WHY DO ORGANISATIONS INVEST IN PORTALS?
There are many different reasons why an organisation would implement a web portal. It can improve communication processes externally with partners and internally with staff. As well as that, it can simplify processes and integrate data to be accessible in one place. There are different types of portal, from content-based to more collaboration based systems, each have their own benefits. If there’s one thing we’ve learnt when it comes to web portal development, it’s that starting sooner is much better than later.
There are quite a few motivators that may encourage you to get a web portal, three different companies we worked with each had their own reasons for wanting to develop their portals – we will go through them below.
THE CRISIS
Being web portal developers, we often find ourselves dealing with client portal issues or current systems which aren’t up to market standard. When working with TUI, this was the case. TUI had a portal, it worked but it didn’t have the best user experience. They started to notice agents using rivals systems to find out information about TUI’s own product. That was the point that they decided to get a new portal. This is just one example of a crisis. Crisis’s come in all shapes and sizes. It could be a technical crisis, or a contract crisis. Whatever it is, when you reach that tipping point when people no longer use your existing processes or when you feel it is no longer worth investing in them. That is the point that you need to make that change.
THE CUSTOMER REQUEST
Living up to your customer’s standards should be one of your utmost priorities. A client/customer may request that you have a portal for a contract to be renewed/signed. A utility company we worked with went through this exact scenario. One of their big customers specified a portal to share management information as part of their renewal agreement. Listening to your customers is key for success. You need to know what they are after and address these needs to ensure the deal/ new agreement goes as smoothly as possible.
THE SALES APPROACH
And of course, a portal can be central to your sales strategy. Communication is a key part of any sales process and should always be spot on, quick and streamlined. If this isn’t right, or it’s too slow, it just may affect your results. Whitesales are a company that reflect this scenario. Whitesales work in a competitive market and they realised that the company that won the deal usually got their quotation in first. So, they built a portal that allowed surveyors to create and send quotations from the site. Instead of returning having to the office. It absolutely transformed their business. Their conversion rate rose dramatically.
These three examples may give you an inclining into what might happen if you neglect communication processes, customer requests or fail to recognise market trends. Thinking ahead and recognising a problem earlier could save you a few sales, a few contracts or even a problem from arising at all.
For more info, please get in contact: info@solutions.co.uk, we are professional portal developers.