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Custom Software Development for Enhanced User Experience

Can you imagine running a business solely with paper pencil? Today, the idea seems laughable, however about a century back all businesses were efficiently working and maintaining information using the humble paper pencil. Modern technology has become the invisible backbone of our daily lives, both personal and professional.  Just as we rely on our smartphones to stay connected, businesses rely on sophisticated software and IT solutions to achieve peak performance.  No matter your industry, embracing technology is no longer optional – it’s the key to unlocking operational efficiency and it a key aspect of establishing a unique brand identity which gains you a competitive edge.

Businesses ranging from SMEs to large enterprises and government establishments are utilizing several software applications. The need of the software never ends, in fact it keeps growing with the passage of time. There are mainly two categories of software applications, one is the commercial off-the-shelf or commonly known as COTS and the other is the custom software development. Both are just two methods to implement a solution that can address to your problems and help you improve operational efficiency. In this blog we will discuss how custom software can greatly enhance user experience, performance and overall operational efficiency for your business.

Custom Software Development for Enhanced User Experience
Custom Software Development for Enhanced User Experience

What is the Difference between Custom Software and Commercial Off-the-Shelf Solutions?

Software are everywhere! In fact the web-browser you’re using now, the operating system on your computer (Windows or Mac), even the machine you swipe at work to clock in and out. But as the saying goes, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel, it is already invented! Business don’t have to create everything from the scratch. However, when it comes to business tools and software application, there are two road to go forward, the commercial off-the-shelf software or COTS and the custom software development. Both have their own advantages and disadvantages, however, we have to understand which is more suitable as per our needs.

Let’s assume you need to streamline your document approval process for clients or suppliers? Here, the two roads diverge. You can search for existing software that fits your needs, or consider acquiring services of a custom software development company like RSI Concepts.

The commercial off-the-shelf software solution might seem popular, catchy and having international development companies behind them, but it won’t perfectly fit your specific and unique business needs. At best, it gets you 80% of the way there, but the other 20% might be features you don’t need or missing functionalities you crave. However, that is not the case with custom software development.

The bespoke software solutions are exclusively designed for your business keeping all your business needs at forefront. That is why a customized software perfectly aligns with all you needs, it can fit like a glove, it works exactly the way you want it to, which can greatly boost your user experience, efficiency and performance.

See Also: What is custom software development?

What is the Difference between Custom Software and Commercial Off-the-Shelf Solutions?
What is the Difference between Custom Software and Commercial Off-the-Shelf Solutions?

How Custom Software Development Enhances User Experience?

Have you ever used an application or a webpage which felt clunky and confusing? Maybe you spent a lot of time looking up for a button, or maybe the information are not presented in a well-organized manners, or the entire experience is poor! That is what a user experience or UX is, if you are unhappy you won’t efficiently perform the task you wanted to. But what if there is a way to make that app or website intuitive, easy-to-navigate and enjoyable? That is the power of custom software development. It lets you design the application and software the way you want it to, you chose the buttons, colors, functionalities and even how each functionality works.

The custom software development is known for its ability to greatly enhance user experience which boost efficiency and performance. Here are some key factors which make user experience very crucial for the success or failure of any software application:

  • User Engagements: Users tend to use and interact with software and applications that more easy to work with, intuitive and have enjoyable experience.
  • Efficiency and Performance: When the users can easily find the options they need and they can easily navigate through the software they tend to complete tasks very quickly.
  • User Trust: When users have a seamless interaction with a software or application they start trusting it and vice versa. Intuitive software are always admired by the users.
  • User Satisfaction: When users have satisfactory experience with a software, either your employee or customers they are more likely to use it more frequently.
  • Brand Loyalty: You customers tend to come back again if they have had a satisfactory interaction with your software applications and they are more likely to recommend it to others.

See Also: The Cost of Custom Software Development: Factors to Consider

How Custom Software Development Enhances User Experience?
How Custom Software Development Enhances User Experience?

By leveraging modern technologies and advanced design practices businesses can develop intuitive and user-friendly interfaces (UIs) for their software application which will delight the users. Whether an application is built for employees or for customers, the intuitive and user-friendly design is an essential component to ensure the success.

Here are some key advantages of custom software development which are very helpful enhancing the user experience and ensuring user satisfaction:

Customization and Personalization

One of the greatest advantage of custom software development is its ability to allow businesses to customize and personalize the user experience as per their needs. The commercial off-the-shelf software solutions are built as per industry standards, hence have a generic interface which might not properly optimize to enhance the workflows that you are aiming to improve. However, with the custom software development you can decide which functionality you want, how you want it and how it should work.

You can customize the names of design elements, buttons, features, menu items, etc. as per your convenience which also minimize the training needs and it is a great way to enhance user experience. You can personalize the interface and functionalities to align them with your existing internal workflows. You can customize the color scheme, design style to make it more familiar and understandable. All these factors greatly help enhancing the user experience and boost efficiency.

See Also: Custom Software for Improved Business Efficiency

Customization and Personalization
Customization and Personalization

Scalability and Flexibility

One of the biggest drawback of commercial off-the-shelf software is its limited ability to support scalability and offer the flexibility which is necessary for growing businesses. However, the custom software development is done keeping scalability in mind. As it is already designed exclusively for the business to meet their specific needs, it also offer easy upgrades and customization. As the needs grow and more features are needed, and over the time some existing features might also need changes or improvements, all this can be done seamlessly with custom software development.

Adding new features or integrating it with more third-party software, databases and application can be done easily. However, the COTS fell short at offering this level of scalability and flexibility. The customized software evolve alongside the business and can grow as the needs grow, offering the ultimate flexibility a business needs to stay ahead of the curve. Adding new features or customizing existing features with ability to integrate with other tools can greatly enhance functionality adding value to user experience.

See Also: Step-by-Step Guide to Planning Your Custom Software Development Project

Scalability and Flexibility
Scalability and Flexibility

Streamlining Workflows

Think of a software or application that help you performing your tasks and have specialized features that you need to achieve your goals? Obviously that would be very comforting and happy experience. The commercial off-the-shelf software solutions lack the ability to offer exclusive features that perfectly align with your needs, this could sometime make user frustrated. The custom software development on the other hand is all about improving user satisfaction and boosting efficiency.

The customized software are designed to optimize the workflows by directly addressing to bottlenecks, user pain points and by eliminating repetitive work from the process. Where this greatly optimize the business processes it also minimize the user efforts and help them achieving their goal very quickly and effortlessly. The custom software development empowers employees with reducing their efforts, automatically pushing data, performing routine tasks through automation, and by facilitating communications and collaborations. All these factors greatly enhance user experience.

See Also: Why the Custom Software Development is Good for Your Business?

Streamlining Workflows
Streamlining Workflows

Easy System Integration

One of the major drawback of commercial off-the-shelf software is their limited ability to support third-party system integration. As these software are generic and designed for masses, they are slow to evolve hence failing to keep up the pace with your emerging needs. Furthermore the COTS are built on standard technologies with a lot of restrictions and limitation to access the source code of the application, this realty limit their ability to integrate with other third-party software and businesses usually end up spending large sums on intermediary applications to enable integration.

In some cases businesses have to move to a completely new software solution due to its inability to offer required integration, which have huge cost and complications. The custom software development doesn’t have any such problem, it is very easy to integrate them with third-party software, tools, databases, and central information system of the organization. The business owns the entire source code and database, which give them full control over the application and enable them to integrate it with any other third-party tool as per their needs.

See Also: Custom Software Development for Healthcare Industry

Easy System Integration
Easy System Integration

Superior Security and Control

One of the biggest advantage of the custom software development is that the software is exclusively designed for the business. Hence the business owns all ownership rights including source code, and databases with full control over software hosting. This provide businesses ability to make their applications more secure as the customized software can be hosted at on-premises data centers as well as the cloud of your choice. This empower businesses and give them full control over their data and sensitive information. When the users are aware that their data is protected and will not be hosted with a third-party they tend to be more confident and have more trust on the software.

Businesses can also implement their own security policies to ensure superior protection. Furthermore since the customized software are exclusively designed for the business, the software is not available to anyone else. However this is not the case with the commercial off-the-shelf software, as they are designed and marketed to masses they are widely available, this means their structure and technology is known to masses and this also make them more vulnerable. Furthermore your data is stored with the software supplier, which offer you limited control over you data and sensitive user information.

See Also: Top Trends in Custom Software Development: What’s Shaping the Industry?

Superior Security and Control
Superior Security and Control

Cost-effectiveness

Most of the time businesses think the custom software development is expensive, and it is due to its higher upfront cost, however, when you analyze the long-term cost you will know the customized software are much more cost-effective and have higher ROI. The commercial off-the-shelf software have less upfront cost and can be deployed within days or even hours. However there are several reoccurring costs, fees and charges. If you need customization, you will have to pay extremely high cost, and the customization too is very limited.

The scaling and upgrades are also very expensive with limited scope. This make them more expensive and over the time the COTS become less effective due to certain limitations. However, the custom software development on the other hand offers easy customization with very less or no cost if you have in-house team. The scalability and flexibility is superior too, you don’t have to pay any reoccurring cost, the maintenance is very less expensive and you got the full ownership of the application as well.

All these factors make customized software much more cost-effective and reliable.

See Also: Common Mistakes to Avoid in Custom Software Development Projects

Cost-effectiveness
Cost-effectiveness

Conclusion

The business landscape in UAE is very competitive, each year we got hundreds of new businesses registering (both startups and international organization) in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and other regions of the country. This makes market even more competitive, and in order to survive and thrive businesses must have highest possible level of operational efficiency and optimized operational cost. When it comes to software solutions, the decision of selecting between a commercial off-the-shelf software solution and custom software development could have huge impact over business’s success. Where the COTS offer quicker deployment and convenience they often fell short at aligning with exclusive and unique business needs.

Custom software development on the other hand empowers businesses. It helps them innovate unique and exclusive features to gain competitive advantage and superior efficiency. There are two major factors the cost and the performance which determine the success or failure of a software project. The commercial off-the-shelf solutions fell way behind on these two scales, the custom software development is very cost-effective in long-term and it can tremendously boost business performance.

The custom software development enable businesses to incorporate innovative features with out-of-the-box approach which address to their unique and exclusive challenges. When it comes to performance the user experience of a software application plays a pivotal role in boosting efficiency and performance. The custom software development enable businesses to customize and personalize the user experience to empower and improve their internal workflows. Full control over the software and its source code enable businesses to customize features as per their needs while significantly reducing the effort to complete a task. This help users achieve their goal easily and quickly.

In this blog we have discussed how custom software development can enhance user experience which is a key to success. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help to build your next bespoke software solution, please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

See Also: Benefits of Investing in Custom Software Development for Your Business in Dubai 

See Also: Why custom software is more cost efficient in UAE?

See Also: Emerging Trends in Custom Software Development


The Impact of Self-Service Kiosks on Business Efficiency

The customer service experience has been revolutionized with the modern interactive self-service kiosk. The customer behavior and expectations are also changed over the time, since past few years with the rise of smartphone and digital technologies, the customer behavior is getting changed. The customers are more inclined toward digital experience and appreciate quicker service delivery. This gives rise to interactive self-service solutions and the self-service kiosk is one of the most effective and impactful self-service solution for both customers and businesses. An interactive self-service kiosk is a computer terminal with some specialized components such as touch screen interfaces, payments, Emirates ID scanner, integrated customer support, biometrics, facial recognition, and a multitude of other software and hardware components.

These interactive self-service kiosks are adopted by almost entire customer service sector, whether it is a hospital or clinic, an airport, bank, retail store or educational institution, these flashy screens are popping up everywhere. These interactive self-service kiosks digitalize various internal processes to facilitate self-service operation. The digitalization drives automation and the automation help boosting efficiency and performance. In this blog we will discuss how self-service kiosk are impacting business efficiency and helping many businesses in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and all around the UAE.

The Impact of Self-Service Kiosks on Business Efficiency
The Impact of Self-Service Kiosks on Business Efficiency

How Self-Service Kiosks Impact Business Efficiency?

The self-service kiosks can greatly boost business efficiency, there are several features and tools which can be customized too to achieve exclusive business goals. Think of long waiting lines, when you are waiting the time seems to pass slowly, how frustrating it is. The self-service kiosk is a highly effective solution to minimize the customer wait time. Businesses utilizes various different types of interactive self-service kiosks for a wide spectrum of applications and utility.

Here are some key benefits of an interactive self-service payment kiosk which greatly help businesses from all industry sector to scale up their growth by offering satisfactory customer experience and advanced features which puts them apart from the others.

See Also: How Interactive Kiosks are Enhancing In-Store Engagement and Sales

Self-Service Kiosks Reduce Wait Time and Improve Customer Experience

One of the biggest advantage of the interactive self-service kiosks is their ability to significantly reduce the customer wait time. These kiosks are either installed on-site or in remote locations to maximize the access. In any case an interactive self-service kiosks offers quicker and instant service. These kiosk are automated, doesn’t require assistance from the staff and are excellent at delivering self-service experience. This helps minimizing the wait time and it also help eliminating the impact of perceived wait time. The perceived wait time is often not considered by most of the businesses, however, it could have huge impact on customer experience.

Furthermore during peak hours, the waiting line could get very long, putting extra strain on staff and negatively impacting the entire customer flow. An interactive self-service kiosk can serve as an alternate service channel. Especially in countries like UAE where most of the population is very tech savvy, adding a digital experience could delight most of your audience. It can greatly help improving customer experience during the peak hours.

