If you’re tired of chasing new customers with endless “Just checking in!” emails, you’re not alone. Onboarding is where deals go to die—usually because follow-ups slip through the cracks. This guide is for anyone who wants fewer manual pings and more customers actually getting set up. We’ll walk through how to use Arrows to automate customer follow-ups, with a focus on what’s worth automating (and what isn’t).
Why Automate Customer Follow-Ups?
Let’s be honest: most folks don’t follow up as much as they should. Not because they don’t care, but because it’s a pain. Here’s what usually happens:
- You onboard a new customer.
- You send a welcome email.
- You wait… and then remember to check in a week later—maybe.
- Weeks later, the customer is still stuck on step one, and now you’re both frustrated.
Automating follow-ups doesn’t mean spamming people with robotic reminders. Done right, it saves you time, keeps customers moving, and reduces awkward “Did you get a chance to…?” emails.
Who benefits:
- Customer success teams who want to scale without dropping the ball.
- Founders wearing too many hats.
- Anyone haunted by their CRM’s “overdue tasks” tab.
Step 1: Map Out Your Real Onboarding Flow
Before you start fiddling with tools, take a hard look at what your onboarding process actually is—not what you wish it was.
Grab a whiteboard (or a napkin) and jot down: - The essential steps your customers must complete. - Where they usually get stuck or go dark. - Which steps require a human touch, and which are just reminders.
Pro tip:
Don’t overcomplicate it. Most onboarding flows are 3–6 steps. If you have 14 steps, your problem isn’t automation—it’s the process.
What to ignore:
Automating a broken onboarding process just makes it fail faster. Clean up your steps before plugging them into any tool.
Step 2: Set Up Arrows for Your Onboarding Steps
Arrows is built for managing onboarding checklists and nudges. It lets you create a shared plan with your customer, track progress, and (here’s the good part) automate follow-ups when things stall.
Getting started: 1. Sign into Arrows and create a new onboarding template. 2. Add each step from your map as a task. Be specific—“Upload your logo” is better than “Branding.” 3. Assign deadlines or suggested due dates for each step. 4. Customize the instructions so they’re crystal clear; vague steps mean more support tickets.
What works:
- Customers see exactly what’s next (no guessing).
- Everyone has one source of truth—no more “lost in my inbox” excuses.
What doesn’t:
- Overloading your plan with low-value steps. If it’s not critical, leave it out.
Step 3: Automate Follow-Ups (Without Being Annoying)
Here’s where Arrows shines: you can set up automatic nudges when a customer stalls out.
How to do it: - For each step, configure automated reminders if a task isn’t completed by its due date. - Space them out—nobody wants 7 emails in 7 days. - Personalize your messages. Use their name, mention their goal, and keep it human. “Hey Sarah, just a reminder to connect your billing—this unlocks your dashboard.”
What’s worth automating: - Gentle nudges for overdue steps. - “You’re almost there!” notes as they near the finish line. - Recaps of what’s done vs. what’s left.
What’s not: - Complicated logic (“If they clicked but didn’t reply within 3 hours, send…”) is usually overkill. - Bombarding customers with generic “Just checking in” emails.
Pro tip:
Set a limit. After 2–3 reminders, switch to a personal touch or a phone call. Automation is a helper, not a replacement for real relationships.
Step 4: Integrate With Your Existing Tools (When It Makes Sense)
If you’re using a CRM (like HubSpot or Salesforce), Arrows can sync progress and trigger tasks for your team. This is handy if you want to see onboarding progress without logging into another dashboard.
But… - Only integrate what you’ll actually use. If nobody checks the CRM, don’t bother. - Start simple. You can always layer on more automation later.
Common integrations: - Automatically create an onboarding plan when a deal closes. - Update customer status based on onboarding progress. - Notify your team when a customer stalls.
What to ignore:
- Fancy integrations just for the sake of it. If your team isn’t going to act on a Slack message, skip it.
Step 5: Review, Refine, and Actually Talk to Your Customers
Automation isn’t “set it and forget it.” Check in regularly:
- Which steps do customers always get stuck on? Fix or reword them.
- Are your reminders helping, or just adding noise?
- What feedback are you getting (or not getting)? Sometimes silence is a sign to tweak your approach.
Don’t be afraid to: - Remove unnecessary steps. - Adjust timing—maybe a 3-day reminder works better than a 1-day ping. - Add a quick video or FAQ if people keep asking the same questions.
Pro tip:
Every few months, onboard a “test” customer yourself or ask a friend to go through the flow. It’s amazing what you’ll spot from the other side.
What Arrows Does Well (and Where It Falls Short)
The good: - Super clear for customers—everyone knows what’s next. - No more endless spreadsheets or “Did you do this?” emails. - Easy to tweak as your process changes.
The not-so-good: - If your onboarding is complex and highly customized per customer, you’ll need to do some manual tweaking. - Doesn’t magically fix a bad onboarding process—garbage in, garbage out. - Some teams get carried away and automate too much. If every follow-up feels like it came from a robot, you’re doing it wrong.
Keep It Simple, Iterate, and Don’t Automate Everything
Automating onboarding follow-ups with Arrows is about making life easier, not adding more noise. Start with your real process, automate the obvious stuff, and keep improving as you go. Don’t try to build a perfect system on day one—just get the basics right, see where customers get stuck, and patch the leaks.
Remember: tools are only as good as the process behind them. Keep things simple, listen to your customers, and don’t be afraid to change it up. The goal isn’t zero human interaction—it’s to make the important stuff shine.