If you have read the article App Development For Your Business, you will know that app development in particular, or software development in general has to go through many steps, and the cost is not cheap. Therefore, to ensure that the money and effort spent on software development are right, businesses need to plan meticulously and in detail in choosing the right software developer for them. How to outsource software development? And What does a business need to know before outsourcing software development? Before going into how to outsource software development, we need to know about 2 terms, Procurement, and Request For Proposal (RFP). It sounds so technical, but you can simply understand one is the act of buying, and selling services, and the other is bidding. Procurement as a general business practice can be defined as: “The act of obtaining or buying goods and services. The process includes the preparation and processing of a demand as well as the end receipt and approval of payment. It often involves: ・Standards determination; ・Supplier research and selection; ・Value analysis; ・Price negotiation; and ・Making the purchase.” In other words, procurement refers to the basic process of securing goods or services from an external business or consultant. A request for proposal, as the name suggests, is an invitation for external businesses or consultants to apply to provide your company with specific goods or services. Investopedia.com describes RFP in the following terms: “A request for proposal (RFP) is a type of bidding solicitation in which a company or organization announces that funding is available for a particular project or program, and companies can place bids for the project’s completion. It outlines the bidding process and contract terms and provides guidance on how the bid should be formatted and presented.” Additionally, an RFP establishes specifications describing the particular solution that the company is seeking and the evaluation criteria according to which proposals will be assessed. We understand the key terms and now dig deeper into the way we become a partner with software developers. Make Your Needs Clear Understanding your needs, your proposal will also be clear and easy to understand. So, how do you determine the exact requirements of your business? Just by understanding the term “need assessment” you will be able to identify gaps in your proposal and analyze them. Businessdictionary.com defines needs assessment — otherwise known as “gap analysis” — as: “A technique that businesses use to determine what steps need to be taken in order to move from its current state to its desired, future state. Gap analysis consists of: ・Listing of characteristic factors (such as attributes, competencies, performance levels) of the present situation (‘what is’), ・Listing factors needed to achieve future objectives (‘what should be), and then ・Highlighting the gaps that exist and need to be filled. Gap analysis forces a company to reflect on what kind of business it is at present and to ask what kind of business it wants to be in the future.” In other words, don’t just take another company’s proposal template and apply it…

The global economic outlook for 2023 is among the weakest in decades, with global real GDP growth forecast to increase by 2.3% in 2023, further down from 3.3% recorded in 2022. Though global inflation is expected to moderate from 9.1% in 2022 to 6.8% in 2023, it is still at historic highs. The high costs of living, rising interest rates, and ongoing geopolitical uncertainties will continue to dent private consumption and investment in many parts of the world, undermining the global growth outlook. Customers will hesitate to spend money on expensive things due to rising inflation.  The problem for businesses is How to create an environment that encourages customers to buy? The answer is to build a Customer Experience Ecosystem. Create a Customer Experience Ecosystem as the solution. Developing a Customer Experience Ecosystem will be easier than ever thanks to the advancement of generative AI. But what exactly is a customer experience ecosystem, and how can you create one? Let’s find out through this article. What is a Customer Experience Ecosystem? Ecosystem = living and non-living things that make up an environment and affect each other. Customer Experience Ecosystem aka Business Ecosystem includes customers, staff members, distributors, partners, agencies, competitors, rituals (planning, funding, evaluating, rewarding, reporting, communicating, advancing, and training), and the logistics and interactions between all of these stakeholders and rituals. Like a rainforest ecosystem, you must think holistically about the interdependencies of all elements. Think about the food chain, what informs what, who influences whom, who needs whom, what makes things tick, and what gets in the way of success. Therefore, creating an ecosystem for the consumer experience requires an awareness of how ecosystem components interact. Many firms have used customer interactions to collect data, evaluate that data, and then modify their marketing initiatives and business plans to cater to different client segments. They have a better understanding of clients and a better strategy for dealing with them, which makes them stand out from rivals in every way. How can We Build a Customer Experience Ecosystem? Building an Intelligent Experience Engine New digital media create new ways for users to interact with brands. Location-based tracking and payment systems activated by the swipe of a hand blur the lines across prepurchase (advertising/marketing), purchase (sales/transaction), and postpurchase (service/loyalty) interactions. These capabilities have created intelligent ways to reshape customer experiences, and they enable brands to be distinctively valuable and deepen engagement. Starbucks, for example, geo-targets lapsed customers who are near its stores with ads about new seasonal beverages, and it sends customers personalized in-app offers to encourage them to visit a store or to try their convenient mobile order-and-pay option. Building an Intelligent Experience Engine means building an end-to-end experience but focusing on each micro goal on the journey. Think about how to design the flow of a given moment. Because each positive individual moment creates an overall customer experience. At each moment what information should be provided to the customer? Suggestions for customers to use the cross-channel or cross-party which will be most convenient? Connect…