding?

If your product requires proper high-touch onboarding and you don’t have something defined, it is the equivalent of giving a rocket ship to a pilot without a manual and training on how to fly it properly - so we can imagine how severe the risks are.

From a customer’s perspective, without proper CSM guidance and strategy, it would be almost impossible to get any value out of the product let alone, make sure that you have integrated the product properly and that you are maximizing its usage.

How should you define High Touch Onboarding?

Before understanding how we should define high-touch onboarding, we need to understand the following points.

Product Complexity

How hard is it to integrate the product properly?
How much and what type of training is needed in order to maximize its usage and value?

Product’s Value Propositions

What challenges and pain points does the product solve?
How can it add value to your customer?
Does it fit with what your customer is looking for?

Onboarding Journey

How can the CSM customize the onboarding process?
What is the quickest way the CSM can show value to the customer?
What should be included in the onboarding?
What goals should be achieved in the onboarding?

Why Customer Interface Value is Critical in High Touch Onboarding

The value of a customer interface in high-touch onboarding cannot be overstated. A well-designed customer interface serves as the foundation for an engaging, intuitive, and effective onboarding experience. Here's why:

Enhanced Personalization: High-touch onboarding thrives on customization. A flexible and adaptive customer interface allows CSMs to tailor the onboarding experience to the unique needs of each customer, ensuring that training, setup, and early use cases are directly aligned with their goals and expectations. This level of personalization accelerates the time to value and enhances the perceived relevance of the product to the customer's business processes.
Effective Communication: A robust customer interface facilitates seamless communication between CSMs and customers. Features like direct messaging, video calls, and shared dashboards enable continuous dialogue, immediate feedback, and collaborative problem-solving. This open line of communication is essential for building trust, addressing concerns promptly, and ensuring that the customer feels supported throughout the onboarding process.
Streamlined Process: High-touch onboarding involves numerous steps, from initial setup and training to integration and advanced feature utilization. A customer interface that is intuitive and user-friendly simplifies these processes, making it easier for customers to follow along, understand the product's capabilities, and apply what they've learned. This streamlining reduces frustration and fosters a more positive onboarding experience.
Data-Driven Insights: An advanced customer interface can provide CSMs and customers with real-time insights into usage patterns, progress towards goals, and areas needing attention. These insights allow for data-driven adjustments to the onboarding plan, ensuring that efforts are focused on areas of greatest impact and that customers are progressing towards achieving their desired outcomes.
Scalability: While high-touch onboarding is inherently personalized, a well-designed customer interface can introduce elements of scalability. Automated features, such as guided walkthroughs, tailored content delivery, and milestone tracking, can complement direct CSM interactions, allowing for efficient resource allocation without compromising the quality of the onboarding experience.

In conclusion, the customer interface plays a pivotal role in high-touch onboarding by enhancing personalization, facilitating effective communication, streamlining the onboarding process, providing data-driven insights, and enabling scalability. By investing in a high-quality customer interface, SaaS companies can ensure that their high-touch onboarding process not only meets but exceeds customer expectations, leading to higher satisfaction, reduced churn, and increased long-term customer loyalty.