5 lessons learnt onboarding Webflow clients (that I wish I knew when I started Webflow)

I've messed up so many client onboardings I firmly believe if the onboarding is smooth, the project is far more likely to be smooth5 lessons learnt onboarding Webflow clients (that I wish I knew when I started Webflow)

‍

1) Communication channel 📣

I used to ask how the client wanted to communicate - slack or email, how often they wanted calls etc.Now, I think it's critical that the client fits in with your systems and processes

‍

Too much variation = balls are droppedSomething I learnt from Arnau Ros is about setting up a dedicated Slack channel and inviting everyone to it is helpful.This means no messages are lost or not sent to people.

‍

Everyone receives info from the get goAlso, pinning a single gmeet call to top of channel is handyThis starts at onboarding

‍

2) Get those calls booked! 📞

Regular calls help keep project aligned but if the key decision makers aren't on those calls, things get messy

‍

Decision makers are busy people and booking in their time early means that they can be on the important calls

‍

Strong recommendation for SavvyCal here

‍

Clients can overlay their calendar over yours to avoid awkwardness and subsequent re-booking hell+You can create polls where everyone can indicate their availability

‍

Easy as pie - try here

‍

‍3) Organisation Hub 🗞

‍

At Macu Studio, we put all the information on a Notion page

‍

‍

This has all the crucial information for the project right at our fingertipsWe collect all the assets here which means everything we see the client sees for transparency

‍

4) Gantt Chart 📈

Possibly the most important part of this is the gant chart - we adjust every time this changes eg. if the client delays getting feedback in a reasonable time, the timeline changes.We explain this to the client at the start to show that actions have consequences!

‍

5) Over communicate at the start of the project (and throughout) 👍

If you anticipate all their questions before they ask them, they will feel that their in good hands and won't feel anxious about what's happening or process

‍

Some agencies even have a client handbook!If you are your client's biggest fan and ally at the start of the project, they are far more likely to trust your creative decision making process along the way.

‍

When people complain about clientzilla's, it might partly be that they are just straight up clientzilla's but I also think sometimes a Webflower might unintentionally make them so...

‍

If you found this helpful, let me know