Adopting new technologies and software is tricky for most companies to navigate. Whether you want to adopt a new marketing hub or implement a new tech stack for your organization, ensure that users are familiar with these changes and that they can easily navigate them. Unfortunately, most firms don’t consider user familiarity when adopting new software. As such, they face many challenges; their user adoption rates are low, leading to very little return on investment.
What is User Adoption?
In computing, user adoption refers to the transfer between an old system and a target system. Suppose a company currently uses an old software system; it may want to shift to a newer system that is more efficient. As such, a new system needs to be adopted such that users can easily navigate it.
While there are numerous strategies that an organization can use to increase the rate at which users adopt software, user familiarity is a sure way of speeding up this process.
How does Familiarity Affect User Adoption?
User adoption is not a single decision or event on the part of the user. User adoption occurs in stages, which is affected by the rate at which a user uses a new software and the number of features that the software has. That said, when a user is familiar with a given software, they consciously move towards accepting it faster through a progressive sequence of exposures to the software functionality. A user becomes familiar with software that is better suited to adapt to it by doing the following:
- Identifying the core functions: When a user is conversant with the core functions, they will readily embrace the new software.
- Making the core functionality bulletproof: The users become averse to the core functions such that they can comfortably navigate the new software.
- Moving to the advanced functionality: With time, users will be able to navigate the more complex functions of the new software.
Benefits of Familiarity
Choosing software that users are familiar with can be beneficial to your business in numerous ways. Below are some of these benefits:
It Eliminates the Need for Training
Most often, when you adopt a new software or technology stack, users usually require some time to adapt to the changes. You’ll have to offer your employees some form of training on how to navigate the new system. However, if your employees are familiar with the latest software, you will not have to offer them any training since they will have some idea how to navigate it.
They will be able to know the ins and outs of the up-to-date software by using it continuously. As such, the adoption process will be fast. Furthermore, your business will operate normally during the integration process since the users are familiar with the new software.
Familiarity Makes the Adoption Process Cost-effective
Since users are familiar with some aspects of the system, you won’t have to incur any costs on training users on how to navigate the up-to-date software. When a company introduces a new software, employees have to undergo rigorous training on how to use it. Some companies even go ahead to employ new personnel who are conversant with the latest software.
The cost of training employees can be exorbitant, especially when the training process is lengthy. To add to that, the productivity of your business may be affected during the training process, given that most of your employees will be off their posts undertaking the training. In contrast, if you buy software that users are familiar with, they will quickly adapt to it. Moreover, you won’t have to incur any training expenses.
The Adoption Time is Short
When you upgrade your software with one that your users are not familiar with, it may take quite some time before they adapt to it. You may have to offer them training which may take a lot of time. However, if the users are familiar with the current software, they will adopt it faster since they have some idea of how to navigate it. When users embrace a new system faster, the productivity of your business won’t be affected during the integration period.
Companies should focus on purchasing software that is familiar to their users, and Pronto is a great one for communication. It offers features that are similar to any business and a free-of-charge app; hence once people are added to the plan, they just jump in and start using it. Book a demo with Pronto for user-friendly software.