So you’ve joined the awesome Aisle Planner community (yay!)—but you’ve got a handful of existing clients and weddings that you started planning prior to the addition of Aisle Planner. The question then becomes how, when and if to transition those existing clients to the Aisle Planner platform. While some planners may opt to only add new clients or clients who are very early on in the planning process to Aisle Planner, as planners ourselves, we tend to want everything in one cohesive place—which means transitioning all existing clients to Aisle Planner. We also understand, though, the importance of a smooth and seamless planning process, so we’ve outlined our tips and recommendations for this all-too-important transition below:
The basics of onboarding clients
You may have already seen our recent blog post about onboarding your clients into Aisle Planner, but if not, give it a quick read. It will give you a good idea of how to properly introduce your clients to Aisle Planner and how to ensure both you as a planner and your couples are getting the most out of the platform.
For clients who are almost through the entire planning process
For clients who are super far along in the planning process, you may not want to introduce a new platform at this point—and that is entirely understandable. We do recommend, though, setting up their wedding in Aisle Planner and using the platform at least internally to get your and your team on the same page, and to ensure all of your weddings are in one easy-to-access place. Simply disable any Aisle Planner features you're not using (such as the guest list or design studio) and stick to features like the checklist, vendor manager and timeline.
For existing clients you DO want to bring into Aisle Planner
Prior to transitioning existing clients into Aisle Planner, you want to make sure you’re familiar with the tools it offers yourself—this will make for the most seamless transition possible. (You don’t want to introduce your clients to the platform and then not be able to answer questions they may have for you regarding its features.) We highly recommend checking out the Aisle Planner tutorial video library—it’s the fastest way to familiarize yourself with all that Aisle Planner has to offer and to begin to master its features. Keep in mind, we designed Aisle Planner to be super intuitive and user-friendly, so setting a few minutes aside to watch a few tutorials is really all you need to get off and running.
Beyond that, you’ll want to do two main things when transition existing clients into Aisle Planner:
- Be sure to give your clients a heads up that you’re transitioning the planning process into a new platform (that they’ll love). Be clear about what’s in it for them—an easier planning process, streamlined communications, access to everything they need from anywhere at anytime—and let them know to expect an invitation to access their online client lounge shortly.
- We also recommend sharing an introduction email or document with clients for an added personal touch. Check out this Aisle Planner Welcome Email Sample—it’s a great template that you’re more than welcome to use as a foundation for your own, personalized welcome email or letter.