It’s only been forty-five minutes.
The kids have bickered for most of it. And now one of them is busting for a pee.
“Are we there yet?”
No. Of course you’re not there yet. You’ve barely scratched the surface of this mammoth journey. But they don’t know that.
This will be a familiar scenario for a lot of you. But even for those of you who don’t have children, there are striking similarities with your digital transformation efforts.
How do your stakeholders know if you’re “there yet”? You need some digital adoption metrics.
Why traditional metrics don’t work
Shockingly, less than 15% of companies can quantify the impact of their digital initiatives, according to McKinsey’s Digital Quotient analysis.
This could be because enterprises don’t know what sort of metrics to use now.
“Traditional KPIs are poor indicators of the effectiveness of ongoing digital efforts; they are best-suited to measuring long-term impact, revealing improvements annually or quarterly.
“Today’s marketplace is changing too rapidly for such horizon-gazing…” CMO.com
In an interview with CMO.com, Ashley Stirrup, CMO of software integration provider Talend, points out that digital transformation is a series of changes. The earliest of these changes are not going to produce results based on traditional KPIs.
CMO.com provides some pointers for developing digital adoption metrics that work for everyone.
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- Focusing on pre-digital KPIs can be worse than unhelpful—it can thwart transformation.
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- New metrics tend to fall in three categories: operational improvement, customer experience, and financial impact.
- Look for financial measures that provide incentives for the entire enterprise to embrace ongoing digital change.
One reason why traditional KPIs don’t work is that digital transformation needs to be measured using cross-functional metrics. Silos just aren’t helpful in the context of adopting or measuring digital progress.
Instead, CIO from IDG advises CIOs to, “assess adoption rates and business impact relative to traditional operating modes.”
At its core, digital transformation is a continuous improvement initiative. It’s as much about changing mindsets and behaviors as it is bottom-line results. But cultural shifts are difficult to measure.
That’s why you need digital adoption metrics.
Digital adoption metrics can measure the changes in behavior that result from these cultural shifts. Aaron Goldman, CMO of media technology company 4C, told CMO.com:
“You need to make sure your organization is using the tools you’ve employed. Adoption should be measured no less than weekly. It’s the only way to gauge and generate momentum.”
An easy way to get valuable digital adoption metrics
Enterprises that use a Digital Adoption Platform (DAP) gain access to highly relevant digital adoption metrics.
Pioneered by WalkMe, the DAP is an algorithmic layer that can be placed on top of existing digital systems. Not only does it provide enterprises with valuable digital adoption insights, it also improves the user experience.
Using automation and machine learning, the DAP provides contextual guidance to users in real-time. So they get the information they need exactly when they need it.
Using a DAP speeds up digital adoption and paves the way for a smoother digital transformation.
Example digital adoption metrics
Basic digital adoption metrics to use are unique user numbers, plus user interaction numbers and type.
But depending on the specifics of your digital transformation, you’ll want to drill down into the data more than this.
External customer engagement analytics
WalkMe’s Insights video below goes through some valuable adoption metrics for organizations selling digital products, services, or SaaS.
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Engaged new users and returning users
Find out how many of your customers are engaging with your digital system or product, after a launch or other event. Track new users over time and compare with returning engaged users to paint a fuller picture of user adoption.
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Funnel metrics (views, visits, clicks) and conversion rates
The great thing about a DAP like WalkMe is that it incorporates funnel and conversion rate data into its metrics. So not only are customers guided through using your systems at the front-end, you get to find out whether your efforts are working in the back-end.
WalkMe Insights for External-Facing Applications from WalkMe, Inc. on Vimeo.
Internal employee engagement analytics
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Task fails and goal completions
When you’re onboarding employees to new systems, or introducing new hires to existing ones, wouldn’t it be great to know how they’re using them? Which tasks do they find difficult? Who’s completing the set goals?
You can review this data with task fails and goal completion metrics.
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Engagement and progress per user
Using a DAP, you can view digital adoption insights, like platform engagement and progress, per employee. This makes it easy for you to celebrate success and provide additional support to any staff members that need it.
Digital adoption metrics are the ideal way to track acceptance and use of your digital systems.
Plus, they can lead you to valuable insights about your organization, its digital transformation, products, or services.
