The 2014 World Cup is picking up steam, and the attention of the world (or at least the sports world) is on Brazil. Though I’m admittedly not a huge soccer fan, it’s hard not to get caught up in the hype. Since our office has a slight case of World Cup fever, I’ve started to draw some comparisons of this year’s event to the digital signature business. Here are the top three lessons the 2014 World Cup can teach businesses about adopting digital signatures.
In the months leading up to the World Cup, the news was filled with headlines about how unprepared Brazil was to host the huge event. From a stadium that was unfinished just hours before the opening game to overcrowded public transportation, it’s safe to say that Brazil wasn’t ready for the big responsibility it was taking on.
This is the spectator bridge from subway to Sao Paulo stadium. Would you walk on that with thousands of people? pic.twitter.com/A3qYyDdRk7
— World Cup Problems (@WorIdCupProbs) June 12, 2014
Relevance to adopting digital signatures: Before your business even picks a digital signature vendor, it’s important to be fully prepared for success. A few things to keep in mind include:
The 203 teams in FIFA’s six confederations competed in matches to determine whether they could be one of the 32 teams to compete in the World Cup. Qualifications for the 2014 World Cup started way back in 2011 and ran the course of 820 matches! Teams that wanted to take home the trophy had a lot of work to do before they could even make the line up.
Relevance to adopting digital signatures: It’s easy to get excited about the possibilities of digital signatures and expect to see full adoption off the bat. In reality, it takes time for members of your team to become comfortable with using new technology.
It’s important to focus on the small wins to help get your digital signature project off the ground. While it probably won’t take your business three years to reach full adoption—like it took for teams to qualify for the World Cup—it’s important to be realistic about your goals.
We recommend that you start with one simple process at first. For instance, the County of San Diego began the digital signature integration on just one form—the change of address form. They only process about 5,000 change of address forms each year, making that a smart place to start applying digital signature technology. After they perfected that process, they expanded their project to include up to 100,000 documents each year.
The World Cup is a great opportunity for nations across the globe to show their national pride. From national advertising campaigns to viewing parties at local bars, World Cup fever is everywhere. It’s great to see each nation showcasing and celebrating what makes them unique.
Relevance to adopting digital signatures: Once you’ve refined your digital signature process, it’s time for self-promotion! After all, adopting digital signatures doesn’t just benefit you and your employees—your clients and partners will love signing documents online too.
Self-promotion can come in many forms. Here are a few great ways to promote your new service:
Whether you’ll be glued to the TV all week or only seeing World Cup coverage through your Facebook feed, don’t forget to take a minute to see how the World Cup and digital signature worlds collide. Do you see any other digital signature lessons from the World Cup? Feel free to let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.