How to fix onboarding,

keep customers,

and get more from

your marketing dollars

Premachurn

pre•ma•churn \

pre•MA•churn \ N.

The loss of brand-new

customers, acquired by

successful marketing, before

they are even fully onboarded.

pre•ma•churn \

pre•MA•churn \ N.

When consumer products

are sampled or purchased but

remain unused by the people who

buy them, because they don’t

understand how to use them.

pre•ma•churn \

pre•MA•churn \ N.

When consumers sign up for

a financial product, but then

don’t use it because they don’t

activate their new account.

pre•ma•churn \

pre•MA•churn \ N.

When apps are downloaded

but are then rarely used because

the user wasn’t supported in

becoming a regular and habitual

user of the service.

Premachurncosts

businesses

$

$1B revenue

company

5.5%revenue

spent on

acquisition

marketing

10%acquired

customers

fail to make

it through

onboarding

$550,000marketing spend

lost annually

The lost marketing budget

*Source: Focus B2B Marketing Budget Gains On Business Outcomes To Succeed In 2014, Forrester, January 2014 (forrester.com); B2C Marketers Must Turn Fragmented Marketing Budgets Into Business Budgets, Forrester, December 2013 (forrester.com)

The missed opportunity

$1B revenue

company

80%revenues are

post initial

sale

10%acquired

customers

fail to make it

through

onboarding

$90M

of potential revenue

is lost annually

*Source: Focus B2B Marketing Budget Gains On Business Outcomes To Succeed In 2014, Forrester, January 2014 (forrester.com); B2C Marketers Must Turn Fragmented Marketing Budgets Into Business Budgets, Forrester, December 2013 (forrester.com)

Why it’s about marketing

The steps to treat premachurn

THE CAUSES OF PREMACHURN

• Three specialized roles in

creation of customer interactions

• Brand experience is responsible for ensuring

the brand is distinct and identifiable

• Customer experience focuses

on creating positive human interactions

• User experience creates

well designed functional interactions

Brand

experience

Customer

experience

User

experience

A lack of integration

between key roles

• Onboarding seen as functional

• The exclusive preserve of operations

and/or user experience teams

• Interaction with brand and customer

experience teams minimal

Onboarding is often siloed

User

experience

Brand

experience

Customer

experience

In the eyes of the customer,

brand experience, customer

experience and user experience

are the same

The causes of premachurn

The steps to treat premachurn

WHY IT’S ABOUT MARKETING

Where is the premachurnin your company?

Are there patients

who fail to adopt new

treatment regimens or

healthcare aids?

Are there new products

purchased but not

used by

the consumer?

Are clients signing

up but failing to fund

their account?

Are apps and programs

being downloaded but

not used?

Premachurnhurts marketing

It loses the

potential

lifetime value

of customers

It costs

marketing

budget

2

It damages the

reputation of

marketing

31

Marketers have the skills to fix premachurn

Marketers

understand

the brand

Marketers

understand

the customer

journey

Marketers take

a longer view of

acquisition

2 31

The causes of premachurn

Why it’s about marketing

THE STEPS TO TREAT PREMACHURN

8 steps organizations can take to treat premachurn

1.

Define where

onboarding

begins and ends

2.

Map the journey

and current

experience

3.

Map the ideal

experience

4.

Plan your

content

5.

Build internal

stakeholder

support

6.

Prototype,

test, refine

7.

Implement

8.

Measure

and adjust

For an enterprise IT sale, this might be where

sales takes over responsibility for a prospect

For a consumer packaged good, this might be

when the product is sampled or in-store at shelf

For a discount brokerage, this might be when

the customer has made a first transaction

For a media organization, this might be when

a customer has purchased a subscription

The beginning

The end

1.

Define where onboarding begins and ends

Between the beginning and the end, map every touchpoint:

• What channel?

• What happens?

• What happens when things go well?

• What happens when things do not go well?

• How does the customer feel?

Touchpoint

1Touchpoint

2Touchpoint

3Touchpoint

4Touchpoint

5

2.

Map the journey and current experience

• Focus on the ideal rather than the possible

• Create a rallying cry for a better brand and customer

experience during onboarding

• Co-create the experience with customers

3.

Map the ideal experience

• Identify the kind of content required

• For each touchpoint consider the

customer’s ability to complete the task

and their motivation to complete the task

• Different content types will be more

suited to different customer interactions

4.

Plan your content

*Source: BJ Fogg, Ph.D., Persuasive Technology Lab, Stanford

University (behaviormodel.org)

• The route to fixing premachurn does not require

an enterprise-wide transformation initiative

• Even so, the project will lead to multiple

stakeholder engagements

• Be sure to consider those stakeholders’ perspectives,

their likely concerns, and potential motivations

• Involve stakeholders at every step of the project

to build understanding and support

5.

Build internal stakeholder support

• Test the new onboarding experience

with customers before you implement

• Testing doesn’t require a fully built experience

• Create a prototype, frame the experience in

as much detail as possible

• Refine experience based on results

6.

Prototype, test, refine

7.

Implement

• Prioritize action areas

• Focus on the most critical

moments of the journey

• Outline and schedule resources

• Develop a clear, tightly defined brief

for each item

8.

Measure and adjust

• Track progress of onboarding customers

• Once implemented some parts will work well,

others less well

• New and unexpected barriers may appear

• Develop new strategies and approaches

to reach those still stuck

• Calculate the increased revenues and cost

savings of the new onboarding process

Capture the

lifetime value

of customers

Optimize

marketing

budget

efficiency

Enhance the

reputation of

marketing for

delivering

business value

The outcome of treating premachurn?

2 31

Ariad Communications

www.ariad.ca

P.O. Box 500, Station A

Suite 7C100

Toronto, Ontario M5V 3G7

tel 416-971-9294 | fax 416-971-9292

Mark Michaud

SVP Strategy & Research, Ariad Communications

mmichaud@ariad.ca

@michaudmark

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