Friction is the term used to describe a process that is not running as efficiently as possible. Friction is what allows cars to brake on roads and in the form of air resistance; it is what causes rockets to slow down on their way out of the world’s atmosphere. You don’t want anything impeding your growth, so you need to understand friction and how you can eliminate it.
Benefits of Reducing Friction
If you reduce or eliminate friction from your business you will enjoy many benefits. It is worth noting that friction can occur at any stage, whether it is in brainstorming a new product or in the actual user experience (and of course, everything in between).
When you reduce or even eliminate friction entirely, you will have higher conversion rates (as the conversion funnel will have fewer obstacles between levels), increased customer retention, increased customer renewal, and increased productivity and efficiency in the workplace.
If you have a manufacturing component, friction is likely costing you a huge amount of money. Sometimes it can be as easy as finding a good ERP system (start that journey here ), but often that will be only one part of the puzzle.
Starting to Reduce Friction
Like many elements of business, you need to reduce the friction in your company by conducting an analysis. It’s important for you to identify friction points – certain processes or steps that cause bottlenecks or slow growth and efficiency.
A good place to start is by looking at sales processes as this is the best way for you to increase your revenue. Sales is tough; you must convince consumers that your company is the best option available to them. It requires knowing USPs as well as customer psychology.
Sales also come with many administrative hoops to jump through that take up a lot of time. The answer is to look through your sales process and automate as much as you can. Do this with user onboarding: educate, have a system that sends through electronic signatures to finalize a deal, automatic CRM updates, automatic emails, and more.
The Importance of Data
Where else does friction erode profitability? In your website and marketing efforts. You need to show anybody viewing your website that the solution or product you offer is so useful it is worth paying for. This falls under the remit of conversion rate optimization and includes a careful user experience design on your website, as well as every bit of messaging you give (including how you signal trust). You should also show a commitment to testing and optimization, as the more data you have on how people interact with your website, the more you will be able to make the journey smoother for them. When online and making buying decisions, people get wary very quickly and it doesn’t take much to cause them to leave your site. Even page speed can turn a keen prospective customer into someone who never thinks about your company again. Using data to identify key friction points in the digital realm is vital.