The day after President Obama’s inauguration in 2009, he issued a memo on how technology could and should be used to improve transparency, collaboration, communication, and trust. Seven years later, we now know that providing a satisfying digital experience not only increases citizen trust in the federal government, but also improves the democratic process and contributes to overall cost savings. This is supported in our 50th consecutive E-Government Satisfaction Index, a benchmark for digital government leaders to help them understand e-government performance from the citizen’s perspective.

Measuring citizen satisfaction with websites, mobile sites, and mobile apps — and then using that intelligence to improve experiences — has proven to be incredibly effective. We know this because ForeSee’s multi-patented citizen experience measurement methodology has been shown to have a direct impact on behavior. In other words, the higher satisfaction is, the more likely citizens are to trust, visit again, and recommend.

We can actually quantify five specific outcomes of a good digital experience. When we compare highly satisfied website visitors to less satisfied visitors, we find that highly satisfied visitors report being:

1. 54% more likely to participate with and express their thoughts to their government, which strengthens the democratic process and may provide useful feedback.
2. 51% more likely to return to the website, an ongoing channel for providing information and services to citizens efficiently and relatively inexpensively.
3. 97% more likely to recommend the website, causing usage and cost savings to increase over time.
4. 84% more likely to use the website as a primary resource, providing citizens with information from a credible government source rather than another online/offline source (in cases where options exist, e.g., health-related information).
5. 66% more likely to trust the agency, department, or program, fostering faith in the democratic process.

We see the same kind of advantages for mobile sites and apps. When we compare highly satisfied visitors to mobile sites and apps to less satisfied visitors, the highly satisfied visitors report being:

• 144% more likely to recommend the site or app.
• 97% more likely to use the site or app again.

In short, citizen satisfaction matters because it predicts loyalty, trust, and future usage, all of which contribute to cost savings and the democratic process.

Read more about the 50th consecutive ForeSee E-Government Satisfaction Index on Fierce Government IT or Fed Scoop. For all of latest e-government satisfaction data, download your complimentary copy of the ForeSee E-Government Satisfaction Index today.