All Hands On Board: B2B Firms Struggle To Process New Customers

B2B brands may be effective on the marketing front end. But they have a problem once they have attracted new customers: onboarding them, according to The Future of Customer Onboarding 2025, a study by Moxo. 

Of the companies polled, 56% have delays in processing new clients.  

There are many hurdles: 

• Operational delays — 56%

• Lack of coordination among teams — 45%

• High manual effort — 41%

• Errors and inaccuracies — 34%

• Poor customer experience — 25%

• Compliance issues — 19%

Put another way, there also are mandatory challenges that erode customer confidence.

• Awaiting client information — 64%

• Technical issues — 60%

• Internal bottlenecks — 37%

• Compliance checks — 33%

One more problem is that the plethora of disconnected tools and channels that create “digital mazes’ for clients.Among them:

• Email — 86%

• Phone — 69%

• In-person — 67%

• Online forms — 54%

• CRM software — 42%

• Project management tools — 37%

• Document management system — 36%

• Custom-built solutions — 23%

• Digital platforms — 55%

Indeed, customers complain about these frustrations:

Length of process — 60%Too many forms/documents — 55%Complexity—42%Lack of communication — 31%Lack of transparency — 17%

Complicating these problems are issues such as miscommunication (55%), data entry errors (54%) and missing documentation (51%).

The solution? Automation. Of the companies polled, 60% have made this a top priority for this year. And of those that have implemented it, 63% have seen an improvement in customer feedback and 51% report a decrease in errors, Moxo claims. 

Indeed, 93% see automation as critical for success, but only 34% say their processes are very efficient.

Moxo analyzed over 300 organizations. 

About the Author

Ray Schultz is the former editor of DM News, Chief Marketer, Direct, Circulation Management and other marketing titles.