See Also: Introduction to Digital Signage Kiosk and Smart Kiosk

Self-Service Kiosks Reduce Wait Time and Improve Customer Experience
Self-Service Kiosks Reduce Wait Time and Improve Customer Experience

The interactive self-service kiosks are good at streamlining customer flow, it help distributing the influx between self-service and traditional service channels, keeping the performance of the service agents at maximum. When the service agents have balanced workload it not only speed up service delivery but also help boosting the service quality. Moreover the interactive self-service kiosks are computer terminals, running on customized software applications and can operate effectively 24/7 without any interruption. This helps businesses make information and services more accessible and it also help reaching out to unexplored markets without making huge investments in opening up new branches or regional offices.

With ability to integrate with other existing system such as queue management system, ERP, customer relationship management (CMR), queue management system, online booking management system, multiple payment methods (cash, coins, credit/debit cards, etc.), Emirates ID scanner, RFID, and a variety of other software and hardware tool can greatly enhance the performance and customer experience over in the busy service centers.

See Also: What is a Bill Payment Kiosk: Everything You Need to Know

The interactive self-service kiosks are good at streamlining customer flow
The interactive self-service kiosks are good at streamlining customer flow

Interactive Self-Service Kiosk Improve Business Processes and Operational Efficiency

Where interactive self-service kiosks are beneficial for customers these technological marvels offer a great operational efficiency and are known for their ability to automate and simplify internal business processes. Any business process that involves serving customers could be a combination of various different tasks. For example, when a customer made a payment, the cashier collects it, he or she then update the internal books, which are later processed by the accountant and then the relevant staff takes action and ensure a quality service while also ensuring a smoother customer experience.

These all processes involve several different employees who belongs to various different business functions and teams. However, when a customer makes a payment on the kiosk, the accounts are updated automatically, the customer service team is updated, the service is delivered in no time and all records get updates instantly.

See Also: Leveraging Payment Kiosks for Effective Queue Management

Interactive Self-Service Kiosk Improve Business Processes and Operational Efficiency
Interactive Self-Service Kiosk Improve Business Processes and Operational Efficiency

The interactive self-service kiosks are great at automating internal workflows and digitalizing repetitive tasks. For example, the order processing and payment collection is a routine task at any customer service center. With interactive self-service kiosks such processes can be automated saving a lot of staff effort, boosting productivity by reducing staff workload, and driving efficiency with making service delivery incredibly quick and convenient.

Furthermore the interactive self-service kiosks can operate 24/7 which makes them more superior and offer higher convenience. If you are living in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi or any other region of UAE you would have known sometimes how difficult and time consuming it could be to visit a customer service center. This takes time, and above all most of the service centers have limited operating hours, however, the interactive self-service kiosks offer services 24/7 and enhance customer experience. Businesses can also utilize self-service kiosks to extend their areas of operation as it is much convenient and cost-efficient to deploy an interactive self-service kiosk rather than opening up a new branch or regional office.

See Also: Dubai Police Acquire Interactive Signage from RSI Concepts

Interactive Self-Service Kiosk Improve Business Processes and Operational Efficiency
The Interactive Self-Service Kiosks can Operate 24/7

Self-Service Kiosks Offer Personalized Customer Experience and Improved Accuracy

Personalized customer experience and accuracy are the two key factors to improve customer satisfaction. The customer satisfaction is crucial for any business, and it is difficult to every time offer personalized customer experience with certain level of efficiency and optimum quality service with the traditional customer service center. The accuracy also declined especially during the peak hours. Here in UAE there is a huge expat population living, hence the customers sometimes require support in their native languages.

That is not always possible and could also be expensive at some times. However, with the interactive self-service kiosks all these problems can be rectified. There is virtually no barrier in kiosks, you can build UIs even in 10 different languages and the kiosk management software is intelligent enough to deliver consistent and personalized customer experience.

See Also: Digital Branch Transformation Trends

Self-Service Kiosks Offer Personalized Customer Experience and Improved Accuracy
Self-Service Kiosks Offer Personalized Customer Experience and Improved Accuracy

Every interactive self-service kiosks comes with a kiosk management software which is usually a server-side application. This application integrates with all internal systems, databases, and central information system. It also has in-built smart algorithms which are capable of identifying the customer and also very effective at managing customer profiles and groups.

Moreover the kiosk management software enables it to identify the customer, it let customer interact in their language of choice and it can recall their past interaction which helps it to deliver a personalized customer experience as per their preferences, past interaction and their profile group which can greatly enhance customer experience and raise satisfaction.

See Also: Security Challenges and Solutions in Payment Kiosk Systems

Personalized Customer Experience Help Increasing Customer Satisfaction
Personalized Customer Experience Help Increasing Customer Satisfaction

Interactive Self-Service Kiosks Collect Data and Offer Simple Integration

The interactive self-service kiosks are a great tool to collect valuable business intelligence data. It is also capable of integrating with other business tools, software, databases and central information center. Businesses can integrate it with their accounts, sales, inventory management system, customer relationship management system (CRM), enterprise resource planning system (ERP), performance management system (PMS), facility management system, third-party services, payment gateways, customer call centers and much more. There are endless possibilities which enable businesses to innovate features and enhance customer experience to gain great competitive advantages.

These smart software solutions are capable of collecting business intelligence data from each and every touch point. The interactive self-service kiosks capture customer behavioral data along with their preference and it is also capable of effectively implementing business policies according to customer groups, or pre-set instructions.

See Also: Dubai Police Acquire Interactive Signage from RSI Concepts

Interactive Self-Service Kiosks Collect Data and Offer Simple Integration
Interactive Self-Service Kiosks Collect Data and Offer Simple Integration

The business intelligence data is not only limited to analytical data and statistical data but business can also collect customer feedback data directly from customer with a simplified feedback tools. The interactive self-service kiosk software also offer in-built analytical tools, customized reporting and integrated data sharing tools. Which help businesses integrating business intelligence data in their strategic decision making hence improving the productivity and performance.

Businesses can base their decisions on the analytical data which will improve their decision making and also help them understand customer trends and behavior. The customer feedback is very helpful it help businesses directly ask customer about any aspect of the customer service or business and help them understand customer sentiments. The modern day business landscape is heavily driven by the business intelligence and data, which is why the interactive self-service kiosks can be a great source of valuable business intelligence data with higher accuracy and literally no additional cost.

See Also: RSI Interactive Kiosks for MAF Carrefour MyClub Customer Loyalty Program

The Third-Party System Integration Help Driving Automation and Innovation
The Third-Party System Integration Help Driving Automation and Innovation

Conclusion

The interactive self-service kiosks have completely revolutionized the business operation and how customer interacts with the business. These solutions empower customers, give them more control, freedom and privacy. Furthermore the interactive self-service kiosks are a great tool to streamline customer service and boosting operational efficiency. Whether you deploy them in manned or un-manned setups, these technological marvels drive efficiency and boost productivity. Along with traditional service counters, the self-service kiosks help minimizing the impact of higher influx, reduce employee work load in peak hours, and help improving customer experience.

With the ability to streamline internal business processes and workflows along with 24/7 operation, the interactive self-service kiosks are and ideal solution for modern fast-paced customer oriented services. The customer-centric businesses are rapidly adopting to interactive self-service kiosks and tend to perform well comparing to traditional businesses. Furthermore the interactive self-service kiosks are very cost-effective, require less maintenance and can remain operational for many years without requiring any upgrade or modification, resulting in higher ROIs.

This is the reason why many industries such as retail, food sector, educational institutions, airports, healthcare, hospitality sector, and even government organizations are rapidly adopting to interactive self-service kiosks. If you are ready to embrace the revolutionary power of interactive self-service kiosks, please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.


The Impact of Cloud Computing on Custom Software Development [Full Guide]

Imagine you are decorating your home, when it comes to your room, you bought a cabinet but when you brought it in, it wouldn’t fit your door! What would you do? Will you change the cabinet or break the door? The custom software development could also be similar to that, you reach half-way and realize you need more computing power, or storage, in case of traditional hosting, you have to buy the larger package, however, in case of cloud you can seamlessly increase your resources whether it is computing power, or the storage and you will only have to pay for the resources you want or utilize.

Let say you have acquired a shared hosting, now half-way through you require a VPS or VDS server specs, you will going to pay for the VDS usually it is in full and similar for the higher specs. In case of on-premises data centers, if you face such limitation, then you will have to increase the hardware capacity, which too is expensive and has certain challenges. Therefore the cloud computing is the ideal solution for custom software development. The custom software development is usually a lengthy process, sometimes businesses also add more features sometimes during the staging, and some time even after it become fully operational. In this blog we will discuss the positive impact of the cloud computing on custom software development its long-term impact.

The Impact of Cloud Computing on Custom Software Development [Full Guide]
The Impact of Cloud Computing on Custom Software Development [Full Guide]

What is Cloud Computing?

Technically the cloud computing is a system of delivering computing power, storage capacity, database, server, operating system, networks, application environments and analytical tools. The cloud computing is a modern form of hosting, it is just one step ahead of it. Unlike the traditional hosting services or on-premises data centers the cloud computing is much more flexible and is capable of delivering resources as per demand. For example, if your demand rises you can immediately increase whatever resource you want in order to ensure a smooth and seamless operation of your software application. Furthermore the cloud computing is much more supportive towards innovation, and it is very cost-effective which makes it ideal for the custom software development.

There are three very flexible cloud computing service models which are ideal for custom software development:

  1. IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service): The IaaS offers raw computing resources with full control over the virtual machine, storage and network enabling software developers to manage the control the operating system and application.
  2. PaaS (Platform as a Service): The PaaS service model offers a fully managed platform where software developer can build, deploy, customize and scale software application without any worry about the infrastructure management.
  3. SaaS (Software as a Service): The SaaS or software as a service offers fully managed software application to the end-users with enhanced scalability. Both software service provider and third-party software are offered through SaaS service model.
What is Cloud Computing?
What is Cloud Computing?

The Evolution of Custom Software Development

The custom software development have evolved tremendously, starting from micro applications, customized module to full-fledge organizational operating system, the custom software development have completely overshadowed the traditional commercial off-the-shelf software industry. The custom software development is popular due to the fact that it fully aligns with your unique business needs and offer much more freedom and control over the functionality of the application. This is what distinguishes them from traditional off-the-shelf application and make custom software much more reliable and effective. As the customized software application are developed from scratch, there is a lot of room to grow and expand, hence the resources required to run these apps also grow.

See Also: What is custom software development?

The traditional on-premises or hosting solutions are not agile enough, and have certain limitations, the cloud computing on the other hand offer the required flexibility, adoptability and scalability needed by the custom software apps. The custom software development is aimed to support the emerging needs of the organization as well. The custom software development can offer a great competitive advantage with its elevated adoptability, seamless integration, scalability and resilient towards emerging challenges. Traditionally businesses were relying on in-house IT infrastructure, however, that is not cost-effective neither it offers flexibility comparable to cloud. This is why businesses are now adopting cloud computing for their custom software development projects.

The Evolution of Custom Software Development
The Evolution of Custom Software Development

Cloud Computing Offers On-Demand Scalability and Unmatched Flexibility

One of the biggest challenge in custom software development is the resource management and scalability. Scaling up is the most crucial aspect of the business, if the IT infrastructure failed to offer the required scalability, the businesses will not be able to sustain operational efficiency. With on-premises database scaling up could be very challenging, adding more hardware devices or upgrading to the processors could be very expensive. Moreover managing the network, security, and other aspects is a very challenging and expensive feat. For example, if you faces a surge in users or need to increase computing power quickly, the cloud computing not only allow that but it automatically increase your resources when needed, ensuring a seamless and un-interrupted operation. The on-premises data center or traditional online hosting can also be expanded, however, it requires time and the cost too is high.

See Also: Benefits of Investing in Custom Software Development for Your Business in Dubai

Furthermore the cloud offers another great feature which traditional hosting or on-premises data centers doesn’t offer, which is the ability to scale down instantly as it can scale up, it can be scaled down to minimize the cost. Furthermore the cloud is also one step ahead from traditional hosting solutions when it comes to the future proofing of your software applications. Let say if you upgrade your software application, to ensure highest performance and security, in order to implement the upgrades you must be requiring latest versions of the operating system and several other aspects of the IT infrastructure, each and every component will have its own cost and sometime would be very difficult to upgrade the environment. However, with the cloud, this can be achieved within a few minutes and with very less or literally no cost.

Cloud Computing Offers On-Demand Scalability and Unmatched Flexibility
Cloud Computing Offers On-Demand Scalability and Unmatched Flexibility

Accelerated Development and Quick Launch

The cloud computing offer unmatched features such as scalable resources, access to pre-built services and APIs which accelerate the development cycle and help quickly launch the applications. These features help streamlining the development processes especially it helps with third-party system integration which enable businesses to quickly launch and market their applications. Furthermore the cloud computing also offer robust platform and development tools which are very helpful for the developers and help them boosting the development process.

See Also: The Cost of Custom Software Development: Factors to Consider

Another remarkable feature of cloud computing is that it can provide centralized access to development resources. This enable development teams to collaborate with each other and prevent repetitive work which also accelerate the development process. The developers can work remotely and from separate geographical locations, which sharing codes, data, repositories and everything in real-time. By fostering a highly collaborative development environment the team can quickly and easily do the testing, implement the iterations, and manage the resources. Furthermore it is relatively easier and very quick to move to production environment form staging or UAT environment enabling quick launch.

