Did you know that 86% of customers say they’d stick with a company that provides a great onboarding experience? That’s a huge number—and it makes sense. How you initially welcome and guide your customers can set the tone for your relationship.
I believe customer onboarding can be seen as a first meeting. You want to make a good impression, answer their questions, and ensure they feel confident moving forward. But there’s a catch—how do you know if your onboarding process is really working?
That’s where a customer onboarding survey comes in.
Asking the right questions at the right moments helps you better understand how your customers feel about their onboarding experience, what’s working, and what needs improvement. In this blog post, we’ll explore the key questions to include in your survey to help you create an onboarding process that resonates with your customers.
What Is a Customer Onboarding Survey?
A customer onboarding survey is a simple yet powerful way for businesses to gather feedback from new customers during initial interactions with a product or service. It’s a chance to understand what worked, what didn’t, and where improvements can be made. Think of it as a quick check-in that helps ensure your customers feel supported and confident.
Why Do Customer Onboarding Surveys Matter?
Customer onboarding surveys help you figure out if your onboarding process is meeting expectations and where things might need a little tweaking. Without this insight, it’s easy to miss minor issues that could lead to frustration or even cause customers to leave early on.
These surveys also give you a better idea of your customer’s unique needs. Not everyone comes in with the same goals or experience level, and onboarding surveys help you adapt your approach to ensure everyone feels supported. They’re a way to make onboarding work for all kinds of users, no matter their background or goals.
Most importantly, seeking feedback during onboarding shows your customers that their opinions are valued. This small action can make a big difference in building trust and laying the foundation for a lasting relationship.
10 Benefits of Customer Onboarding Surveys
Customer onboarding surveys aren’t just forms you send out. I’ve always believed that how you start a relationship with your customers sets the tone for everything that comes later.
Let’s see why onboarding surveys are necessary and how they can help your business:
1. Makes Onboarding Easier and Better
When you ask customers about their onboarding experience, you learn what’s working and what’s not. Maybe your instructions are a little unclear, or a feature is harder to find than you thought. With this feedback, you can make the process smoother and easier for everyone who comes next.
2. You Know What’s Frustrating Customers
Sometimes, customers might hit a roadblock during onboarding—maybe it’s technical issues, unclear steps, or just feeling overwhelmed. Surveys are your chance to catch and fix these problems early before they cause frustration. It’s like having a troubleshooting guide directly from your customers.
3. Shows Customers You Care
Asking for feedback sends a clear message: “We care about your experience.” It’s a simple gesture that helps build trust and makes customers feel valued. From my experience, when customers see that their feedback actually leads to improvements, they’re far more likely to stick around.
4. Makes Customers Happier
A smooth onboarding process leaves a good impression. Customers feel confident, supported, and ready to use your product or service. That happiness goes a long way—not just for their satisfaction but also their willingness to recommend your business to others.
5. Keeps More Customers Around
Let’s face it: if someone struggles during onboarding, there’s a chance they’ll give up and leave. A survey helps you spot where customers might be getting stuck so you can fix it and keep them engaged. A good onboarding process is a big step toward reducing churn and increasing retention.
6. Makes Your Product or Service Better
Onboarding surveys can reveal much about how customers see your product or service. Maybe a feature isn’t as easy to use as you thought, or perhaps they have suggestions for making things better. Using this feedback to improve your offering not only helps new customers but also strengthens your product for everyone.
7. Personalized Support and Training
Not every customer starts from the same place—some might need more guidance than others. Surveys can help you figure out where people are struggling so you can offer personalized training or resources. It’s like giving each customer exactly what they need to succeed.
8. Helps Your Teams Improve
The insights from onboarding surveys don’t just help customers—they help your team, too. Your support team can see where customers need more assistance, your product team can fix usability issues, and your marketing team can better highlight key features. Everyone wins.
9. Builds Long-Term Engagement
When you take the time to ask for feedback and act on it, you’re building a stronger relationship with your customers. They’re more likely to stick around, explore your product further, and even become loyal advocates for your brand.
