Congratulations, you've won over a new customer! But what happens in the next 90 days is crucial to whether they stick around.
The first three months of any new relationship are vital:
- A president has 90 days to inspire and gain political capital.
- A young team prospect has a short time to impress their coach.
- A new CEO has a limited window to prove their leadership abilities.
Now, apply this concept to your business. In the first 90 days of a customer relationship, you have a make-or-break opportunity. Research shows that effectively onboarding a customer within this timeframe can increase their lifetime value by up to 300 percent for some companies.
Let's take a look at Constant Contact, a marketing software provider. They used to struggle with the initial 90-day period of a new customer relationship. Their old onboarding process focused on the "who, what, when" approach, which caused frustrations and high customer churn rates.
To combat this, Constant Contact made a simple shift in their onboarding flow. They prioritized the "what" stage, encouraging new users to create their first email campaign immediately after signing up. Customers saw their campaign come to life and experienced the professional image their company could portray. Only after completing this stage did Constant Contact introduce the "who" part of creating a campaign, and by then, they had built enough trust and relationship equity to overcome any hurdles.
This small adjustment resulted in a significant reduction in customer churn, a critical factor for any subscription-based business.
Remember, whether you're in a subscription or transaction-based business, how you treat your customers in the first 90 days greatly impacts their overall satisfaction.
To your success,
