Donna Weber’s new book Onboarding Matters is a comprehensive, overtly detailed walkthrough of the umbrella term and everything it entails, aided by Weber’s own, veteran experience with implementing such strategy for startups and established business enterprises across the country。 As she expertly articulates within Onboarding Matters’ pages, it’s clear the titular philosophical steps are part of the greater fabric of post-modernist principles concerning leadership, industry, and consumerism。 The Donna Weber’s new book Onboarding Matters is a comprehensive, overtly detailed walkthrough of the umbrella term and everything it entails, aided by Weber’s own, veteran experience with implementing such strategy for startups and established business enterprises across the country。 As she expertly articulates within Onboarding Matters’ pages, it’s clear the titular philosophical steps are part of the greater fabric of post-modernist principles concerning leadership, industry, and consumerism。 There’s been something of a paradigm shift in roughly the last ten years, a complete and total overhaul of traditionalist pragmatic strategy into something arguably more wholesome and, statistically speaking, more effective in a post-economic crisis landscape。 Considering the massive sociopolitical, socioeconomic, and cultural shifts in public perception regarding the American corporation, accompanied by the acute and seismic strides in technological innovation, Weber’s promotion of ‘Customer Onboarding’ proves itself more than a necessity。 Take into account the chameleonic fluctuations and emergences of unexpected competition, the question lucratively-speaking becoming divided between not just superior quality of product, but simultaneously superior longevity of said product。 Add to that the various, intrapsychic building blocks that can predict consumer purchase choice and one finds themselves desperately in need of an elaborate schemata for all the information。 Weber provides this courtesy of her new book, complete with three, extensive breakdowns of chapter information, with sixteen total chapters overall。One of the chapters I would single out as the spine of the book’s contents is the tenth, entitled Design Thinking Principles。 “While some companies jump on the Customer Success bandwagon with amazing speed, most ignore their customers,” Weber writes。 “It seems many teams are too busy planning and managing to consider their customers。 The problem is you can’t innovate without understanding your customers。 Listening and empathizing, or using design thinking, are essential principles of the Orchestrated Onboarding framework, that will put you on the fast track to improving your company, selling your products, and to leading your customers to successful outcomes。” Sandwiched between two of the beginning paragraphs, like some sort of formalized branding, are the words: ‘Whoever understands the customer best, wins’。 Breaking down design thinking, the tenets Weber highlights are the following: Implement, Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and ultimately Test。 What makes the formulas she showcases so effective is the almost mathematical, scientific method-like precision。 The systematic breaking down of steps, articulated in clear, concise labelling that anyone can fully comprehend。 The result makes the christened ‘Design Thinking Principles’ seemingly undeniable in their effectiveness, as statistically they have proven effective as much as they are synonymous with the building blocks of the old-fashioned, colloquial ‘common sense’。 If not the premier corporate strategy guide, Donna Weber’s Onboarding Matters is definitely one of them。 It’s concise and straight-shooting with the critical information it provides… 。。。more
Chris,
Weber’s Onboarding Matters provides a clear step-by-step process of how to successfully onboard new clients。 As she states, onboarding is the most crucial step to build strong and successful relationships, and I couldn’t agree more。 Lower engagement, missed milestones, and longer time to value on specific metrics, just to cite a few points, can be linked to poor onboarding, which in turn leads to churn。The author introduces six essential stages for successful onboarding。 However, given that cust Weber’s Onboarding Matters provides a clear step-by-step process of how to successfully onboard new clients。 As she states, onboarding is the most crucial step to build strong and successful relationships, and I couldn’t agree more。 Lower engagement, missed milestones, and longer time to value on specific metrics, just to cite a few points, can be linked to poor onboarding, which in turn leads to churn。The author introduces six essential stages for successful onboarding。 However, given that customer success can look quite different from industry to industry and business to business, not all of the actionable points need to be implemented。 Different teams can incorporate and marry different actions that presently exist in their org。And in order to do this, the author poses critical thinking questions and steps for further action at the end of each chapter。 She pushes for critical thinking and discussions, which in turn provide a clear direction for the teams to take。 Even when the answer and next steps seem clear, the questions / action points are a shortcut to success based on the accumulated knowledge, experience, and trial and error of the various trainings conducted by the author。In short, if customers are not wildly successful, they will opt for other solutions when it comes time to renew。 Best practices with onboarding provide a greater surety that that this does not occur。 。。。more