Five Steps to an All-Star New Client Onboarding

The contract is signed and you’ve just landed a new client. Let the drinks pour and then let the onboarding begin. Onboarding can sometimes be a challenge for agencies. Things will go wrong. Information may slip through the cracks. But as our onboarding adventures have taught us you can at least be prepared with a plan in place. Below is our approach to onboarding and some key checkmarks to get new business off the ground and running.
1. Access to prior knowledge.

This includes everything from platform credentials and previous reports to brand guidelines and work streams… the list goes on. Institutional knowledge is a key component in developing your strategy going forward. Ask the client to throw anything and everything at you.
2. An internal deep dive.

Once you have as many resources as you can, dig into every little detail. Ask a lot of questions. This will give you a good baseline for what is currently going on, where performance is currently at and more importantly, where you can take the brand from here. Look for quick wins to capitalize on and then decide what the long-term picture is and how you will measure success.
3. Take care of the technical stuff.

Gain access to ad accounts. Do a pixel audit and build out any pixels you will need moving forward. Confirm that all of the correct tracking is in place. What is the main source of truth for the client and is everything set-up to pass back data accordingly? Do you have access to the product feed and any applicable client data for targeting purposes? Paying close attention to these details will save you from a lot of headache and data caveats later down the line. Clients sometimes want to rush through this, but this generally takes the most time and is one of the most important onboarding steps. And at the end of the day you want to get credit for all the awesome programs you are running, right?
4. Give good advice.

Are there tools that will help expedite the client’s workflow? Or even your workflow as an agency? Are there tools that will give more meaningful insights based on the client’s business objectives? Review anything they are currently using and make thoughtful recommendations on any tool partnerships that would be worthwhile to invest in.
5. Hit the ground running.

With all of the background work and set-up in place, hit the ground running full-speed ahead. Launch campaigns with careful attention to detail and get your client excited by sharing as many preliminary results as you can. Clients love to know things are live and better yet that they are working well, and that conversation doesn’t have to wait for your first status call.