Accelerated Development and Quick Launch
Accelerated Development and Quick Launch

Enhanced Data Protection, Security and Backups

Unlike the common misconception, the cloud computing offers superior data protection, security and backup features. The cloud computing offers state-of-the-art security solutions with multi-layer protection and firewalls. Moreover the cloud computing also offers quick implementation of the advanced security protocols, encryption, advanced user authentication and access mechanisms and up-to-date protective measures. The adherence to advanced compliance standards ensure highest level of protection and security for the applications, users and the infrastructure. The cloud computing service providers have specialized and professional security teams and highly advanced security solutions which is usually not possible with the traditional hosting or on-premises solutions.

These advanced security features protect against data breach, moreover the cloud computing also offer advanced monitoring and threat detection tools which ensure highest level of security and data protection. Above all the cloud computing offers automatic updates of the resources, tools, and the environment which ensures your applications are running on the most secure and up-to-date infrastructure. Normally all cloud computing solutions comes with standard backup and recovery mechanisms, however, the cloud computing is very flexible towards backups and businesses can have multiple backup layers with advance CDN, and load balancing solutions which ensures your users always have a seamless and uninterrupted experience. The enhanced security, advanced data protection and data backup features can greatly enhance the efficiency and efficacy of your custom software applications.

See Also: Custom Software for Improved Business Efficiency

Enhanced Data Protection, Security and Backups
Enhanced Data Protection, Security and Backups

Conclusion

The cloud computing has a profound and far-reaching impact over custom software development. The cutting-edge technology and advanced features of the cloud computing have completely revolutionized the custom software development and help businesses leveraging the full potential of the applications. The cloud computing not only offer superior resource management, scaling, security and monitoring tools, but it also help accelerating the development cycle and help businesses quickly and efficiently develop customized software applications.

The traditional hosting solutions and on-premises hosting often failed to meet the dynamic and diverse needs of the custom software development. Furthermore the on-premises IT infrastructure is expensive, difficult to manage and even more difficult to upgrade. The cloud computing on the other hand always offer up-to-date IT infrastructure with cutting-edge security, networking, and resource management tools. The cloud computing offers a very easy-to-scale infrastructure which can easily adopt to the emerging needs of your software application.

Whether you want to scale up to accommodate a rise in system users or whether you want to scale down to save the cost, the cloud computing offers that seamlessly. With the advanced cloud computing management and monitoring tools you can seamlessly scale up or scale down your resources as per your needs. Above all the cloud computing can automatically scale up your raw computing power and other resources if there is a surge in the users preventing your software applications from slowing down or cashing. This ensures a great uninterrupted and seamless user experience.

When it comes to security and data protection the cloud computing is superior to any other traditional hosting solution. It offers state-of-the art security tools with a multi-layer security protocol. Whether it is the networking tool, environment, server operating system or any other security tool you are using, the cloud computing automatically update all these tools and operating systems to ensure your custom software development project gets up-to-date security and robust performance.

The cloud computing also offers different service models and very flexible service plans which suits your needs and also help you easily customize your service plans if needed to optimize the cost. The upfront cost is also nominal comparing to on-premises data centers and businesses are free from managing the physical IT infrastructure further lowering their operational cost. In this blog we have discussed how the cloud computing is impacting the custom software development in a very positive way. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help to migrate to any local or international cloud computing platform, please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

 


What is a Bill Payment Kiosk: Everything You Need to Know

The bill payment kiosks are revolutionizing the financial market and traditional methods of transactions between businesses and customers. A bill payment kiosk is a specialized type of interactive self-service kiosk which includes features and functionalities to collect payments from the customers. The bill payment kiosk machines offer seamless transaction with an intuitive self-service experience which is why businesses and organizations in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and all around the UAE are rapidly adopting the technology.

The bill payment kiosk are not exclusive to banking and financial sector, in fact various industries are showing great ROIs, making it one of the most popular emerging technology in UAE. A bill payment kiosk not only help streamlining the payment process, but it also ensures a higher customer satisfaction. Features like multiple payment methods, multilingual intuitive UIs, countless hardware features, customizable software, easy adoptability and automation makes bill payment kiosk a perfect companion to deal with diverse customer demand, managing operational performance and building a strong brand perception.

In this blog we will explore several key aspects of the bill payment kiosks and how businesses can leverage them to enhance customer experience and boost operational efficiency.

What is a Bill Payment Kiosk: Everything You Need to Know
What is a Bill Payment Kiosk: Everything You Need to Know

See Also: Leveraging Payment Kiosks for Effective Queue Management

What is a Bill Payment Kiosk?

A bill payment kiosk is an interactive touchscreen kiosk which accept payments from customers via multiple modes such as cash payment via currency bills and coins, credit/debit cards, digital payments, NFC payments, integrated payment gateways, vouchers and many. A bill payment kiosk is a one-stop-shop where customers are offered multiple different services and information.

The bill payment kiosks are excellent at enhancing customer experience while offering them easy 24/7 access to business services such as paying bills, service charges, subscription fees, or checking out at retail stores and restaurants. In the fast-paced markets like Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and other regions in UAE where the importance of time is paramount, customers and businesses both admire solutions which optimize service delivery process and minimize customer wait time.

A bill payment kiosk is designed to offer a multitude of services through intuitive user interfaces. It comes with a powerful backend software or management tool which enable businesses to control and manage data and information on the kiosk in real-time. The bill payment kiosk software offers great features such as customization, easy scalability, adoptability, and flexible integration which enable business to offer innovative features and help them improve customer experience.

See Also: The Impact of Self-Service Kiosks on Business Efficiency

What is a Bill Payment Kiosk?
What is a Bill Payment Kiosk?

What are the Types of Bill Payment Kiosk?

There are several types of bill payment kiosks based on their technical specification, usage, or industry-specific application. In general a bill payment kiosk has a touchscreen interface, cash acceptor and authenticator, however, coin-base payment, cash recycler for change return and POS integration for credit/debit card payments is also common. However, there are three major types of the bill payment kiosk on the bases of its physical design:

  • Indoor Bill Payment Kiosk: As the name suggests the indoor bill payment kiosks are designed to deploy in indoor setups, it could be an office, shopping mall, community center, transportation hubs, airports, libraries, healthcare, government service centers, etc. These types of kiosk are cost efficient and can offer multiple advanced features.
  • Outdoor Bill Payment Kiosk: The outdoor bill payment kiosks are deployed in outdoors – fully exposed to the harsh environment. These kiosks are built using specialized components with advanced temperature control and weather proofing features. The outdoor bill payment kiosks are slightly expensive and can have limited features due to the outdoor compatibility of the physical components and parts.
  • Customized Bill Payment Kiosks: The customized bill payment kiosks are tailored solutions as per the specific and unique business needs. Businesses usually go for customized bill payment kiosks in order to develop innovative features adding value to customer experience as well as helping then gain the competitive advantage. Furthermore businesses also require customized solutions in order to include additional hardware and software features which accommodate and strengthen their existing business processes without compelling them to make disruptive changes to their internal workflows.

See Also: Security Challenges and Solutions in Payment Kiosk Systems

What are the Types of Bill Payment Kiosk?
What are the Types of Bill Payment Kiosk?

Furthermore there are many more types of bill payment kiosks on the bases of application and usage. Here are a few commonly used bill payment kiosks that are gaining popularity in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and all across the UAE.

  1. Bill Payment Kiosk Machine: These are some of the most common bill payment kiosks in UAE. The bill payment kiosk machines are versatile with cash and debit/credit card based payment methods. These kiosks support transactions for a multitude of services such as electricity and water supply bills, telecom services, remittances, international payments, fees and charges for government services and much more. These kiosk machines are common in public areas, markets, shopping malls, and residential areas, etc. offering a quick way to manage payments.
  2. Cash Payment Kiosk: These kiosks are usually offered by utility service providers, retail businesses, facility management companies, and organizations who are usually dealing with small amounts ranging from AED 5/10 Dirham to up to AED 200 Dirhams. Usually these kiosk doesn’t offer change and return but in certain cases these facilities are added too. These kiosks are usually found in busy service centers offering a quick alternate service channel to optimize efficiency.
  3. Utility Payment Kiosk: The utility payment kiosks are usually utilized by utility service providers and installed at their attended and unattended service areas. The utility bill payment kiosks are also common in shopping malls, residential areas and high footfall public areas. These kiosks offer intuitive payment processes with additional features exclusively designed to simplify the customer journey.
  4. Self-Ordering Kiosks: These self-ordering kiosks are utilized by small and medium sized businesses offering multiple services. Furthermore the food-ordering kiosks are also a type of self-ordering kiosk and are very common all across the UAE. Many popular food and restaurant chains, retail stores, and service providers are using self-ordering kiosks to enhance customer experience and to offer an alternate service channel for quick service delivery.
  5. Self-Service Payment Kiosk: These types of kiosks are usually used at high footfall areas, public places for a multitude of different services, for example, the kiosk that you are using at metro stations to top up your NOL card or any other card or the kiosk you use to purchase bus tickets, cinema tickets, and even at entertainment venues are all different example of self-service payment kiosks.
  6. Cash Payment Kiosk: The cash payment kiosks are usually designed to take and hold large quantity of currency bills, it usually offer a more flexible payment method such as ability to get payment in coins as well along with facility to return change in cash and coins. The cash payment kiosks are used by retail businesses, service providers, government and public offices, charities, libraries and various other sectors.
  7. Money Transfer Kiosk: The money transfer kiosks are used by money exchanges, banks and remittance service providers. As in UAE a large number of expats is living who are regularly sending remittances to their home countries, this is why the money transfer kiosks are gaining huge popularity. These kiosks are equipped with specialized KYC tools and security features to comply with government policies and can hold large amount of cash inside them, ensuring a smooth and seamless customer experience.
  8. Government Service Payment Kiosk: The government service payment kiosks are gaining popularity in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and all across the UAE. Different government departments are utilizing these kiosks. These kiosks not just take payments, but has ability to fully integrate in the workflow with additional integrated tools such as Emirates ID scanner, Passport Scanner, Document Scanner/Printer, Barcode/QR Code Scanners, Biometrics and much more. These kiosks are usually custom designed in order to seamlessly integrate with existing government services, workflows and business processes and can offer a multiple different payment methods along with cash payment.

Apart from above all, all different types of vending machines, parking ticket payment machines, and even the ATMs are also the types of cash or bill payment kiosks.

See Also: Revolutionizing Campus Services with Student Kiosks

Commonly used Bill Payment Kiosks
Advantages of a Bill Payment Kiosk

What are the Key Benefits of a Bill Payment Kiosk?

Different industries utilizes bill payment kiosk differently for example, a government of public-office might be using a bill payment kiosk which have additional features such as Emirates ID scanner, biometrics, document scanners and printers and multiple payment methods, however, a retail store might be using barcode/QR code scanner, RFID reader, and in some cases digital weighting scale and such features.

However, no matter what industry you belongs to, there are certain benefits which are similarly applicable across all industries and applications. Here are some key benefits of a bill payment kiosk, regardless of business’ industry or size.

  1. Easy Accessibility: One of the biggest advantage of bill payment kiosk is that it offers 24/7 access to business services. Easy access and reachability enhance customer experience and raise their satisfaction.
  2. Reduced Wait Time: Whether used in attended service centers or unattended setups, the bill payment kiosks has ability to process payments much quickly, optimizing service delivery process, and reducing customer wait time.
  3. Intuitive User Interface (UI): The bill payment kiosks usually offer multi-lingual and very user-friendly user interface (UI) which can greatly enhance customer experience. On-screen instructions and other intuitive features raise customer satisfaction.
  4. Raise Operational Efficiency: A bill payment kiosk digitalize several processes and make transactions seamless. Which greatly improve operational efficiency and also help reducing the employee workload which lead to better resource management.
  5. Multiple Payment Methods: A bill payment kiosk is a digital system which has ability to integrate multiple payment methods such as cash, coins, credit/debit cards, and digital payment modes, offering more ease, convenience and freedom to customers.
  6. Real-time Processing: A bill payment kiosk software can be integrated with third-party software, tools, databases and central information center of the business. This enables it to process payments in real-time and update all relevant systems automatically, giving instant confirmation.
  7. Privacy and Security: A bill payment kiosk complies with highest industry standards to ensure high level security and privacy. It offer self-service experience and encrypted data communication which raise protection levels and help gaining customer trust.
  8. Business Intelligence Data: The powerful software of bill payment kiosk can provide a wealth of high-value actionable analytical data on customer behavior, market trends, service preference and much more which help business taking informed decisions.

Instant service delivery, easy access, intuitive features and secure transactions make bill payment kiosk an ideal solution for growing business. A bill payment kiosk can offer alternate service channel which can greatly improve the capability to serve more customers, hence reduce the staff requirements. All these features enhance customer experience as well as boot operational efficiency and help businesses scale for growth by maximizing their profitability.

See Also: How Interactive Kiosks are Enhancing In-Store Engagement and Sales

What are the Key Benefits of a Bill Payment Kiosk?
What are the Key Benefits of a Bill Payment Kiosk?

How Bill Payment Kiosk can Elevate Customer Experience?

In the highly dynamic and fast-paced business landscape of UAE businesses located in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and all across the country are very inclined towards adopting modern practices and methodologies and implementing cutting-edge technology to elevate customer experience. The customer experience is one of the most important aspect of the business, as the entire business success heavily depends on customer satisfaction.

