The Cisco AppDynamics group recently released the results of its App Attention Index used to gauges how customers respond to its digital services and applications.
It comes as no surprise that during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a sharp rise in the number of digital services being used.
Pandemic-propelled progress
According to a recent study, almost 76% of companies boosted their digital initiatives by a year and 49% by two-plus years. This comes as a result of the pandemic, making it imperative that people turn to digital services such as QR codes, curbside deliveries, and touchless payments.
It has been revealed that there are more than 13,000 global consumers had their app and digital service data studied. The AppD study made some fascinating revelations. First, 76% of companies claimed a sharp increase in customer expectations regarding digital services from the start of 2020. Second, if something goes wrong with the application, the customer will assume that there is something wrong with the brand instead of the actual technical issue. Third, 57% of consumers claim that a brand has only one shot to impress them, and if they fail to do so, then the next alternative will be chosen.
What this shows is that technology leaders need to start looking at their business through the lens of user experience. This would mean abandoning the frowned-upon silo structures and moving towards a different methodology, one where there is a tighter check-and-balance.
Using AppD calls a ‘total application experience,’ an online presence should be built keeping in mind the end user’s point-of-view. After all, it is the customers who will use it the most, and if they are confused, they will switch instantly.
How good is a “total app experience”?
A ‘total application experience’ also makes it easier to eliminate the ‘resolution Ping-Pong’ where an issue is bounced around departments as no one takes any responsibility for it. This can be a massive issue for clients who have no idea how to resolve their problems. They don’t care who solves the issue; they want the pain gone.
Switching to a ‘total application experience’ or a top-down approach would make the application and its infrastructure components the baseline. If the app is underperforming for any reason, it results in the app negatively moving off the baseline, which should prompt action from IT. This baseline needs to be below the recommended threshold so that any engineers in charge can find the issue beforehand and not let it red-line.
A fool-proof way of doing this is by introducing an incentive-based structure for the IT department. This would mean that they would be compensated for their efforts to maintain the system’s integrity. One way to implement this would be to use a new app launch to measure the success of the IT department. If there are no problems that could have been avoided, the department can be rewarded. This will boost morale and ensure that things run smoothly.
Digital is undoubtedly the way forward for business in all industries. However, IT and business leaders need to understand that consumers have lots of choices and, if you can’t deliver a high-quality experience, you’re going to lose customers.
8 hours ago