10. Stands Out From the Competition
Not every business takes onboarding seriously. When you do, you set yourself apart. A smooth and thoughtful onboarding process can be your secret weapon to attract and keep more customers in a crowded market.
6 Different Formats for Customer Onboarding Survey Questions
The way you frame your questions directly impacts the feedback you receive. Each format serves a unique purpose, helping you gather the type of data you need to refine your onboarding process.
Below are some of the most common formats and when they work best:
1. Multiple Choice: Multiple-choice questions are perfect for gathering clear and consistent information. These questions present a list of options, allowing respondents to select one or more answers. They’re ideal for understanding customer preferences or collecting demographic data in a structured way.
For instance, a question like “How did you hear about our product?” with options such as Website, Social Media, Referral, etc., makes it easy to spot patterns across your customer base.
2. Ranking: Ranking questions allow you to understand priorities by asking respondents to order a list of items based on importance. This format is excellent for uncovering what matters most to customers – features, services, or support options.
For instance, a question like “Rank the following features in order of importance to you” can help you determine which aspects of your product or onboarding process should take precedence.
3. Rating Scales: Rating scales are the go-to format for measuring satisfaction or opinions. These questions use a numerical scale (1-5 or 1-10) or descriptive labels (e.g., Very Satisfied to Very Dissatisfied) to let respondents express their feelings. They’re handy for tracking customer sentiment over time.
For example, asking, “On a scale of 1–5, how satisfied are you with the onboarding process?” helps you quantify their experience and identify improvement areas.
4. Open-Ended: Sometimes, the best insights come from simply letting your customers speak their minds. Open-ended questions allow respondents to share detailed feedback, suggestions, or issues in their own words. This format is ideal for uncovering insights you may not have anticipated.
For example, asking, “What could we have done to improve your onboarding experience?” lets customers provide honest, in-depth responses.
5. Likert Scale: A Likert scale is a great way to gauge customer attitudes or levels of agreement. These questions present a statement and ask respondents to rate their agreement on a scale (e.g., Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree). They’re invaluable for evaluating specific elements of the onboarding process.
A question like “The onboarding materials were easy to understand” provides measurable insights into what’s working well and needs refinement.
6. Binary: Binary questions are the simplest option for quick, straightforward answers. They offer respondents two choices – Yes/No or True/False. These are great for gathering basic feedback or confirming specific details.
For instance, asking, “Did you find the welcome email helpful?” lets you get quick feedback on a particular touchpoint without overwhelming respondents.
40 Customer Onboarding Survey Example Questions
I. Getting to Know Your Customers
Demographics/Background
- “What’s your primary goal for using our product or service?”
- “What challenges are you hoping our product will help solve?”
- “What made you decide to give our product a try?”
Needs and Goals
- “What’s your main goal for using our product or service?”
- “What challenges are you hoping our product will help solve?”
- “What made you decide to give our product a try?”
Prior Experience
- “Have you used similar tools or services before? If yes, which ones?”
- “What did you like or dislike about those previous tools?”
- “What are you hoping to accomplish with our product that you couldn’t with others?”
Use Case
- “How do you plan to use our product in your daily work?”
- “Will you be the only one using the product, or will it be shared with a team?”
- “What specific tasks or projects will our product help you with?”
II. Improving the Onboarding Experience
Content Effectiveness
- “Did you find the onboarding guides or tutorials helpful?”
- “Was the information provided easy to follow and understand?”
- “What type of content would have been more useful for you (e.g., videos, written guides, interactive tutorials)?”
Support Interactions
- “If you reached out to support, how satisfied were you with the assistance provided?”
- “Did we resolve your questions or issues quickly?”
- “What could we have done better to assist you during onboarding?”
Pacing and Structure
- “Did the pace of the onboarding process feel right for you?”
- “Was there any point where you felt rushed or overwhelmed?”
- “How could the structure of the onboarding process be improved?”