The bill payment kiosks or self-service payment kiosks are also a step toward elevated customer experience and satisfied customer journey. The payment kiosk machines offer a super user-friendly customer experience and also help businesses enhancing operational performance. Here are some key advantages of bill payment kiosk which help elevating customer experience:

  • Easy Access and Convenience: The biggest appeal of an interactive self-service bill payment kiosk lies in its ability to offer easy access and convenience. These kiosk machines operates 24/7 offering more freedom and letting customer access the services any time they want. Furthermore there is no need to stand in long waiting lines, which usually undermine customer experience.
  • Intuitive and User-Friendly: The bill payment kiosks are built on a smart kiosk management software which has ability to offer intuitive multi-lingual user interfaces (UIs). Furthermore on-screen instruction, access to updated information and direct customer support access offer excellent customer experience and make them more user-friendly.
  • Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty: By offering a friction less and optimized service delivery mechanisms through bill payment kiosks businesses can greatly boost customer satisfaction. Freedom, control and personalization with an intuitive and user-friendly service delivery process the customer happiness can be raised which is a key to customer loyalty and long term success.
  • Enhanced Customer Service: The bill payment kiosks are very reliable, offering most accurate services and information by avoiding almost all different types of human errors. Furthermore the bill payment kiosks also help boosting the performance of the service centers. By serving as an alternate service channel, the staff workload is reduced resulting in improved service quality.
  • Multi-Functionality: The bill payment kiosks are versatile, they comes up with multiple software and hardware based features which are all designed to enhance customer experience by simplifying customer journey. Such as specialized features to instantly scan documents, or access to information, or connecting with support, etc. All these features elevate customer experience.

With the advancements in technology the bill payment kiosk machines are becoming more user-friendly day by day. Businesses are rapidly adopting to self-service bill payment kiosks to streamline their service delivery processes which is completely transforming how businesses and customers are conducting financial transactions.

See Also: DP World Acquired RSI Payment Kiosk

How Bill Payment Kiosk can Elevate Customer Experience?
How Bill Payment Kiosk can Elevate Customer Experience?

Why the Placement of the Bill Payment Kiosk is Crucial for Success?

The success of the bill payment kiosk depends on the users, if not many users will use it, you won’t be able to leverage its full potential. But most of the businesses doesn’t realized that how crucial it is to place the bill payment kiosk on carefully selected strategic locations. For example, if you place a bill payment kiosk in a resting area at a highway, what do you expect how many people will going to use it? Not many, because despite having large footfall at those areas, the people who are stopping there are just there for refreshment or rest and doesn’t have any attention to make quick payment while traveling between Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

However, if you place your bill payment kiosk at the entrance or exit of a shopping mall, the chances are almost everyone will notice them. Hence you should chose the placement of these kiosk machines very carefully. The shopping malls, bus and metro stations, markets, community centers and places with large footfall are ideal to place a bill payment kiosk. If you are placing it in your existing service center, even then the placement matters a lot. For example, if you are placing it at a corner, where it is not as that visible, then the chances are most of the people will end up in queues instead of going for the self-service bill payment kiosk. Ensuring the bill payment kiosk is placed at a well-lit, secure, easily accessible place could greatly increase the chances of success.

See Also: Dubai Police Acquire Interactive Signage from RSI Concepts

Why the Placement of the Bill Payment Kiosk is Crucial for Success?
Why the Placement of the Bill Payment Kiosk is Crucial for Success?

Why “Pay and Go” Bill Payment Kiosks are the Future?

The Pay and Go kiosks is a type of self-service bill payment kiosks, very popular among retail and service sector in UAE. The Pay and Go kiosk not just only offers convenience but it is a great leap towards more customer-centric and efficient customer service. The ease-of-access, intuitiveness, personalized experience, multi-functionality and optimized service delivery not just ensure customer satisfaction but also boost operational performance.

The digitalization and automation plays a crucial role along with additional features such as remote management, real-time data updates and flexible integration and countless many more benefits of a customized self-service Pay and Go kiosk. Another reason of the popularity of the Pay and Go kiosks is the fast-paced lifestyle of the country. Quicker access to service, freedom of choice, full control over financial transactions and simplicity offered by Pay and Go bill payment kiosks make them and ideal solution for customer-centric businesses.

Businesses can leverage the cost-effectiveness and easier adaptation of the Pay and Go bill payment kiosks to expand their market reach and offer their services for a broader audience base. All the valuable features and advantages offered by Pay and Go kiosk machines are encouraging more businesses to adopt to these solutions to gain great competitive advantage.

See Also: The DMT Abu Dhabi Acquired Hand Sanitizer Kiosks and Dispensers from RSI Concepts

Why “Pay and Go” Bill Payment Kiosks are the Future?
Why “Pay and Go” Bill Payment Kiosks are the Future?

Conclusion

The bill payment kiosks are becoming an indispensable need of modern customer-centric businesses. The versatility, multi-functionality, quicker adaptation, and higher customer satisfaction are the major factor contributing to completely reshaping the business landscape of Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and broader UAE. Various industries are witnessing huge rise in customer satisfaction and operational performance by implementing Pay and Go bill payment kiosk solutions. Above all these kiosk machines are very cost-efficient with relatively longer lifecycle, low maintenance needs, less operational cost and convenience are making them ideal for many industries. Offering a quicker and more user-friendly service channel can greatly reduce the workload of the service staff, which lead to better and improved staff performance and higher service quality.

However, when you are considering to implement a Pay and Go bill payment kiosk, there are certain things that you should consider, such as the features you want to offer, the customer journey optimization, the bill payment kiosks software, the integration and even the placement of the kiosk, all these factors are the main contributes in the success.

In this blog we have covered many aspects of bill payment kiosks and designed this guide to be more understandable for a vast majority of the audience. If you want to learn more about the bill payment kiosks or if you want our help to design and deploy a highly cost-effective tailor-made Pay and Go bill payment kiosk for your business, please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

See Also: Why smart kiosks are the future?


Benefits of Investing in Custom Software Development for Your Business in Dubai

The modern day businesses depends heavily on various software applications and digital tools. In fact the operation of today’s business is nearly impossible without utilizing technology. The software applications range from a simple accounts tool to a complex HRMS and a full-fledged complete Business OS (operating system). Different businesses have different needs, different industry sectors have different norms and standards, hence different levels of software complexity is required.

However, one thing is sure that all modern day business are using some sort of software to improve business efficiency. It could either be even a humble email client, like outlook, or MS Excel, these too are software tools. Or it could be a highly sophisticated ERP system or a performance management system to manage thousands of employees and huge business operations. Businesses in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and all around the UAE tend to be early adopter of the modern technologies.

Furthermore businesses and companies from all around the world have presence in Dubai and all around the UAE which raise the competitiveness and diversity of the business landscape in the country. It is the strategic location of the country and its ports along with its highly business-friendly government policies which is and which will keep attracting more businesses, therefore it is important to make your business as much competitive as possible. In this blog we will discuss what are the benefits of investing in custom software development for your business.

Benefits of Investing in Custom Software Development for Your Business in Dubai
Benefits of Investing in Custom Software Development for Your Business in Dubai

The Importance of Technological Advancements in Business

The technology help businesses boost performance and productivity, it streamline internal processes, enhance customer experience, improve product/service quality and it offers better monitoring and tracking capabilities. That is why it is crucial to leverage technological advancements to remain ahead of your competition.

When it comes to the software solutions, there are two distinct ways to do that, the commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) solutions and custom software development. Both have their pros and cons, businesses are using various different types of software on different levels and with different complexity and sophistication. For example, if you need an email client, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel, you can use any off-the-shelf email client.

But if you need an ERP, HR System, or a document processing system or an intranet application, CRM, or other such tool, then you should seriously consider your requirements, goals and objectives and then decide which software solution type will serve you best. Every business evolved differently, and it is this difference which attracts your customers. This also means that every business have different goals and objectives with exclusive needs and requirements. Which can only be fulfilled with custom software development, the COTS are standardized applications and doesn’t offer much room for customization.

See Also: Step-by-Step Guide to Planning Your Custom Software Development Project

The Importance of Technological Advancements in Business
The Importance of Technological Advancements in Business

Key Benefits of Custom Software Development for Businesses in Dubai

When business owners, managers or decision makers go with the custom software development they are usually doubtful about the impact of this project. Most of the time businesses are reluctant to go with custom software development because it requires much more time, efforts and in some cases initial cost is also higher comparing to available commercial off-the-shelf solutions available in the market. Here are some key benefits of custom software development for business in Dubai, which will assure them higher success and greater impact than the counterpart COTS.

Key Benefits of Custom Software Development: Customization

One thing that businesses can never achieve from commercial off-the-shelf software solutions is the ability to perfectly align the software with their unique needs and ability to addressing to the very unique challenges they are facing. However the custom software development not only personalize the software solution as per your business needs but it also helps you to address the unique challenges you are facing and tend to deliver exclusive advantages which can gain you great competitive edge.

The custom software development project starts with intensive requirement gathering drive, which help the development team to understand all your needs and challenges. That is why the custom software development can deliver more effective software solutions. Furthermore when a software solution is built exclusively for your needs it will also allow you to choose the features, technologies and work flows as per your needs. This also help integrating custom software with your existing IT infrastructure in a nearly seamless manner.

See Also: Leveraging Big Data in Custom Software Development

Key Benefits of Custom Software Development: Customization
Key Benefits of Custom Software Development: Customization

Key Benefits of Custom Software Development: Cost-Effective

It is a common misconception that the custom software development is expensive, however, that is not true at all. It might seem that the initial cost of the commercial off-the-shelf software solutions is less and they can setup immediately, even within a day or two, however, the COTS have recurring cost, which diminishes with long-term cost-effectiveness and even it makes them much more expensive than the custom software solutions. The initial deployment cost of the custom software development is quit higher, it also require a lot of time and efforts to breathe life into an idea.

However, the customized software solutions offers better and cost-effective scalability, customization and very less maintenance cost. There is no recurring cost and you can always get them managed and customized from your internal IT team or any vendor of your choice, thus you are also not limited and stuck to a specific vendor. All these factors results in an exceptionally higher ROI and great future readiness.

See Also: The Impact of Cloud Computing on Custom Software Development [Full Guide]

Key Benefits of Custom Software Development: Cost-Effective
Key Benefits of Custom Software Development: Cost-Effective

Key Benefits of Custom Software Development: Security and Reliability

The security and reliability are few of the most important and crucial factors to consider while deploying a software solution for your business. One of the biggest advantage of custom software development is its ability to let you chose the features and technologies. With the custom software development businesses can chose the top-notch technologies and platforms to ensure highest level of security and reliability. Especially when you want to meet the highest industry standards and regulatory compliances, the custom software development is the best choice.

Businesses can not only customize the features but also the frameworks, platforms and hosting environments which assures highest level of data protection. Any security breach or leak of customers’ data can completely ruin your reputation. As the custom software development involves intensive requirement gathering and rigorous testing which makes your custom software apps more secure, reliable and less sensitive towards common technology challenges.

See Also: Top Trends in Custom Software Development: What’s Shaping the Industry?

Key Benefits of Custom Software Development: Security and Reliability
Key Benefits of Custom Software Development: Security and Reliability

Key Benefits of Custom Software Development: Flexibility and Scalability

In the modern fast-paced business landscape of Dubai, businesses needs are not fixed and businesses have to accommodate for the impact of ever-changing customer needs and technology advancements to remain competitive. The commercial off-the-shelf software solutions can provide a good quick fix to your current needs, but doesn’t offer the flexibility, development and customization that you might be needing in the coming years. On top of that the commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) are designed for masses hence lack the personalization and ability to customization to address your exclusive challenges.

However, the custom software development on the other hand can offer great flexibility and scalability. Whether you need to address your unique challenges, or you have sophisticated business needs, you can mold the customized software they way you want. As time pass and your requirements changes or your needs grow you can further add more features and increase the capacity of customized software.

See Also: Common Mistakes to Avoid in Custom Software Development Projects

Key Benefits of Custom Software Development: Flexibility and Scalability
Key Benefits of Custom Software Development: Flexibility and Scalability

Key Benefits of Custom Software Development: Seamless System Integration

In today’s modern world, the businesses and organizations have become more sophisticated and require a lot many different IT solutions and software tools. In order to effectively execute a task or to ensure seamless business processes for higher productivity and performance it is absolutely essential that all the different software, systems and solutions work in full harmony by enabling seamless communication between them. This communication means exchange of data, information and instructions.

This is what is called system integration, it also known as integration or third-party integration. The custom off-the-shelf software solutions only provide limited integration capabilities. However, custom software development will enable businesses to build the software to be more compatible with their existing systems, databases, and IT infrastructure which makes them more compatible and integration friendly. Furthermore businesses can also customize them to achieve their integration objectives.

See Also: How to Develop a Custom Software in Dubai?

Key Benefits of Custom Software Development: Seamless System Integration
Key Benefits of Custom Software Development: Seamless System Integration

Key Benefits of Custom Software Development: Higher Productivity

The custom software development help businesses to achieve higher efficiency and productivity. There are several factors that help improving performance and efficiency, such as:

  • Custom software development let businesses build the user-friendly software solutions
  • Intuitive user interfaces (UIs) can greatly enhance user experience (UX)
  • Ability to customize the UI and workflows help employees easily adopt the new system
  • Customized feature help employees get their tasks done with higher efficiency
  • Different user groups can have exclusive features which further enhance their efficiency
  • System integration allow minimizing repetitive work and enhance performance
  • Ability to integrate mobile applications can greatly increase accessibility and convenience
  • Customized features and functionalities help improving workflows and business processes
  • Ability to monitor and track performance offers higher visibility

Businesses can greatly improve employee performance by deploying customized software solutions. That is not all, the custom software development offers businesses full control over the working of all features and help them get the desired outcome which can greatly improve internal processes, workflows and help businesses gain higher productivity.

See Also: Guide to Custom Software Development

Key Benefits of Custom Software Development: Higher Productivity
Key Benefits of Custom Software Development: Higher Productivity

Why Businesses in Dubai should Invest in Custom Software Development?

