A high priority for any software buyer should be end user adoption of the technology – but this part of the process often gets forgotten in the process of selecting a vendor and implementing Digital Asset Management or Brand Management Software. In addition, this important step is rarely supported by vendors. As a buyer you can sometimes feel you’ve been left on your own to encourage user adoption.
As we all know, increasing adoption creates ROI. So, when you’ve reviewed vendors and you are making your final selection, ask questions and find out which one is going to guide you through the onboarding process and help drive end user adoption.
It can be hard to get people to change the way they work. The best software, the most intuitive interface, the coolest features are not going to drive user adoption alone.
But with the right approach, it doesn’t need to difficult. The key is to tell your potential end users why they should get on board with your new technology platform and what they will get out of it. And how it will take away the time consuming, low level tasks that limit the time they can spend on more interesting and more productive work.
The best way to promote a new software platform internally is to take a strategic approach.
1. Think first about who your audiences are
Which internal teams they are part of, and in what way might they use the software differently?
2. Who are your external users?
These might be agencies, or sales partners or franchisees.
How will they use the software and why do you need them to do so?
3. Think about the key questions these audiences will want answered
Things like why we are purchasing this software, how it will affect them and how will it change the way they work.
4. Address the question of what success will look like
That could be total number of users registered on the site, the number of people returning to log in multiple times, the number of assets downloaded.
5. Think about your internal campaign to get everyone on board
There are two phases to this: the pre-implementation phase (awareness-raising) and the post-implementation phase (driving uptake).
Which media channels are available to you internally? Intranet, internal posters, email, internal social network, staff magazine, or even a network of evangelists who can spread the word via meetings and workshops.
How are you going to use these channels and what content will you require? Remember that you will not need to create all the content yourself. Your software vendor will have materials available for you to use, for example, demo videos, training webinars, or online materials.
6. Encourage user feedback
When there is a feedback process for gathering information about user experience, people feel involved with the process of getting onboard with the new software. Be transparent about how you are acting on this information.
If this sounds daunting, worry not! We’ve put together a Toolkit that will walk you through every step, giving you ideas and prompts about what to do at each point in the journey. The Toolkit is designed to make it easy to promote your new software and get your employees and external partners using it as a matter of course, thereby driving up ROI and benefiting your business.
