The surge in the development of business services has drastically altered the way organizational infrastructures are constructed. Due to the high digitalisation of tasks, almost everything can now be outsourced or treated as a service. Companies are shifting away from on-premises services and toward online or cloud-based solutions. For example ordering and booking applications. Because mobile devices are so widely available, clients can now access their service offerings from anywhere at any time.
Aside from the fact that this digital transformation and shift to services occurs everywhere, there are countless stories of companies spending large sums of money on brand new software solutions or platforms only to see their investment deteriorate because they did not receive what they required or done it the wrong way. That is why it is critical to conduct research as well as find a suitable software development partner.
What is Digital Adoption?
In simple terms, digital adoption is achieving a state in which your employees and/or customers are properly and fully utilizing a provided software, tool, or other digital asset. The importance of such adoption stems from the positive effects it may have on overall workflow, work environment, and, potentially, the entire business.
If digital adoption is achieved, there will be:
- Improved customer satisfaction
- Increased employee performance
- Better integrated work
- Optimized and automated workflow
- Reduced expenses
However, if digital adoption is not achieved, there will be:
- Decreased productivity and performance
- Lowered employee morale and satisfaction
- Customer frustration leading to customer churn
- Expenses not meeting the needs
Digital tools
Digital tools are essential for all sizes of businesses, ranging from the most basic, such as excel and outlook, to more complex software, such as CRM systems and customer success tools.
However, there are still challenges.
Assume you have the most advanced tools and systems for your business, and efficiency and success are within your reach. However, you are ignoring one issue:
Your users
Even if your digital tools are excellent, if your users are hesitant to use them or do not understand how to use them, your business will fail. Customers or employees can be users in this scenario.
Regardless, it is critical that you ensure they make full use of the tools.
Let’s look at a use-case scenario:
Consider a food delivery app, and you are a new customer ordering through the app.
You realize there was an error in your order and need to cancel it. You have no idea how and must now seek assistance. You get on the phone and ask the support representative to cancel it for you, but because the representative is unfamiliar with the system, they can’t track your order. At this point your first impression of the app is negative. You’ll have to eat something you don’t want to, and you’ll probably uninstall the app.
No one wins in this situation.
When the customer first opened the app, there was most likely a tutorial showing the basic functions of the app. They may have skipped it, or the tutorial may not have included the “cancel order” option.
It’s even possible that they forgot because the tutorial was so boring. Whatever the cause, it is not impossible to overcome. In fact, the goal of digital adoption is to solve these issues.
So why does adoption matter so much?
Lack of digital adoption can have a significant impact on the overall implementation and even result in significant losses. Instead of simply installing new software solutions, businesses should focus on developing a concrete and well-thought-out digital adoption strategy. No matter how good or powerful the solution, its effectiveness is limited by the number of people who use it and their ability to use the system. Simply adding a new solution is insufficient. Making room for digital adoption, on the other hand, means that a company is using the best tools available and can grow faster than the competition.
For more information on how to go about digital adoption for your business, why not call on Skywalk Innovations.
Book a no-obligation session with our team and explore how technology can grow your business.