As I have mentioned above there are several benefits of custom software development which makes it superior from commercial off-the-shelf software solutions. The custom software development help businesses digitalize their internal processes and maximize their efficiency by leveraging the automation.

Furthermore when a software is exclusively designed for your business it will fully align with your needs, internal processes and strategic objectives. This makes it more impactful and productive comparing to commercial off-the-shelf solutions.  Here is why a business in Dubai should invest in custom software development:

  • The commercial off-the-shelf software only partially match your business needs, however, the custom software development enables you to design and develop an exclusive solution which fully aligns with your business needs, integrates with your existing IT infrastructure and it also offers long-term service and support.
  • The development process of a commercial off-the-shelf software solution is slow, it only offers upgrades when a large majority of the users need it. However the custom software grows with business needs, any need can be met immediately either by customization or by adding more features and so on.
  • The commercial off-the-shelf software solutions are provided by a vendor or service provider, which offers very less control over various important aspects of the software. However with the custom software development businesses not only have full control over their data, storage and software but businesses also have full ownership rights for their customized software.
  • The commercial off-the-shelf software solutions are designed for masses and the vendor doesn’t have much interest in your exclusive needs or challenges, in fact the vendor follow the industry standards and market trends. However, the for the customized software solutions you get in touch with the software developers, designers and IT specialists who are designing your software application, thus they have better understand of you needs, concerns and challenges.
  • Although the initial cost of the commercial off-the-shelf software solutions is relatively lower, however, there are several recurring expenses. The COTS offer very limited customization but it is very expensive, moreover the scalability too is very expensive. The custom software development of the other hand have slightly higher initial cost, but in long term have no recurring cost, in fact it offers full ownership rights to the businesses and offer more flexibility, customization and easy scalability.

As the market landscape in Dubai is very competitive and dynamic therefore businesses need higher productivity, lower operational cost and better tools to gain greater competitive advantage. And the custom software development can provide all of these.

See Also: Why Off-the-Shelf Solutions Fall Short: Advantages of Custom Software Development

Why Businesses in Dubai should Invest in Custom Software Development?
Why Businesses in Dubai should Invest in Custom Software Development?

Conclusion

In this modern and fast-paced market landscape in Dubai, where the customer needs are growing endlessly, rapid and sudden change are very common across all industry verticals, businesses need a proactive software development approach to mold and align their tools with the changing and growing needs. The custom software development is the way to design and develop software which are exclusively build according to the business needs and latest industry trends. Furthermore the businesses need to integrate various software and applications in order to improve their operational capabilities and to boost the employee performance. All this can only be achieved with a more flexible and controllable software development method which is only offered by the custom software development. The commercial off-the-shelf software solutions might offer lesser initial cost and are extremely easy to setup, however, in longer run neither they remain relevant nor cost-effective.

The custom software solutions on the other hand has incredible ability to grow as business grows and offer great ROI in long run. In this blog we have covered key benefits of investing in custom software development for business in Dubai and all across the UAE. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help with your next custom software development project, please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.


How to Optimize Customer Flow Management for Scaling Business Growth?

The customer flow management is the most crucial aspect of customer journey. A good customer interaction and seamless customer journey determines the customer satisfaction and happiness. Happy and satisfy customers tend to be loyal hence provide a stable foundation where business can build up their growth and achieve their long-term goals. The important thing here to understand is that scaling and growth are two different processes. The business growth is a linear process and happens on a steady pace, while scaling means a sudden boost in revenue without exponential raise in resources.

Businesses achieve growth by investing more resources, developing new products/services and investing in infrastructure and business processes. However, scaling happens when business effectively optimize the resources in hand and without making huge investments, businesses achieve higher profitability and generate more revenue. The scaling is achieved by implementing new strategies, improving processes and methodologies on a larger scale to achieve high-performance operations which drive more revenue and sales.

How to Optimize Customer Flow Management for Scaling Business Growth?
How to Optimize Customer Flow Management for Scaling Business Growth?

What is the Difference between Growth and Scaling?

If we compare the growth and scaling, the scaling tends to be the most desirable route to achieve long-term business growth. Businesses in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and other parts of UAE are well-aware of the fact that opening up new branches, hiring more staff, enduring the R&D for new products/services could be a very expensive and lengthy ordeal. Therefore instead of that businesses prefer to scale up. Think of a business such as a SaaS service provider, the initial cost of building up a SaaS product, acquiring infrastructure and hiring the relevant staff is a really big deal.

However once the business is established the same businesses can serve thousands of customers while adding thousand more without increasing much of their expenses. Thus that means the expense remains almost same while the business started serving double or tripper number of customers which boost their revenue and also profit margins. Therefore scaling is one of the best route to achieve long-term growth. In this blog we will discuss how by simply optimizing the customer flow management a business can greatly boost revenue and drive growth.

See Also: How to improve customer flow management?

What is the Difference between Growth and Scaling?
What is the Difference between Growth and Scaling?

Understanding the Customer Flow Management

The understanding and mastery of customer flow management is essential for scaling business growth. A queue management system plays a pivotal role in enhancing customer flow management, but before we discuss that it is important to understand the basics of customer flow management. By definition the customer flow management is a strategic planning and implementation of measures and protocols to effectively and efficiently manage the customer movements and interactions within business premises.

The primary objective of customer flow management is to improve customer journey and enhance customer experience which is essential for higher customer satisfaction. The customer flow management helps businesses removing congestion, delays, avoiding long wait time and ensuring a smoother and seamless experience throughout the customer journey. Businesses often focus a lot on customer flow management as it guarantees higher customer satisfaction, better operational performance and profitability which ultimately translates into growth.

See Also: Why You Need a Customer Flow Management Software?

Understanding the Customer Flow Management
Understanding the Customer Flow Management

Key Strategies to Optimize Customer Flow Management with Queue Management System

A queue management system is a perfect tool to enhance customer flow management. A queue management system is a digital solution consisting of hardware and software components which are exclusively designed to enhance various processes involved in customer flow management. A queue management system greatly improves customer experience, it streamlines customer flow, automates several processes and offer useful features for service staff.

Collectively all these features greatly reduce customer wait time and improve service quality. A queue management system is capable of completely transforming the service centers. It offer better visibility, monitoring, real-time queuing data, engaging customer waiting experience and a satisfactory customer journey which help businesses to be able to serve more customers without adding more counters or opening up new branches or investing huge amounts of hard-earned profits to expand physically.

See Also: The Concept of Queue Management and Crowd Control

Key Strategies to Optimize Customer Flow Management with Queue Management System
Key Strategies to Optimize Customer Flow Management with Queue Management System

Here are key strategies to optimize customer flow management by deploying an efficient queue management system:

  1. Streamline Physical Space: A queue management system is a great tool to fully leverage the physical space you have. It helps guiding customers to the right counter, providing them real-time queuing updates in the waiting areas and making audio-visual announcements while eliminating congestions, crowd formation and typical waiting line problems.
  2. Digitalization and Automation: A queue management system offers digital interaction and enable customers to sign-in to virtual queues using on-site self-service ticket dispensing kiosks, mobile applications, web portals, QR Codes and much more. It automatically route customers to the least wait time queues while directing them to the required service counter.
  3. Personalized Customer Experience: A queue management system can automate the process of identifying customers and detecting their priority while automatically managing their route as per the queuing policy. A queue management system can also offer secure authentication methods such as Emirates ID scanning, biometrics, QR code and various other methods.
  4. Data-Driven Insights: A queue management system can produce a wealth of valuable business intelligence data and insight by automatically collecting statistical and analytical data from each touch points. It stores historical data and provides in-built analytical tools which help management extract actionable reports and integrate insights to their decision making process.
  5. Staff Empowerment: A queue management system offers various dashboard for administration, management and for service agents. It also offers innovative features to aid staff in pre and post-service tasks while expediting the service delivery process. A queue management system can accurately capture various employee KPIs which help in better human resource management and help HR in developing effective training programs to empower staff.

A queue management system also offers customization which enables businesses to build a tailored solution as per their unique needs. Furthermore businesses can also integrate the queue management system with various other tools, systems, databases and central information system to develop more effective, efficiency and innovative features. A queue management system is an ultimate tool to enhance and optimize the customer flow management while driving growth by scaling and boosting performance.

See Also: What are the Different Types of Queue Management System?

Optimize Customer Flow Management by Deploying an Efficient Queue Management System
Optimize Customer Flow Management by Deploying an Efficient Queue Management System

How to Measure the Effectiveness of a Queue Management System?

If you are a business operating in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi or any other part of UAE you must be aware of a wide variety of queue management systems available in the market. This could sometime cause confusion and made it difficult for the managers and decision makers to choose the right solution as per their needs. However with a few very simple and easy-to-understand metrics you can easily measure the effectiveness and impact of a queue management system on your operations, customer flow management and customer satisfaction.

Here are a few KPIs or Key Performance Indicators which can be used to measure and quantify the impact of a queue management system:

  • Customer Wait Time: A reduction in customer wait time is a clear indicator of the success of your queue management system. This means if one counter was able to serve 20 customers in a day would now be able to serve, let say 30 or even more customers in a single shift.
  • Improved Service Delivery Process: The service delivery process involves various aspects, but majorly you can monitor the average service delivery time and compare it with the service delivery time before deploying the queue management system.
  • Customer Satisfaction or NPS Score: Businesses can integrate a customer satisfaction survey, customer happiness meter, rating scale or NPS feedback system via tabletop feedback screens. The customer happiness directly reflect the positive impact of queue management system.
  • Employee Performance KPIs: A queue management system can accurately monitor several employee performance KPIs for the service staff. Improvements in those KPIs is a direct indicator of the positive impact of the queue management system.

Regularly monitoring these metrics can provide you a deeper insight to the impact on deploying a queue management system on various aspects of your service center such as employee performance, customer satisfaction, and overall profitability and progress.

See Also: From Chaos to Control: How Queue Management Systems Can Improve Your Business

How to Measure the Effectiveness of a Queue Management System?
How to Measure the Effectiveness of a Queue Management System?

Can Small Businesses also Benefits from Optimizing Customer Flow Management?

There is a common misconception high-end software and advanced solutions like a queue management system are only suitable for large businesses, enterprises and organization. This perception is majorly due to another misconception which is that inertly such solutions are expensive. However, that is not true, a queue management system is a very cost-effective solution offering extraordinarily higher ROIs. Therefore a queue management system is effective and beneficial for every business regardless of the size, type or industry.

In fact a queue management system is an excellent solution for a small business which enables them to achieve higher operational performance while improving customer satisfaction and happiness. A queue management system helps improving customer flow, minimizing customer wait time, boosting service staff performance and raising customer satisfaction. All these are essential ingredients for a small businesses who is looking to build loyal customer base and are competing with large businesses. Businesses can leverage the potential of a queue management system to achieve sustainable growth.

See Also: Top 8 Benefits of Using Queue Management System

Can Small Businesses also Benefits from Optimizing Customer Flow Management?
Can Small Businesses also Benefits from Optimizing Customer Flow Management?

Conclusion

Deploying a queue management system is not just a strategic move to optimize customer flow for scaling business growth. But it is a most vital and essential step towards achieving long-term and sustainable business growth. Scaling business means leveraging the full potential of existing resources to maximize the revenue without proportionally adding resources/expenses. A queue management system is capable of transforming the entire service center while boosting the efficiency to many folds. It automates customer journey and customer flow, it helps service agents boosting productivity and performance.

Furthermore businesses can also monitor and measure the efficacy and impact of a queue management system by monitoring some very simple key metrics. A queue management system is a very cost-effective solution offering extraordinary ROIs which makes it equally effective for all types and sizes of businesses. Especially for small businesses it can greatly boost their operational performance and capabilities enabling them to serve more customers and generate more revenue.

If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help to develop a custom queue management system for your business, please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

See Also: Pros and Cons of Queue Management System

 


Building a Successful Email Marketing Funnel with Email Marketing System

Businesses in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and all across UAE have witnessed huge rise in conversion by implementing successful email marketing funnels with advanced email marketing system. There is a common misconception about the email marketing and email marketing systems, that there is a universal or standard framework which every business can follow to get the desired results. However, that mindset is the biggest cause of failure of email marketing strategies. According to several global studies, the CTR (click through rate), Open Rate and the conversion are consistently increasing since past 5 years.

Here it is also important to understand that not all emails are intended to make a sale, most of the email that businesses send to their customers are to build and nurture relationships or for communication. When we talk specifically about the email marketing, it is considered the most cost-efficient marketing channel with almost $40 USD generated against every $1 USD spent on email marketing. That is staggering, but for different industries the benchmarks are different. Furthermore each business have a different personality, a different audience and a completely different preferences and goals. That is why an email marketing system is essential for managing building modern email marketing funnels.

Building a Successful Email Marketing Funnel with Email Marketing System
Building a Successful Email Marketing Funnel with Email Marketing System

What is an Email Marketing Funnel?

The email marketing funnel is basically an email campaign consists of a series of different emails designed specifically to mature a lead into conversion by nurturing it and communication the right message according to the targeted audience throughout the entire customer journey. In fact it is a tactics to effectively manage customer journey. The funnels are designed not only to convert but to retain and make them loyal customers. That is why it is a long-term strategy consisting of following stages:

  1. Brand Awareness – Present your products/services and the value you offer
  2. Consideration/Engagement – Identify the problems and position your products/services as the right solution
  3. Conversion – Nurturing relationship and facilitating onboarding
  4. Loyalty – Ensuring your customers are satisfied with your brand
  5. Retention/Advocacy – Strengthen relationship, make improvements, offer new solutions

The email marketing funnel is not a standard framework with a set of rules and standard practices. It is in fact different from each business, based on the targeted audience, business type, and even brand personality, the email marketing funnel could be built to maximize the outcome. Every business need to set their goals and acquire insight to understand their targeted audience before setting up their email marketing funnel. Furthermore there is always a room for the improvements.

