What is digital adoption?

Digital adoption is the process by which users (employees, customers) learn to leverage new technology (software products, apps, websites, etc.) to its fullest potential and derive maximum value from a digital process or solution.

What’s the difference between digital adoption and digital transformation?

In short, digital adoption is a part of digital transformation, which is the process of using software to adapt to evolving demands. For example, if a software solution were to replace manual processes, full digital adoption only occurs once employees shift from their once-manual processes to the new digitally-enabled state.

Why is digital adoption important?

According to a 2018 report from analyst firm IDG, 89% of organizations plan to implement a digital-first business strategy. For companies that have already taken a digital-first approach, doing so increased revenue by 34% on average. Companies need to ensure the digital tools they procure are adopted by their users, whether those users are their employees or customers. Digital adoption of internal software is typically measured by increased employee productivity, whereas customer-facing digital products are measured against various business KPIs and, for sophisticated organizations, product experience targets.

The benefits of digital adoption

One of the most obvious benefits of digital adoption is increased ROI for the technology your company builds or buys. But successful adoption of digital tools goes beyond that, and generates positive impacts across the entire business. When users (customers, employees, or both) maximize the value of their technology, they are happier, more productive, and more likely to remain a user. Here are some of the most common benefits of digital adoption:

• • Improved workflows and internal efficiency
  • Increased productivity
  • Less user frustration with technology
  • Higher customer and employee satisfaction
  • Reduced costs

How can I increase digital adoption?

In addition to ensuring a product is as intuitive as possible, there are certain ways to help increase digital adoption across a company’s user base:

• • Onboarding: by creating an effective onboarding strategy, companies can ensure users not only become proficient in their application as quickly as possible, but also recognize the product’s value, which helps drive retention and prevent churn.
  • In-app guidance: in order to provide contextual information while users are in the product, many companies use in-app messaging to communicate at the right moments and guide users to success. Cartegraph uses in-app messages to drive behaviors in their app that lead crews to complete field work more efficiently. Six months after launching these guides in their mobile app, the team saw a 62% increase in mobile adoption.
  • Ongoing education: since digital adoption is an ongoing process, it’s important to continue educating users after onboarding is complete, especially when there are any product releases, changes, or updates.

Today, many companies are turning to digital adoption platforms to implement these practices effectively.

Where can I learn more about digital adoption?

For those looking to dig deeper into digital adoption and DAPs, Pendo has published information on how to drive product and feature adoption and measure results.