Your plan is in motion, and you’re officially converting leads into committed clients. This means that your marketing plan has officially succeeded, right?

Not quite. While successfully making the sale is undoubtedly one of the most difficult steps of the customer lifecycle, it is not the end of the marketing process. It shouldn’t be, at least.

While many business leaders focus their marketing efforts on what occurs before prospects sign on the dotted line, an effective marketing strategy extends beyond the prospect’s perception before committing to the sale, or engaging in the partnership.

Rather, an effective marketing strategy also extends internally, addressing a client’s experience inside the company. Today, we’ll share a few aspects of internal marketing that many business leaders overlook.

Onboarding new clients

Onboarding is the beginning of the official customer-brand relationship. As such, it is also one of the most crucial times to leave a lasting impression and build loyalty and confidence.

As soon as a client begins working with your brand, how do you engage with them? What process does your team go through with new customers?

Every onboarding process is different, depending on the nature of your company. Regardless, your process must be streamlined to be consistently effective.

Establishing SOPs (standard operating procedures) for bringing new clients onboard is key to maintaining the messaging you’ve worked so hard to market to your new customers.

First, you must determine your internal team workflow for onboarding clients. But beyond how you and your team get up to speed, you must make a plan for when, what, and how to lay the groundwork for your clients.

Here are a few aspects to address from the get-go:

• How and when clients will be billed

• What clients can expect in terms of communications

• Who the brand’s point of contact is, should questions or concerns arise

• What the goals are within the partnership

In the eyes of your clients, no message IS a message, but certainly not a good one. If you don’t take the time to engage with your clients from the start, confusion will arise, which will taint your brand image and lessen the chance of client retention.

On the other hand, an organized process will remind clients why they were so excited to start working with you and keep them energized throughout their journey.

Customer experience

Setting expectations is still only the start, though. Once you’ve laid out the road ahead for your new clients, follow-through is critical to the customer experience. After all, no matter what you communicate to your clients in words, actions speak louder.

In a recent article, we discussed why employees can make-or-break internal marketing, depending on how well they represent brand values.

But brand vision alone isn’t enough — it must be met with action and execution. Not only must employees reflect brand values; they must also know how to respond to customers on a daily basis. This means training employees on the standard operating procedures you’ve established and addressing any implementation gaps that may arise.

Setting expectations is still only the start, though. Once you’ve laid out the road ahead for your new clients, follow-through is critical to the customer experience. After all, no matter what you communicate to your clients in words, actions speak louder.

In a recent article, we discussed why employees can make-or-break internal marketing, depending on how well they represent brand values.

But brand vision alone isn’t enough — it must be met with action and execution. Not only must employees reflect brand values; they must also know how to respond to customers on a daily basis. This means training employees on the standard operating procedures you’ve established and addressing any implementation gaps that may arise.

Brand education

Do your clients know the breadth of what your company offers, or only the services you are currently providing to them?

At CRAFT, we have conducted numerous customer surveys for our clients. In doing so, we’ve found a trend: more often than not, customers don’t know your full range of offerings. Instead, they are categorized into one subset of the company, with little to no crossover.

Imagine how many opportunities are lost, simply because your clients don’t know they exist!

As you onboard your clients, ensure that you are equipping them with a full understanding of your brand. This will allow them to become true brand ambassadors, as well as open them up to other ways you can help them, whether now or down the line.

All in all, the message is this: don’t let your marketing stop at the moment of customer acquisition. Rather, utilize the customer journey ahead — from onboarding to service and beyond — to weave your marketing efforts all the way through your process.