Do Digital Adoption Platforms Increase Technology Adoption Rates?

Do digital adoption platforms increase technology adoption rates?

In this article, we’ll learn the answer to that question, while also learning about the key features of digital adoption platforms, their biggest benefits, and how they compare to other user training solutions.

Do Digital Adoption Platforms Increase Technology Adoption Rates?

Technology adoption is a core concern for any business that wants to onboard and train users, including software developers, app developers, and enterprises that adopt software for internal use.

To understand whether these platforms increase adoption rates, let’s first learn exactly what they are, what their advantages are, and how they compare to other adoption solutions.

Key Features of Digital Adoption Platforms

Digital adoption platforms (DAPs) are, as the name suggests, platforms designed to assist with digital adoption, user adoption, and product adoption.

These platforms are software programs that layer themselves on top of another software program, then provide users with automated, contextualized guidance directly inside the target application.

For instance, an enterprise implementing a ServiceNow training could use a digital adoption platform to automate and streamline much of their training program.

Key features of digital adoption platforms include:

• Product tours that quickly introduce new users to a product’s core features
• Software walkthroughs that guide users step-by-step through workflows and tasks
• In-app guidance through chatbots that help users find answers to questions
• Software analytics that analyze user behavior and help training managers improve software training efforts

Next, let’s look at how these platforms are used in the real world.

How Digital Adoption Platforms Are Used

Digital adoption platforms can improve technology adoption rates for any type of software user, including both customers and in-house employees.

More specifically, these tools are used for key stages in the adoption process, including:

• User onboarding
• User training
• Task automation
• Technical support
• Customer support

There are certainly many ways of providing user training and support, so the next question to ask is whether these platforms are better or worse than other tools.

Advantages of Digital Adoption Platforms

Digital adoption platforms have seen major growth in recent years, since they offer significant advantages over other adoption methods.

Here are a few of the biggest advantages to using a digital adoption platform:

• A better, simpler user experience
• Improved proficiency and productivity
• Greater user retention
• Less software frustration
• The ability to train remotely

These tools, in short, can significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of training, while also enhancing the end user’s experience.

However, there are other adoption solutions available, so let’s see how they compare to these platforms.

Digital Adoption Platforms vs. Other Training Solutions

Here are a few examples of how digital adoption solutions stack up against other onboarding and training solutions:

• One-on-one training offers a personalized experience, but it is costly and not scalable, particularly for large enterprises, which must train hundreds or even thousands of employees
• Classroom training offers less personalization than one-on-one coaching, since teachers must cater to the needs of an entire cohort, and while it does offer advantages, it is also costly and it cannot be scaled effectively
• Webinars and on-demand video courses can be scaled and segmented more easily, but users must still spend more time watching training content that is generalized and less personal

Training approaches such as these certainly have their place and should not completely be replaced by digital adoption solutions.

However, one key difference to note is that these training methods are, by necessity, more comprehensive than digital adoption platforms.

As a result:

• Users must spend more time watching irrelevant or unrelated training material
• The more training material users must consume, the more mental effort they must expend
• As cognitive load increases, engagement, learning, and productivity decrease

Ultimately, every adoption program should consist of a mixture of onboarding and training techniques, which is why it is important to continually test and adjust adoption programs over time.

Implementing a Digital Adoption Platform for Technology Adoption

Technology adoption, whether it is geared towards end users or employees, should be a structured, strategic program.

When implementing a digital adoption strategy, therefore, adoption specialists should:

• Design a comprehensive digital adoption strategy that includes goals, milestones, objectives, metrics, and KPIs
• Use tools such as user journey maps to diagram the adoption process, collaborate with relevant departments, and gain insight into the users’ adoption pathway
• Use digital adoption platforms to analyze user behavior, then leverage those insights to improve software walkthroughs and the digital adoption platform UI
• Continually collect adoption data, learn from that information, then adjust the program as needed

In short, digital adoption strategies – and digital adoption platforms – should be treated like any other goal-oriented business initiative. Namely, their performance should be continually evaluated and improved in order to maximize their return on investment.