Why Providing a Consumer-Grade App Experience is So Important
Would you pay for content from a streaming service that required you to read a detailed manual in order to find and then watch any shows you picked? Would you use Instagram if it meant grinding through a series of hour-long tutorials on how to post a photo? Could you comprehend ponying up the cash for a smartphone if you knew it would take months, maybe even years to figure out how to use it properly? You no doubt answered “no” to these questions because you value your time, and you have a clear expectation of what certain products offer and will require in return. For many years the gap between the enterprise app-experience and a regular consumer app experience was cavernous — enterprise software was not expected to be user-friendly, it was expected to be complex and robust enough to carry out functions on a large-scale. But a shift has occurred, and a new paradigm has emerged. A consumer-grade experience is now integral to building enterprise app software, what users expect, and is mission-critical for companies interested in maintaining a position of strategic leadership in their respective industry. What is a consumer-grade experience? Simply put, if you can intuitively operate a product with little or no training required, you are having a consumer grade experience. You can open a box or download an app, press a button and bam. In a few minutes you’re on your way to using a product you have never used before. Typically, a consumer-grade product or experience will offer the following features: Simplicity: processes are streamlined allowing users to take action with limited steps Aesthetically-pleasing: users not only enjoy the experience more but are comfortable and confident when the visual presentation is appealing and engaging Intuitive: users become adept more quickly with a product or service if the user-experience patterns are familiar...