That is why an exclusive email marketing system is essential for designing a successful email marketing funnel. The email marketing system will help businesses quickly set up and execute their campaigns, it also help automating several repetitive tasks and can automatically handle different audience segments. The email marketing system is a great tool to quickly tweak and fine-tune your email marketing funnel to maximize the results.

See Also: 5 Tricks to Best Utilize Digital Marketing Campaigns

What is an Email Marketing Funnel?
What is an Email Marketing Funnel?

How to Build a Successful Email Marketing Funnel with Email Marketing System?

The email marketing funnels can be built easily with an effective email marketing system. The email marketing software help businesses to easily laydown and execute their plans and derive strategies which returns maximum ROI. Furthermore the email marketing systems are based on a powerful software which can be integrated with various internal systems and process.

The integration allow management to easily execute their strategies and measure the effects. Without a proper email marketing system it is extremely difficult to build an effective email marketing funnel. Here are a few simple steps to build a successful email marketing funnel while using an effective email marketing software:

Email Marketing Funnel: Research and Planning

For any successful strategy the planning is a must, and for planning you need proper research. For email marketing funnel the very first step is acquiring insights, doing research and understanding your needs. The research and planning should include:

  • Acquiring Insight: Starting with acquiring insight, gathering data and understanding customer needs and expectations. It is important to build a comprehensive record of changing customer preferences over the time and then plan your communication accordingly.
  • Customer Segmentation: You cannot simply send a single email to all of your customers. You should segment them on the bases of their demographics, product/service preferences and also geographical data. Segmentation will help you catering to the needs of your targeted audience.
  • Customer Journey Mapping: The customer journey mapping is extremely important. Usually businesses doesn’t pay much attention on building customer journey maps. The customer journey map is simply a visual and simplified representation of the steps that your customers had to take form the very first interaction or brand awareness stage to converting into a sale. Different customer segments usually have different needs and also take different route to convert.
  • Building Email Lists: For any successful email marketing campaign the absolute essential is the right email list. Every business should build an email list. For that you can build opt-in forms, subscription forms, and lead capturing forms. This will help you with segmentation too.
  • Setting up Goals: It is extremely important that your goals align with the high-level organizational goals and objectives. If your goal is to generate more sales your emails should communicate the value proposition, if you want to build loyalty, your email marketing funnel should be able to engage with customers to increase their satisfaction and gain trust.

Building a successful email marketing funnel requires targeting different customer segments and catering them a variety of different products, services and communication materials as per their needs. Which is only possible if you have an effective email marketing system in place.

See Also: Email Marketing Automation: Simplifying Campaign Management and Results

How to Build a Successful Email Marketing Funnel with Email Marketing System?
How to Build a Successful Email Marketing Funnel with Email Marketing System?

Email Marketing Funnel: Chose the Right Email Marketing Tool

The success of any email marketing funnel depends on how you target the audience, what message you send to them and the right message at the right time is the key to success. This is nearly impossible without using a fully or semi-automated email marketing system. When it comes to email marketing tools there are tons of options available in UAE. Businesses often rely on cloud based services as well, however, there are several factors that you should consider while choosing a right email marketing tool for your business.

It is extremely important that you use a very effective email marketing tool to build you email marketing funnel. Here are the most important factors that you should consider while choosing a right email marketing tool for your marketing funnel:

  • Features
  • Price (Initial and Operational Cost)
  • Integration
  • Customization
  • Security and Privacy

When it comes to the features of an email marketing tool, the most important features are the tools to create the email template and the automation tools. Usually all email marketing systems comes with two basic content creation tools, a text editor, and an HTML customizer. Some email marketing tools also comes with a drag-and-drop type content customizer. It all depends on your needs, the HTML editor is the most preferred and commonly used template creation tool.

See Also: How to Create Effective Email Marketing Campaigns

The success of any email marketing funnel depends on how you target the audience
The success of any email marketing funnel depends on how you target the audience

The integration is one of the most important features, which could have different challenges with different off-the-shelf email marketing tools. The integration helps automating the email campaigns. For example if you are planning to send post-sale emails with follow up surveys or any content, you can integrate your email marketing system with your ERP, or customer database and sales management system which will send a trigger when a new sales is made and the email marketing tool will automatically sends a pre-set email template to the customer.

You can personalize emails for customers and automate the entire funnel, you can send occasional greetings, newsletters and follow up emails, automatically. The customization is another important factor which allow you to keep up with the market trends and enables you to adopt to new practices and add features that suits your needs down the road. Most of the off-the-shelf solutions doesn’t allow any customization and the ones who allow it, offer very little and very expensive customization. If you are using a third-party email marketing tool or a cloud-based solution your data and content is hosted with service provider, you will have limited control and authority over it.

See Also: What are the Different Types of Queue Management System?

The integration is one of the most important features, which could have different challenges with different off-the-shelf email marketing tools
The integration is one of the most important features, which could have different challenges with different off-the-shelf email marketing tools

However, if you are using a customized email marketing system you can avoid all these problems, you can customize is as per you needs, you don’t have to pay hefty fees for upgrades or customization. You are not bound to a single service provider, you can host your data and content with yourself and as you may please. The custom email marketing system is a software which is exclusively designed for your business needs. You can acquire the services of a custom software development agency in Dubai like RSI Concepts or you can have in-house team to develop the custom email marketing tool as per your needs. The ownership rights belongs to you your business, you are not bound to service provider for anything, you can have another team to maintain, manage and customize your bespoke email marketing system.

The final and most important thing is the cost. The cost of a ready-made email marketing system is usually higher, as they are providing you the platform and also the email server which you are using to send email. If you are a small business, you might not require a separate email server. If you are a mid-sized or large enterprise you can easily acquire a third-party email server to utilize with your custom email marketing tool. Altogether the ROI of a custom email marketing system is much higher than a commercial off-the-shelf or cloud-based email marketing tool.

See Also: The Risk of Poor Performance Management and How to identify it?

A custom email marketing system is a software which is exclusively designed for your business needs
A custom email marketing system is a software which is exclusively designed for your business needs

Email Marketing Funnel: Brand Awareness and Building Lists

Now that you have a clear goal and right tech in place, it is time to start implementing your strategy and plans. The very first step of any email marketing funnel starts with brand awareness stage. At this stage you communicate your brand message, acquire subscribers and build lists. The prime objective of brand awareness campaign is to get as much contacts of your prospects as possible. If you communicate your brand values and produce enough appeal in your content, you will get higher conversion rate at this stage.

There are different tools and channels which can be used for brand awareness campaign. You can embed email subscription in your website and mobile apps. You can set up pop-up forms to collect lead data and you can run adverts on digital platforms to collect as many leads as possible. Because on later stages you will be nurturing these leads to generate sales. You should use lead magnets in your digital campaigns, whether it is a landing page, YouTube display ad, Google search ad, Facebook Ad or Instagram Reel, the lead magnet strategy will help you to collect more leads.

A lead magnet is simple an incentive or appeal to attract prospects and to compel them to take time to fill in the lead form or to provide you their email address. Once you got that start with the welcome series emails where you introduce your brand, different solutions you are offering and present the value your products and services can provide.

See Also: 10 Impacts of Website Design on Digital Marketing Strategies

The very first step of any email marketing funnel starts with brand awareness stage
The very first step of any email marketing funnel starts with brand awareness stage

Email Marketing Funnel: Consideration – Nurturing Your Leads

With a successful brand awareness campaign now is the time when your prospects are seriously considering your brand and comparing it with their existing brands and any other available solutions they can avail. This is a very crucial stage. At this stage you should build trust by positioning your products, services and solutions as the ideal solution for your prospects’ problems and needs. This is the time when your emails will tell your prospects the true value of your products, services and solutions and what made your brand and your solutions unique and better from other competitors. Your emails should communicate your value proposition, unique selling point and ROI of your solutions.

At this stage your communication should build a sense of urgency to encourage your leads to quickly convert, and also address the most obvious concerns they could have. Ensure your prospects you will provide them good support and service. Studies have revealed that more than 80% of the prospects genuinely consider the rating and reviews of the other customers and this can greatly influence their decision. That is why it is important to include user-generated content, testimonials, customer rating, case-studies and even some free resources which will help you building gaining their trust. You should also include comparisons of your products and services with your leading competitors to give confidence to your prospects.

See Also: Which one is better Standalone VS Integrated Software?

At this stage you should build trust by positioning your products, services and solutions as the ideal solution for your prospects’ problems and needs
At this stage you should build trust by positioning your products, services and solutions as the ideal solution for your prospects’ problems and needs

Email Marketing Funnel: Conversion and Onboarding

The most important stage in customer journey is the conversion and onboarding, because that can also be counted as the first comprehensive experience your customers will have with your brand. This is where you should be able to utilize the advance customization and template creation tools of your email marketing system. It is extremely important to make your onboarding simpler and quicker. You should also design a series of emails which share promotions, offers and you can bundle them with freebies and special discounts to encourage your prospects to convert. Here an important thing to consider is that if your emails are too much pushy then it will repel your customers.

It is better to use professional language, eye-catchy graphics with an adequate topping of urgency. Creating urgency is crucial, it will help you keeping your customers focused and not leaving them enough room to do comprehensive research which might change their mind. The onboarding process should be simpler, do not include long forms and complex steps in the onboarding process. Your email should be able to provide a clear and easy-to-follow path to conversion with adequate information and resources which can help your customers to convert conveniently. Any obstacle or complication at this stage will cost you a potential customer.

See Also: 5 Challenges in implementing Performance Management System

It is extremely important to make your onboarding simpler and quicker
It is extremely important to make your onboarding simpler and quicker

Email Marketing Funnel: Building Loyalty

The customer journey doesn’t end at conversion, in fact a marketing funnel must include a comprehensive series of emails which are designed to keep your customers engaged. It is important to have a proper loyalty program in place. Your email marketing funnel will help you to achieve more customer loyalty with your loyalty program. You can share regular promotions, exclusive offers for customers, personalized communication, and loyalty rewards to obtain your customers’ loyalty.

At this stage your communication should keep your customers engaged for example, you can create and share content which help your customers to effectively utilize the features of your products, services or solutions. At this stage collecting customer feedback, encouraging them to participate in polls contests and draws will increase their engagement. The customer engagement drives customer loyalty and help strengthening the relationship between a brand and its customers.

Your emails should convey the message that you value your customers and how important they are for your business, you can do so by appreciating their loyalty, offering discounts or special deals, etc. An email marketing system will help you set-up scheduled campaigns and it will also help you personalizing your emails which are more effective than generic emails.

See Also: The Beginner’s Guide to Queuing Theory

You can share regular promotions, exclusive offers for customers, personalized communication, and loyalty rewards to obtain your customers’ loyalty
You can share regular promotions, exclusive offers for customers, personalized communication, and loyalty rewards to obtain your customers’ loyalty

Email Marketing Funnel: Increasing Retention

Customer retention is somewhat similar to building loyalty. However, the core difference between the two is that in your customer retention campaigns you include both your new customers and existing customers as well. The customer loyalty is an ongoing process, you will have to keep nurturing your relationship with your customers in order to retain them and get repeated business from them. The customer retention is not only important for getting repeated business, but it will also help you establish a strong and positive brand identity.

The customer retention campaigns will help you maximizing the customer lifecycle which will maximize your ROI. The customer retention campaign is also more targeted, you must segment your customers on the bases of their purchases/subscription, their preferences, interests and demographic data. A good email marketing tool will help you setup multiple email templates for multiple customer segments. You should also focus on the active customers rather than each and every contact is your list. When you will focus only on active customers the chances to get another sale are very high.

The customer feedback also plays very important role in customer retention. You can integrate your email marketing system with a customer feedback system and execute a closed-loop customer feedback campaign which will further help you strengthening the relationship with your customers. When you increase customer engagement, share useful information, offer them personalized and exclusive deals/discounts, and keep them up to date your customer retention increases.

See Also: How to Avoid Long Queues at Your Events

The customer retention campaigns will help you maximizing the customer lifecycle which will maximize your ROI
The customer retention campaigns will help you maximizing the customer lifecycle which will maximize your ROI

Conclusion

The email marketing is one of the oldest digital marketing method and still it is one of the best digital marketing method. According to studies a business can generate up to $40 USD on each $1 USD spend on email marketing. However, simply just sending emails to your customers or prospects is not enough. The business operating in Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi or anywhere in UAE are actively utilizing emails to communicate with their customers. However, most of the businesses are unaware of the impact of a successful email marketing funnel.

In this blog we have discussed what an email marketing funnel is and how businesses can easily build a successful email marketing funnel with the help of an effective email marketing system. The email marketing system is a very powerful software tool, which is used to streamline email communication and marketing for a business.

The email marketing tools help automating email campaigns and also enable businesses to send hyper-personalized emails to maximize the impact and ROI. There are two types of email marketing tools, the commercial off-the-shelf tools and the customized email marketing systems. The custom email marketing tools is much superior as it will be designed exclusively for your business and according to your needs.

