A customer login: when it is worth having
Written by Villiers Vision Works.
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A customer login is worth having when your customers come back to see or change their own information, and each visit costs someone time. A simple form is enough when they only need to reach you now and then. A customer login is also an example of custom software. Here is how to tell which one you need.
In short: A login pays off when customers keep coming back to check or change something of their own. A form is enough when they only need to ask you something.
What is a customer login?
A customer login is a private place on your website where each customer signs in and sees their own information. That might be a booking, an order or their contact details. Without a login, the customer phones or emails, and someone in your business looks it up and replies. With a login, the customer looks for themselves.
The question is not whether a login is clever. The question is whether it saves enough repeated work to be worth looking after.
What is custom software, and what are some examples?
Custom software is software made to fit one business rather than every business. A customer login is one example.
VVW describes its Business software as software built around how your business already works, with a customer login, bookings, and one place for your data so nobody retypes it twice.
Another software company's answer page lists customer-facing web portals among its examples of custom software. It describes custom software as software made for particular organisations or clients. Two other software companies' pages list further examples, including customer self-service portals, online stores and appointment booking systems.
Retyping is a subject of its own. The article How to stop retyping the same data in your business looks at where it comes from and what to fix first.
What can a login save you and your customers?
A login can save you repeat questions, if customers can see where their booking or order stands. Then they may not need to phone to ask, and your staff may spend less time looking things up and typing replies.
It can save your customers time too, if it shows them what they need. They can look when it suits them. What they can see depends on how the login is built.
A login can also reduce retyping, but only if it is connected to where your business keeps its data. That is worth settling at the start.
When is a simple form enough?
A simple form is enough when customers only need to reach you and never need to see anything afterwards. A request for a quote is a good case. So is a general question. If a customer would never come back to look at what they sent, a login adds work for them and for you.
A login is not free for the customer. Each one adds a password to remember. The UK National Cyber Security Centre, in guidance written for system owners, says every new password places a burden on the person using it, and advises using passwords only where they are really needed.
So ask one question. Will the customer return to see or change something of their own? If yes, a login is worth a closer look. If no, a form will do.
How much does software cost?
The cost of software depends on the job, so a figure given without knowing the job would be a guess. A few questions help to size it. What should customers see after they sign in? Is your need common, or is your way of working unusual? Who will look after it later?
A login for a common need is a different job from a login built around an unusual way of working.
Can the software be customised?
Yes, when the software is built for you. Business software is built to follow your process, so you do not bend your process to fit it.
We also supply and support ready-made business software. Whether a ready-made system suits you depends on the job. You can read more under Ready-made software.
Who looks after it later?
A login is not finished on the day it opens. People forget passwords. Staff change. Details need updating. Someone has to look after these things, and it is easier to settle who before you start than after something stops working.
Support & improvements covers help with a system you already use, including one that is broken.
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