III. Understanding the Product Experience
Feature-Specific
- “Which features have you used the most so far?”
- “Are there any features you were expecting but couldn’t find?”
- “How easy is it to find and use the features you need?”
User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX)
- “How intuitive and easy to navigate is our product?”
- “Did you encounter any difficulties with the design or layout?”
- “What’s your overall impression of the product’s look and feel?”
IV. Building Engagement and Retention
Future Use and Recommendations
- “Do you see yourself continuing to use our product after onboarding?”
- “Would you recommend our product to others?”
- “What could we do to make you more likely to recommend us?”
Community and Feedback
- “Would you be interested in joining a user group or community for our product?”
- “What’s the easiest way for you to share feedback with us in the future?”
V. Reviewing the Overall Onboarding Process
Overall Experience
- “How satisfied are you with the onboarding process so far?”
- “Did the onboarding process meet your expectations?”
- “If you had to rate the onboarding experience out of 10, what would you give it?”
Specific Aspects
- “Were the onboarding materials clear and helpful?”
- “Did the welcome email provide the information you needed?”
- “Was the length of the onboarding process just right for you?”
Open-Ended Feedback
- “What’s one thing we could improve to make onboarding better?”
- “Is there anything else you’d like to share about your experience?”
10 Best Practices for Customer Onboarding Surveys
1. Focus on the Onboarding Journey: Your survey should reflect the steps your customers go through during onboarding. Tailor questions to address specific stages—whether it’s the sign-up process, initial product setup, or first interactions. For example, ask how easy it was to navigate your setup guide or whether they understood the welcome materials.
2. Ask About Immediate Impressions: Timing is key with onboarding surveys. Send your survey soon after the customer completes onboarding while their experience is fresh. Questions like, “Was the onboarding process clear and helpful?” or “Did you feel confident using the product right away?” help capture their initial reactions.
3. Use Onboarding-Specific Metrics: Incorporate metrics like Customer Effort Score (CES) or Product Adoption Score into your survey. These metrics give you a clear picture of how easy your onboarding process is and how quickly customers are starting to use your product effectively.
4. Evaluate Key Touchpoints: Onboarding involves multiple touchpoints, from welcome emails to product walkthroughs. Include questions that evaluate the effectiveness of these steps, such as, “Did the onboarding emails provide enough guidance?” or “Was the product tour helpful in getting started?”
5. Identify Gaps in Understanding: A big part of onboarding is ensuring customers know how to use your product or service. Ask questions like, “Were there any features you found confusing?” or “What part of the onboarding process could have been explained better?” to identify areas where customers might struggle.
6. Keep It Short and Relevant to Onboarding: Since onboarding happens early in the customer journey, keep your survey concise and focused. Customers are still getting to know your product, so avoid overwhelming them with long surveys. Stick to questions directly related to their onboarding experience.
7. Include Open-Ended Questions for Honest Feedback: While structured questions are great for measurable data, open-ended questions allow customers to share thoughts you might not have anticipated. Questions like, “What’s one thing we could have done to improve your onboarding experience?” can uncover valuable insights.
8. Segment Based on Customer Type: Onboarding varies for different types of customers. For instance, a solo user might have a different experience than a team manager onboarding multiple users. Use segmentation to send relevant surveys that reflect the unique needs of each customer group.
9. Offer a Quick Exit for Low Engagement: Not every customer will want to spend time on a detailed survey. Add a question like, “Would you like to share more feedback?” toward the end of the survey to give them the option to finish or continue. It shows you respect their time.
10. Test Before You Launch: Test your onboarding survey with a small group of new customers before rolling out your onboarding survey. Look for feedback on clarity, length, and relevance. This ensures the survey resonates with your audience and yields meaningful results.
