You have it all planned out. You have this great idea for a new app and you’re convinced that it can rake in millions.
After fleshing out your idea, you talk to a developer and get your app built. With the building process done, you get your hands on the app and it’s everything you thought it should be. You show it to the people in the office and all of them are impressed with what you came up with.
Then, comes the rollout of your new app. The day finally comes when your customers are able to get their hands on it and you see them struggling with it. Suddenly, you realize that the app you just designed is far from being user-friendly.
Unfortunately, that’s something many companies overlook when it comes to coming out with their product offerings. It doesn’t really matter how great or how useful an app or program is if you have to be technically proficient just to work it out. You’ll just be effectively limiting the amount of customers you can cater to by overlooking that.
To increase the chances of customer success when it comes to using your software offerings, you will want to keep the following tips in mind.
1. See the Software from the Customer’s Perspective
One of the main reasons why some companies tend to produce unwieldy apps and programs is because they only ever see things from their side of the fence.
Imagine asking someone to cook your specialty dish when all they’ve done is taste it. Sure, they may have a general idea of what they need to do and what fundamental elements are involved, but successfully completing the task is still tough if they are unfamiliar with the process.
According to HubSpot, something you can do to better understand what it’s like to use your app or program as a customer is to conduct a customer empathy session.
As part of the customer empathy session, you will have to use your program or app without the aid of your internal data or tools. You will also have to use a variety of external tools for the program or app because that’s what many customers will instinctively do.
Basically, you’re trying to put yourself in the customer’s shoes because doing so will allow you to better understand the flaws in the user interface and other outward-facing elements of your software offering.
2. Give Your Customers a Clear Roadmap to Follow
Now that you have a better understanding of how customers see your software, you can design a roadmap that will be able to guide them effectively through it. You don’t need to hold their hand all throughout the learning process, but at least make an effort to point them in the right direction whenever you can.
Explain what a specific function is for and when it should be used. Tell them why they can do one thing and not the other.
Make it a point to implement intuitive design as well. You know how most apps and programs work. Base something off of that so that your users will at least be able to pick up instinctively on what they need to do.
3. Offer Readily Available Support
In the immediate aftermath of a new program or app rollout, you should provide readily available customer support. 24/7 support is probably not a must, but it would be great if you can provide it.
Remember that your goal here is to ensure customer success when it comes to using your app or software. With people waiting on standby to provide assistance, you can significantly boost the odds for success.
It doesn’t matter how great the app or program you’ve come up with is if your customers are having a hard time simply making their way through it. By following the tips included above, you can give them easier access to your potential moneymaker.