You can also start with a cloud-based system and build your email marketing funnel. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help to design and develop a customized email marketing system for your business, please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

See Also: Read this before starting Digital Marketing Campaign in Dubai


A Complete Guide to a Multi-Branch Queue Management System

Customer facing environments are most sensitive part of a business’s operations. It is extremely important for a business to maximize the operational productivity to ensure the customers are having a satisfactory experience. For large businesses with multiple branches the management is even more challenging. Usually the senior management is sitting in the head office, it is a time taking process to get the updates and information related to any branch. Most of the time the head office will have to approach the branch manager to provide them the required information. The queuing and customer flow management is always difficult. Therefore businesses need a digital queue management system which can help them streamline their customer flow and improve their operational capabilities. The digital queue management system provides live queuing coverage, instant updates, alerts/notifications, business intelligence data and useful features for service agent, branch managers, head office and senior management. The queue management system is an intelligent software solution with hardware components to offer a full control and monitoring over the customer journey which helps improving customer experience. In this guide we will discuss how business can implement and leverage a multi-branch queue management system to drive growth.

A complete guide to a Multi-Branch Queue Management System
A complete guide to a Multi-Branch Queue Management System

What is a Multi-Branch Queue Management System?

A multi-branch queue management system is a centralized queue management system which enables businesses to manage and monitor customer queues and customer flow in real-time across all connected branches. The multi-branch queue management system runs on a centralized software which is hosted on an in-premises server, online or in cloud. The server is connected to all branches. A basic queue management system have multiple devices integrated in a synchronized framework. For example, there is an interactive self-service ticket dispensing kiosk which not only dispense tokens but also take basic information of the customer and in some cases it has ability to ID the customer as well. There is a digital signage screen which displays the live queuing information along with some multimedia content. The modern queue management systems also have integrated counter name plates which display counter number and the token number which is being served at the moment. Furthermore there is an audio announcement system which is used for customer calling. All these devices form one branch’s setup, and if there are more than one branch, in case of a multi-branch queue management system all these devices in all branches are connected to a centralized queue management software which monitor and control all these components of the system.

See Also: What are the Different Types of Queue Management System?

What is a Multi-Branch Queue Management System?
What is a Multi-Branch Queue Management System?

How does a Multi-Branch Queue Management System Works?

The multi-branch queuing also works on the concept of queue management system and crowd control, but it provides additional management features which greatly improve the efficiency of the queuing process. In a multi-branch queue management system setup all branches are connected via network to the main server software. The server application communicates with all branches in real-time. Whenever any action is taken in any branch the information is sent to the server and then the response is sent to the branch instantly. Think of a website, the website is hosted on a cloud which might be located in another continent, however, when you click on a link or a file, it immediately opens it. Same technical process works here too. When a user/customer in any branch choose a service to generate a token number, the information is sent to the queue management system software which is hosted on a server, and then in return it issues a token number which is being printed out instantly from where the user/customer made the request. All branches are connected to the head-office in a similar fashion via a public or private network. The smart algorithms and source code is executed at the server, and all the data is also stored in the server. The service agents, branch managers, and the senior management or head office staff gets their dedicated administrative dashboards and the access to data and functionality is managed by an in-built administration and authentication module. That is how a multi-branch queue management system works.

See Also: What are the Basic Components of Queue Management System?

How does a Multi-Branch Queue Management System Works?
How does a Multi-Branch Queue Management System Works?

What are the Benefits of using a Multi-Branch Queue Management System?

The biggest advantage of a multi-branch queue management system is that it offers a centralized management framework where all the information are stored in a central location, which makes management and monitoring much easier comparing to standalone queue management system. If each branch have a standalone queue management system then the information will be stored in silos, which poses monitoring and management challenges. Furthermore the senior management or head office doesn’t require any intermediate database/integration to consolidate all the information flowing from and towards all branches. Here are the key benefits of a multi-branch queue management system:

  • Easy Monitoring and Administration from a centralized location
  • All the data and updates are available in a centralized location which enables real-time monitoring and control over all connected branches
  • Since there is only one main queue management system software, therefore the implementation, operational and maintenance cost is low
  • All the dashboards are updated in real-time, the content/configurations can be pushed in real-time to all connected branches
  • Handling large footfall, congestion, and several other problems is easy with real-time monitoring and it enables the management to take quick and informed decisions
  • Enables real-time monitoring of customer flow, customer wait time, employee performance and other queuing metrics and system stats
  • Senior managers, branch managers, supervisors and stakeholders have up-to-date information and data all the time, there is no lag or latency
  • Easy integration with third-party software tools, customer databases, and central information center help driving efficiency and productivity

See Also: How Queue Management System can Boost Productivity and Profitability?

A multi-branch queue management system is essential for businesses who are managing multiple branches in remote locations, it help them minimize the administrative efforts while maximizing the operational productivity.

What are the Benefits of using a Multi-Branch Queue Management System?
What are the Benefits of using a Multi-Branch Queue Management System?

What are the Best Practices for Implementing a Multi-Branch Queue Management System?

Implementing a multi-branch queue management system is a crucial task. The businesses should be very careful in choosing the right vendor, technology, queuing system type and several other factors. Here are some key points that a business should consider while implementing a multi-branch queue management system:

  • Identify your requirements and make a plan of what features you want to include
  • Find and shortlist multiple queue management system vendors
  • Scrutinize all vendors, evaluate proposals and finalize the best vendor
  • Choose the right platform and queuing type for your business
  • Always start with a pilot project, implement the system at one or maximum two branches
  • Train your employees, provide them with the manuals and required technical support, etc.
  • Now closely observe the performance of the branch and try to find what can be improved
  • Take feedback from customers, employees, managers and relevant stakeholders
  • Discuss and share your observations and finding with the vendor and make improvements
  • Monitor the system and evaluate the changes you made, and repeat until your customers are satisfied
  • Now go for full-fledge implementation or start implementing in remaining branches one-by-one

If you will consider the above suggestions you can save a lot of time and efforts.

See Also: How to Implement a Queue Management System at an Airport?

What are the Best Practices for Implementing a Multi-Branch Queue Management System?
What are the Best Practices for Implementing a Multi-Branch Queue Management System?

What are the Challenges of Implementing a Multi-Branch Queue Management System?

Implementing a multi-branch queue management system is not an easy task, there are several challenges that a business could face while implementing a multi-channel queue management system, such as:

  • Initial Cost: One of the biggest challenge is the initial cost, if you are planning to implement a multi-branch queue management system across all branches at once, the cost could be very high. That is why the best practice is to start with pilot project, and implement the queue management system to all branches in small chunks, such as one-by-one, or 2 or 3 branches at a time, etc.
  • System Integration: When you are implementing a multi-branch queue management system or any other system, the biggest technical challenge is the integration with other tools, and data synchronization. A modern queue management system with customer-friendly features would require many different types of integration. If your existing IT infrastructure and other systems are not compatible then you might have to develop intermediate tools to streamline the data flow.
  • Employee Training: Whenever a business implements a new solution they require training for the employees, same is the case with the multi-branch queue management system. You must have to train your employees in order to enable them to leverage the full potential of the queue management system. User manuals, guides, and training videos can be created to make your employees well versed with your new multi-branch queue management system.

See Also: What are advance components of Queue Management System?

It might sound difficult and a bit challenging though but implementing a multi-branch queue management system is not as that challenging. Businesses will have to face all these challenges whenever they implement a new system. However, a queue management system is relatively easier to work with, furthermore the business can use customized UIs and branding tactics to reduce the training needs.

What are the Challenges of Implementing a Multi-Branch Queue Management System?
What are the Challenges of Implementing a Multi-Branch Queue Management System?

Conclusion

The customer satisfaction is essential for growth and stability. Businesses are always eager to implement solutions and offer services to raise the customer satisfaction. Businesses managing multiple branches always face administrative issues, the visibility and data flow is one of the most challenging task in any multi-branch setup. That is why when it comes to queue management system, most of the businesses in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and other emirates of UAE prefer to implement standalone systems. However, that is not ideal, in order to leverage the full potential of a modern queue management system businesses need a comprehensive multi-branch queuing solution. A multi-branch queue management system is a very effective tool, it help businesses dealing with technical challenges, and it offer real-time monitoring and control over all branches. That is what makes it most effective. In this guide we have discussed multi-branch queue management system in brief details and tried to answer most of the questions a business could have while planning to implement a multi-branch queue management system. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help to implement a customized and very cost-efficiency multi-branch queue management system for your business, please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

See Also: Queue Management System for Trucks and Logistic Centers


Maximizing Efficiency: The Benefits of Implementing a Queue Management System

Every business wants efficient operation, whether it is some internal process or a customer facing environment, the efficiency is essential. When a business has efficient work flows, processes and even the teams, they tend to produce more and better outcome with whatever resources they have in hand. That is the reason in order to generate value and drive profits a business needs efficiency in every aspect of the operations. Now when we talk about the customer facing environments, the biggest challenge is to adopt and implement modern queue management system to make customer flow efficient and improve customer experience.

Whether you are operating in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi or any other part of UAE you must be aware of the fact that every customer have too many choices, you one mistake and you can lose them to your competitor. Furthermore the customers are also very demanding and they tend to switch service provider very quickly. Even just a single bad experience is enough to make customer the switch. Studies and market research have revealed that it is 9 to 25 times more expensive to acquire a new customer comparing to selling to an existing customer. That is why customer experience and customer satisfaction is crucial for a business success.

See Also: What are the Different Types of Queue Management System?

Maximizing Efficiency: The Benefits of Implementing a Queue Management System
Maximizing Efficiency: The Benefits of Implementing a Queue Management System

What is a Queue Management System?

A queue management system is a tool which consists of software and hardware parts and it is used to manage the customer flow and customer experience. The queue management software is a server application which is connected to an interactive self-service ticket dispensing kiosk or queuing kiosk. It is also connected to digital signage screens and audio announcement system. Some businesses also use dynamic counter plates which can also be managed through the queue management system.

Furthermore the hardware part of the queue management system includes a ticket dispensing kiosk which allow your customers and visitors to interact with the system and issue them token numbers. There is a digital signage screen, which displays live queuing details and keep your guests informed about the current activities on each service counter. A business can have multiple signage depends on the premises size. Similarly the audio announcement system is also hardware part powered by in-built multi-lingual audio announcements module.

The counter plates are also connected to the queue management system via network and can display the counter number/name along with the current ticket number. These components form a standard queue management system with basic configurations. Businesses can add more software and hardware components to enhance the features of the queue management system.

See Also: From Chaos to Control: How Queue Management Systems Can Improve Your Business

What is a Queue Management System?
What is a Queue Management System?

What are the Drawbacks of Poorly Organized Customer Flow?

A poorly organized customer flow have many drawbacks, it doesn’t only affect your customers but it will also have a negative impact on your employees and their performance. Which will translate to low productivity, poor growth, bad business reputation, higher customer churn rate, lower conversion rate and in the long run it will damage your brand image. When the queues or waiting lines are not managed properly the very first effect is extended wait time. When the customers will have to wait for longer period of time, they will be frustrated and annoyed.

This will cause many other problems such as line jumping, customer complaints and more fraction in customer journey. When the waiting lines are not managed efficiently they employees also suffer, they will have to deal with customer complaints, they will have to manage the queues by themselves and they will have more workload, it will also distract them from their primary tasks which will undermine their performance. The customers will reach to the counter in stress and they will be unhappy, this will result in poor interaction with the service agents, and it will also make it difficult for the service agents to satisfy the customer.

Long waiting lines, and extended wait time will result in higher customer churn. When employees will fail to improve their performance despite putting all efforts, they will leave too. Higher employee turnover will cause several other problems, higher customer churn rate will damage your business’s reputation.

See Also: The Concept of Queue Management and Crowd Control

What are the Drawbacks of Poorly Organized Customer Flow?
What are the Drawbacks of Poorly Organized Customer Flow?

What are The Benefits of Implementing a Queue Management System?

There are several benefits of implementing a queue management system, but it is important to understand that there are different types of queue management systems available in the market. You must have to choose the right solution that suits your needs and business type. However, one of the best way is to hire a well-reputed queue management system provider such as RSI Concepts and ask them to build a bespoke tailor-made customized queue management system according to your needs. Here are some of the benefits of implementing a queue management system:

Reduction in Customer Waiting Time

When the customer flow is well-organized, they queuing process is automated the customer wait time will automatically reduce. By implementing a queue management system businesses can automate several queuing process. The ticket dispensing is automated, the customer flow is managed by the smart algorithms of the queue management software, and the employee performance is also improved. A queue management system can automatically take decisions, and set customer route according to the historical data and the live queuing data, which is why the customer wait time is optimized.

Furthermore the queue management system also help improving customers’ waiting experience by reducing the perceived wait time. It keep customers engaged and distracted from the waiting by frequently making audio-visual announcements and updating the digital signage. Furthermore the queue management system can also play multimedia content, adverts, promotional and marketing content on the digital signage which also help increasing customer engagement and help optimizing the perceived wait time.

See Also: How Queue Management System can Boost Productivity and Profitability?

Reduction in Customer Waiting Time
Reduction in Customer Waiting Time

Improved Employee Performance

When a business implements a queue management system the employee efficiency and performance is significantly improved. Without a queue management system the employees will have to adhere to several other tasks, most of which are not productive. Manually managing customer flow, especially during the peak-hours can greatly undermine the employee performance and it also have toll on service quality. However, with a proper queue management system in place the employees don’t have to worry about many things and they are free to focus on their primary and more productive tasks.

This not only boost employee performance but also greatly reduce their workload. When the employees work under a balanced workload their satisfaction increases and they tend to perform better. The queue management system automate several queuing processes, and it also offers dedicated service agent dashboards, which can also lift up a lot of workload and help service agents in many tasks. Businesses can significantly improve employee performance and service quality by implementing a queue management system.