Top 3 Customer Onboarding Feedback Tools
There are plenty of tools to help you get feedback, but only a few can help you gain invaluable insights into your customers’ journeys. Here are my top 3 picks:
- Qualaroo
What Is Qualaroo & How It Works
Qualaroo is an incredible platform for gathering in-context customer feedback. It allows you to create targeted surveys and pop-up questions that appear directly within your website or app at specific points in the user journey. This enables you to capture feedback at the moment of truth, providing valuable insights into user behavior and preferences during onboarding.
Best For: In-context feedback, user experience insights, and identifying onboarding friction points.
What You Will Like
- Intuitive interface for creating and launching surveys quickly.
- Advanced options for segmenting users and triggering surveys based on behavior.
- Offers multiple choice, open-ended, NPS, and more.
- Connects with popular CRM and marketing tools.
- Offers a forever-free plan for small businesses and startups with all the premium features.
What You May Not Like
- Design options for surveys may be somewhat basic
- No dark UI theme available
Pricing: Starts at $19.99/month.
- UserPilot
Userpilot is a product growth platform specializing in driving user adoption and engagement. It enables you to create interactive walkthroughs, checklists, and in-app messages that guide users through onboarding and highlight key features. Userpilot also allows you to collect feedback through in-app surveys and NPS prompts, providing valuable insights into user satisfaction and areas for improvement.
Best For: Interactive walkthroughs, in-app guidance, and tracking user progress during onboarding.
What You Will Like
- Create engaging guides and checklists to lead users through onboarding.
- Customize the onboarding experience based on user behavior and attributes.
- Detailed insights into user engagement and feature adoption.
- More flexibility to customize the look and feel of onboarding elements.
What You May Not Like:
- More expensive than competitors, especially for smaller businesses.
- May take some time to master all the features and customization options.
Pricing: Starts at $249/month, billed annually.
- Appcues
Appcues is another popular user onboarding platform that helps businesses create personalized and engaging onboarding experiences. It allows you to build interactive product tours, tooltips, and in-app messages without writing any code. Appcues also provides tools for collecting user feedback through surveys and NPS prompts, helping you gain insights into CSAT and identify areas for improvement.
Best For: Code-free product tours, personalized onboarding flows, and A/B testing of different onboarding approaches.
What You Will Like
- Intuitive interface for creating and launching surveys quickly.
- Advanced options for segmenting users and triggering surveys based on behavior.
- Offers multiple choice, open-ended, NPS, and more.
- Connects with popular CRM and marketing tools.
- Offers a free plan for small businesses and startups.
What You May Not Like
- Similar to Userpilot, can be expensive for smaller businesses.
- Some users have reported limitations in customization options.
Pricing: Starts at $250/month, billed annually.
Turn Feedback Into Better Onboarding Experiences
Customer onboarding surveys are more than just a tool for gathering feedback—they’re your window into how customers experience the first steps of their journey with your product or service.
Remember, the goal isn’t just to collect feedback but to act on it. When you take the time to listen to your customers and use their input to make meaningful changes, you’re building trust and creating a stronger foundation for long-term relationships.
So, roll out those surveys, explore tools like Qualaroo, and use what you learn to create an onboarding experience that keeps customers coming back for more. After all, the better the start, the brighter the journey ahead!
What is a client onboarding questionnaire?
A client onboarding questionnaire is a targeted survey that collects information about new clients, their needs, and expectations. It’s a way for businesses to learn more about clients' goals, challenges, and preferences so they can tailor the onboarding process to fit those needs.
What is an onboarding checklist?
An onboarding checklist is a step-by-step guide outlining all the tasks to be completed during the onboarding process. It helps both the company and the new customer or employee stay on track. The checklist might include steps like setting up accounts, providing training, introducing key team members, granting access to tools or resources, and scheduling follow-ups.
Should onboarding surveys be anonymous?
It depends on your goals. An anonymous survey can encourage honest feedback, especially if people feel more comfortable sharing sensitive concerns without being identified. If you go the anonymous route, communicate it clearly so participants feel safe to share openly. For non-anonymous surveys, make sure customers or employees know their feedback will be used constructively to improve their experience.
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