First impressions go a long way—especially when it comes to ecommerce. If you’ve caught people’s attention enough for them to actually buy a product, book a service, or sign up for your newsletter, now you’re in critical territory called customer onboarding. 

Learn how to have a strong customer onboarding process with these best practices and tips that will help encourage brand loyalty, repeat sales, and productive customer lifetime value.

What is customer onboarding? 

Customer onboarding is the process of introducing new customers to your product or service and educating them about how it works. It’s most common for software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies, but it can also be useful for retail brands—especially if the products you sell require specialized knowledge to use. The customer onboarding process usually includes email list sign-up or account creation, a welcome email, and educational resources such as tutorial videos, FAQ, and blogs.

The three stages of customer onboarding are generally the welcome stage, the education and training stage, and the adoption or repeat purchase stage. In the welcome stage, the goal is to establish a positive first impression and align expectations. In the education and training phase, customers learn how to use the product or service. And finally, customers enter the adoption or repeat purchase phase, where they continually use the product or make additional purchases. Customers who feel supported throughout onboarding are teed up to become loyal, long-term customers—and potentially even brand advocates. 

Steps in the customer onboarding process

1. Simplify sign-up
2. Send an effective welcome email
3. Check in and provide support
4. Continue to educate them on your products
5. Track customer onboarding metrics

Successful onboarding systems typically start with simple sign-ups and a good grasp of email marketing. Here’s where to start:

1. Simplify sign-up

To set yourself up for customer onboarding success, ensure your account or email list sign-up process is short and straightforward. Make it easy for people to sign up for an account right when they order. For example, you might use Shop Pay, which makes it easy to capture customer emails at checkout. 

2. Send an effective welcome email

According to Klaviyo’s 2025 email benchmarks report, the average open rate for welcome emails is 51%, making them a key brand opportunity. Here are best practices to consider for your welcome email:

• Send it right away. Set up your welcome email automation to send immediately after sign-up.

• Lead with authentic appreciation. Give your customers a warm welcome, and be sure that this first communication reinforces your brand voice. 

• Provide helpful resources. Include a high-level overview of your product or service, next steps for using your product or service, a personal note from the founder, social proof, or product FAQ. 

• Include a CTA. Your welcome email can draw your new customer back to your website with a call to action (CTA). You might encourage them to explore complementary products or read a blog post that explains how to make the most of their purchase.

Sparkling drink brand wildwonder uses its welcome email as an opportunity to share eye-catching product photography, a discount code, and mocktail recipes. This email serves as part of the onboarding process by encouraging customers to make wildwonder a part of their routine. The exclusive deals encourage repeat purchases, and the recipes inspire creative ways to serve the beverage.

3. Check in and provide support 

After a customer buys your product or service, continued email communications provide support aimed at improving customer retention. The goal is to keep customer engagement high, prolonging the relationship and increasing customer lifetime value. To systematize this part of the onboarding process, use automated marketing tools like Shopify Email to reach customers at critical stages of their journey—and catch them before they churn.

For example, hair care company Hinu sends an email that offers “Simple ways to avoid hair breakage,” providing customers with valuable information to guide how they use Hinu products. 

If you sell products like consumer packaged goods (CPG) that need to be reordered regularly, you can send reminder emails when it’s time to restock. If you sell services, you might send an automated email after a usage milestone to offer your site’s knowledge base as a resource.

As you gather data and get to know your customers better, a little personalization can go a long way in making them feel a part of your community. Addressing emails to the customer, personalizing subject lines, and setting up content personalization can all make the onboarding process uniquely tailored.

4. Continue to educate them on your products 

A customer can purchase your product and feel supported by your team, but if they don’t understand how to use it (or appreciate its full value), they’re a churn risk. Pay attention to queries your customer support team is getting from new customers, and make sure you have feedback loops in place to address complaints.

5. Track customer onboarding metrics

As you roll out your customer onboarding process, it’s important to nail down what key performance indicators (KPIs) you’ll track to measure successful onboarding. Keeping an eye on the data will help you identify stages where customers drop off, which lets you create a more consistent, more enticing customer journey. These KPIS might include:

• Onboarding completion rate. The percentage of customers who complete the onboarding process (as defined by your brand). 

• Customer churn rate. The percentage of customers who cancel their service or cease purchasing your products. 

• Retention rate. The percentage of customers who continue to use your product or service over a defined period after onboarding.

• Net Promoter Score. A metric from customer surveys that measures loyalty and likelihood to recommend the product.