Slack is the perfect tool to communicate with internal team members—t's instant, transparent and powerful. That being said, most companies still use emails to communicate with customers and external partners including prospects, consultants, and independent contractors. The best way to bring everyone together is by using Slack Connect. 

Slack Connect allows a company to onboard B2B customers for better collaboration and transparency. 

Here's how you can use Slack Connect to onboard external teams:

If you want to onboard just one customer from another organization, you can use Slack Connect DMs. 

1. Click on the Slack Connect in the left sidebar

2. Click on Start a DM‍

3. Enter the email address of the person you want to interact with and hit Send Invitation

‍Your job ends here. The recipient can find the invitation in the left sidebar, and review the invitation details. Once accepted, both of you can start using Slack DMs. If you're facing issues in sending or receiving a Slack Connect invitation, get in touch with your admin to change permissions. 

But rarely will you need to talk to just one person from your customer organization. When multiple contacts from two companies need to come together to discuss things, a shared channel is the way to go. 

Here's how you can use Slack Connect to create shared channels for customers:

1. Tap on the + icon next to Channels in the left sidebar

2. Name your channel. It's a good idea to clarify this channel will be shared externally. Add a description to make the goals clear

3. Click on Share outside [your company name] and then Next

4. Now, enter the email address of the recipient, fill out the channel goals in the description box, and hit Send

The invitation will be emailed to your customer and after accepting, they'll be able to message you in the same channel. 

If your customer doesn't use emails or your conversations largely take place on WhatsApp or other platforms, you can simply copy the share link from the same window and share it with them. 

If the Slack Connect permissions are restricted,  both admins will need to review and approve the requests first. 

If you want to onboard customers to an existing channel, it's even simpler!

1. Open the channel and click on the profile pictures in the top right.

2. Click on Add people.

3. Now, enter the name or email address of the person you’d like to invite to the channel and click Add. 

4. Select From another company, and then click Next. 

5. Click on Got it to confirm you've read the message.

6. We recommend you include the optional note for clarity and click on Send invitation.

Why should teams use Slack Connect?

Slack Connect declutters threads by bringing all fragmented conversations into one platform.

1. Slack Connect fosters transparency and it's an instant mode of communication. According to Slack, it decreases turnaround time for reviews and approvals by half. 

2. It helps businesses improve relationships with customers. For example, with the help of Thena, customer messages in Slack Connect can be turned into Thena requests. You now have better visibility in customer queries and can save time in follow-ups.

3. By documenting all the important conversations in Slack Connect, businesses follow security and compliance metrics

Customer onboarding best practices via Slack Connect

While onboarding people from external organizations, it's important to do these three things:

1. Add contexts to email invitations by using an introductory email template to explain Slack Connect and its goals

2. Use a kickoff message to lay the ground rules in the Slack channel

3. Use the Workflow Builder to automate repetitive messages for new members 

Remember that Slack Connect for Slack channels is a premium feature. If your customers are using a free Slack plan, they'll be automatically upgraded to the Pro plan with a 90-day free trial when they accept your invitation. If you're on Enterprise Grid, your recipients can join for free.