See Also: Top 8 Benefits of Using Queue Management System

Improved Employee Performance
Improved Employee Performance

Enhanced Customer Experience

The customer satisfaction depends on customer experience and service quality, better experience results in higher customer satisfaction index. When a business implements a queue management system it automates several queuing processes. When the customers know that their tokens are issued by computer operated system, they have more trust over the system, and it assured them there will no favoritisms, no line-jumping, no intervention from the staff, whatever token is issued to them they will be served accordingly.

Furthermore the queue management system keeps customers and visitors engaged and help diluting the effects of waiting and reduce their stress. This will improve their waiting experience. As the service staff is also aided by the queue management system, they are also more welcoming, fresh and prepared for the customers. This all results in a better customer interaction with the service agent and also tend to improve the service quality.

Implementing a queue management system greatly improves customer experience and results in higher customer satisfaction which help your business building a strong brand image and reputation.

See Also: Queue Management System for Trucks and Logistic Centers

Enhanced Customer Experience
Enhanced Customer Experience

Real-time Monitoring and Remote Management

One of the best advantage of implementing a queue management system is that it offers real-time monitoring and remote management features. Businesses often have multiple branches where they deploy a queue management system, and even in case of only one office the real-time monitoring dashboard and capabilities to manage the system remotely are some of the most productive features.

Usually there is a central location or head office where the top management resides, they want to monitor the queuing activities and stats to take timely decisions. The queue management system is a centralized software system which connects all branches and parts and enable real-time monitoring. The branch manager, or the senior manager at the head office or any other user with adequate access can monitor the live real-time queuing data and stats.

Furthermore it is very easy to implement the queuing polices and strategies across the entire business, remotely from the head office. Businesses can also set automated alerts and notifications for the managers and supervisors to enable them to be more reactive towards the customer footfall and help them improve the customer flow by keeping them up-to-date all the time.

See Also: Qualities of a Good Mobile App for Queue Management System

Real-time Monitoring and Remote Management
Real-time Monitoring and Remote Management

Collect Business Intelligence Data

The data is the backbone of modern fast-paced markets. Every business who wants to succeed should be able to collect, analyze and utilize the business intelligence data in order to generate value and productive outcomes. A queue management system can provide a wealth of highly accurate and valuable business intelligence data. The queue management system can collect queuing data, system usage stats, waiting time trends, customer footfall trends, employee performance and KPI metrics, and it can also collect direct customer feedback which can be incorporated in several internal decision making process to improve strategies and overall performance of the business.

The queue management system can also be integrated with third-party tools and central information center which enables it to collect data from various sources, and it also allow the queue management system to provide business intelligence data for other systems and tools. Businesses can analyze the queue management system data and customer feedback using in-built analytical tools, or they can extract it in form of various intuitive report formats such as summary reports, trend reports and much more which help them utilize the business intelligence data at its full potential and maximize the overall efficiency and performance of the business.

See Also: Efficient Queue Management System Qualities

Collect Business Intelligence Data
Collect Business Intelligence Data

Conclusion

In modern fast-paced markets where the markets are subjected to subtle and rapid changes, a business needs a proactive approach to deal with up-coming challenges. Managing customer facing environments and maintain a satisfactory customer experience is one of the most challenging task a service-based business ever faces. Poorly organized waiting lines and long queues can have devastating effects on a business. Pool queuing strategy and manual queue management can results in poor employee performance, low service quality, and unhappy customers.

However when a business implements q modern queue management system, they can greatly improve employee performance, customer experience and consequently customer satisfaction. A queue management system offers many features which can help improving the customer flow and minimizing the customer churn rate. In this blog we have discussed what a queue management system is and how businesses can benefits from it.

If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help to build you a tailor-made queue management system for your business, please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.


Redefining Queue Management: How to Enhance the Customer Experience

For any business the customer satisfaction is the prime goal, it assures long term success, stability and growth. Businesses operating in service sector understand the importance of customer flow optimization and customer journey management. Especially in Dubai and anywhere in UAE the markets are very competitive, the customers have too many options available and people usually tend to switch after getting even only a single bad experience. That is why queue management is crucial for a business’s success. Long queues, poorly managed waiting lines and crowded lobbies are a great dissatisfaction for the customers, which not only raise customer churn but also harm business’s brand image and reputation.

There are several challenges that customer facing environment have, one of the biggest is delay in service and long waiting time, furthermore the management of customer service center is also complicated and collectively everything impacts the customer experience. A queue management system not only reduce wait time it also streamline customer flow, provide real-time monitoring and it is very helpful for the management and staff which results in higher efficiency and raise customer satisfaction.

Redefining Queue Management: How to Enhance the Customer Experience
Redefining Queue Management: How to Enhance the Customer Experience

What is a Modern Queue Management System?

A modern queue management system is a digital solution which includes both software and hardware components. The software is designed with AI based smart technologies which enables it to collect data in real-time, take decisions at its own to improve customer flow and it improves management. A queue management system allow to monitor, track and improve customer movement within the premises and help improving customer waiting experience and customer journey. It automates several queuing processes and capture business intelligence data from each and every customer touch point. This ability allows it to take decisions at its own to ensure a smoother customer flow.

Queue management system helps both service agents and the management to effectively improve the queuing process. It not only eliminates the inefficient and manual queuing practices but it also collects valuable business intelligence data insights which can be integrated in decision making and strategy building processes to further improve the customer flow management policy and practices. In this blog we will discuss how a modern queue management system can greatly enhance customer experience to achieve higher satisfaction.

See Also: The Concept of Queue Management and Crowd Control

What is a Modern Queue Management System?
What is a Modern Queue Management System?

Customer Experience: Long Wait Time

Long wait time has the most impact on the customer experience than anything else. No matter how good your office or facility is, how well your staff is trained, if your customers will have to face long wait time they will eventually end up unhappy. According to several studies on an average a customer could tolerate around 9 minutes of wait time, and any minute adding to that will have toll on customer experience, so much so that a time will come when your customers will become annoyed enough that they will decide to leave without even getting the service.

This is called customer churn and keeping it at the lowest possible value is crucial for your business’s success. Longer wait time doesn’t only bother your customers but there is a phenomenon known as perceived wait time, which even worsen the conditions for both businesses and customers. The perceived wait time is the wait time our brain perceived instead of tracking the real-time. The perceived time is always higher than the actual time, for example, your customers have waited for let say 20 minutes however their mind perceive it longer than that maybe 30 or even 40 minutes.

See Also: How Queue Management System can Boost Productivity and Profitability?

Long wait time has the most impact on the customer experience than anything else
Long wait time has the most impact on the customer experience than anything else

Longer wait time means even longer perceived wait time which results in bad customer experience and cause frustration. That is why it is important to control, reduce and efficiently manage both wait times. A modern queue management system not only help minimizing the wait time but it also offer features which help reducing the perceived wait time’s impact by increasing customer engagements. There is another psychological phenomenon into play which is the fear of unknown, if the customers have no clue of how long they will have to wait this will add to their fear and they think they might have to wait for long period of time.

However, a queue management systems comes with a powerful software tools which is built on smart AI and advanced data processing algorithms. These features enable queue management system to monitor the live queuing situation, consider the historical data and measure the ongoing performance on the service counters and estimate the remaining time to service. Hence when the customers are given their token they are also provided with estimated time to their turn.

See Also: What are the Different Types of Queue Management System?

Longer wait time means even longer perceived wait time
Longer wait time means even longer perceived wait time

When the customer know how long they will have to wait, they tend to remain calm. Furthermore there are several other features which help improving customers’ waiting experience. A modern queue management system comes with a smart customer calling module. The modern queue management systems are integrated with digital signage displays and a multi-lingual audio calling system. The digital signage keep displaying the current token number at service counters, upcoming tokens and few more details which keep customers distracted from the waiting and minimize the impact of waiting.

Furthermore the queue management system can automatically make audio announcement where it calls token number and the service counter allotted to that token number, usually the customer call is made in two or three languages followed by a short music tone. The digital signage screens are also not only used to display queuing information, but a modern queue management system comes with in-built digital signage management module as well. Which allow businesses to run marketing or promotional videos or any other entertaining content on the large displays along with the queuing information.

The digital signage and speakers are installed at strategic locations with aim of ensuring every customer at any place in the waiting area can view the signage or listen to the audio announcement. All these features help greatly reduce the waiting stress and improve customers’ waiting experience.

See Also: Paperless Queue Management System

When the customer know how long they will have to wait, they tend to remain calm.
When the customer know how long they will have to wait, they tend to remain calm

Customer Experience: Quick Service Delivery

Let us just admit whenever we have to face a situation where we have to wait for some time in a queue or in waiting area, in such situation when we reach to the service counter we want to get the service as quickly as possible and leave. For any customer facing environment it is crucial to offer a quality service and in a timely manner. When the customers already waited for some time, they are in hurry and want to leave as quickly as possible. A modern queue management system help businesses minimize the service delivery time by offering specialized features to automatically manage the customer journey and to help the service staff in their tasks.

A modern queue management system offers a dedicated dashboard for the service agents, it can integrate with central information center and other third-party tools to enable quick availability of the data and information for the service agents, and it monitors employee KPIs. All these features help reducing the service delivery time and ensure a smooth customer flow. A queue management system automates several customer journey steps, and internal processes which means the staff doesn’t have to worry about any such thing, in fact they can easily focus on their primary tasks which results in quicker service delivery as well as improved service quality.

See Also: 7 Features of Queue Management Software

For any customer facing environment it is crucial to offer a quality service and in a timely manner
For any customer facing environment it is crucial to offer a quality service and in a timely manner

Furthermore the queue management system also allow customers to sign-in using self-service ticket dispensing kiosk. Usually the ticket dispensing kiosk as the customers about what service they need this help the queue management system to route the customer to the right service counter and put them in the right queue. Most of the time customers end-up in the wrong queue which could cause a lot of problems and result in delays in service delivery. On top of that each business have its own queuing policies. Businesses always offer multiple services and apart form that there are different customer groups which are prioritized differently, for example, the VIP customers, people with special needs, elderly people, etc.

All these customers are expecting a different treatment from the business, which is defined in the queuing policy. A modern queue management system help businesses effectively implement their queuing policies and provide better monitoring and control over customer flow. Some businesses also offer stepped services which means a customer is required to visit multiple or more than one service counter in order to get a complete service. All these variables can make queuing very complex for both businesses and customers and cause unnecessary delays in service delivery.

See Also: What are basic features of Queuing System?

A queue management system automates several customer journey steps, and internal processes
A queue management system automates several customer journey steps, and internal processes

Customer Experience: Better Service Quality

The service quality or the quality of the interaction a customer have with the service agent can greatly influence their opinion about your business. It is essential to ensure a customer have a happy and satisfactory experience with your service staff. A queue management system help reducing the workload of the service staff. With manual queuing the staff regularly have to engage in queue management tasks, which distract them from their primary tasks and result in poor quality service and more customer complaints. With the queue management system the entire queuing process is autonomous which means the service staff have more time to focus on their primary tasks, this increase their performance which improve service quality.

Furthermore the queue management system also help service agents with their several other tasks which also result in quicker and better service delivery. The modern queue management system comes with advance employee performance monitoring tools which also help management track and monitor employee performance and collect valuable data which support HR decisions and help improving the workforce. All these features collectively help management improve the service quality and consequently the customer experience.

See Also: Importance of Queue Management System for Government and Public Offices

It is essential to ensure a customer have a happy and satisfactory experience with your service staff
It is essential to ensure a customer have a happy and satisfactory experience with your service staff

Customer Experience: Business Intelligence Data

Data plays a crucial role in the success of any modern business, majorly due to the digital advancements, rise of online channels and customer preferences, the businesses are compelled to adopt to modern IT infrastructure in order to stay relevant and competitive. A modern queue management system can produce a wealth of highly accurate and valuable business intelligence data which can help businesses refine the customer experience by acquiring insight to customer behavior, detecting pain points and highlighting the areas of improvements. The business intelligence data covers a wide spectrum insight and information such as queue management system usage stats, customer preferences, customer footfall analytical data, employee performance data, and even the customer feedback data.

The business intelligence data is collected autonomously and available in form of interactive reports. The management can customize these reports to align them with their goals and strategies. The business intelligence data can also be synchronized with central information center or any other third-party system via easy integration. When management have accurate data and insight they can make informed decisions. It also help evaluating business strategies, processes and practices and help businesses to make improvements which results in better operational performance and higher customer satisfaction.

See Also: How to Implement a Queue Management System at an Airport?

Business Intelligence Data plays a crucial role in the success of any modern business
Business Intelligence Data plays a crucial role in the success of any modern business

Conclusion

Queue management system offer a variety of features and tools which help management improve the customer experience, optimize the operational cost, improve employee performance and achieve higher profitability. A good customer experience is crucial for a business to build a good brand image. The competition is tough in Dubai and other parts of UAE, businesses proactively improve their offerings to delight their customers. The customers are also very demanding and the market trends are subjected to subtle and monumental changes. It could be very difficult for a business to keep up with these changes without having right tools in their arsenal.

A queue management system is the perfect companion for any customer facing environment. It help reducing the wait time, have positive impact on employee performance, and it significantly improves the customer experience. A queue management system offers a centralized management mechanisms which enables businesses to monitor all connected branches in real-time and make sure right actions are taken and in timely manners to avoid any disruption or unwanted delay in customer flow. In this blog we have discussed how a modern queue management system can help businesses enhance the customer experience and leverage the technology to achieve their long term goals and success.

If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want us to help you implementing a tailor-made queue management system solution for your business, please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

See Also: Queue Management System for Trucks and Logistic Centers