Being available is rarely enough

Of course, simply making an online platform available, is just the first step in the journey.  And while you’re likely to find some “early adopters” who jump in with both feet, the fact is, it takes a concerted, ongoing effort to change often long-standing habits, and create a groundswell of enthusiasm for your platform. So where do you start?

Prime the pump

Hopefully you’ll have started some communication around your portal before it’s launched, making use of the regular touchpoints you have with customers to ensure they know that change is coming - and that the change in question is positive. This might be simple things such as including a leaflet in posted communications, posters on noticeboards or mentions in tenant newsletters, but it gives you the opportunity to start generating some early interest. In our experience, 30-40% of residents will naturally adopt an online solution, so simple promotional steps like this can make a big difference.

Another great way of generating early interest is engaging your customers during the implementation process - not only will they provide invaluable insights as to how your portal might be received in the ‘real’ world’, but in our experience those involved often become great champions for the portals they helped shape. And we all know the value of any independent endorsement.

Similarly, running an initial ‘beta’ or closed launch to select users is also a great way of getting early, real-world feedback.

Natural, Nudge and Pull

In our experience, the most effective way of really starting to generate engagement is with a blend of “push” techniques - those which ‘persuade’ customers to come to the portal; and “Pull” techniques – those which incentivise them to come. A perfect blend of this might include:

Natural contact points

Using those channels through which you already naturally interact with your customers is a reliable means of generating interest. Utilising soft messaging about the availability and benefits of your new platform is a great starting point: including promotion in existing postal communications, placing posters in communal areas, and of course promoting the portal on your main website are all great places to build awareness and early adoption of your portal.

Nudging customers to your portal

Ask any marketer and they’ll tell you that the average consumer needs to see or hear at least 8 advertisements before trying a new product, and the same applies to portal adoption decisions. In fact, the same applies when encouraging adoption of any new digital channel.

This may mean making all new customers digital-first tenants, making some services ONLY available through the portal, or otherwise incentivising such as offering more repair appointments through the portal than over the phone. Dedicated email and text messages (the more targeted, the better). You could leverage any of the following:

- “Hold” messages

- Prompts in call operator scripts

- “Drop-in” sessions, coffee mornings and virtual ‘webinars’

Combining the above approaches with some small incentives, such as a competition or small compensation (for example, a £5 voucher) can improve registrations enormously.

“Pull” techniques

At some point, in order to make the best of your online portal and ensure it delivers a return on investment, it’s likely you’ll need to employ some “Pull” tactics. At this stage, you’ll need to demonstrate that using the portal really has significant benefits over traditional channels.

The best time to do this, in our experience, is when onboarding new customers: by making the application and onboarding process an online-first affair, customers can be opted-in and persuaded of the value of the portal, from their first interaction with the business. In such cases, it’s rare for customers to then seek out non-digital means.

Where are you in your journey?

Serious consideration needs to be given to HOW you encourage adoption of your portal long before its launch date. Failing to do so will dramatically lengthen the amount of time needed to deliver ROI and generate a critical mass of adoptees, and that in turn can have impacts across the rest of the business, in terms of retiring old systems and reallocating resources previously used by now outdated channels. Time really is of the essence.

If you’re considering a new portal, or making updates to your existing platform, and need to understand how best to ensure it’s a long-term success with end users, please get in touch with us using the details at the top of this site. We’d be delighted to help.