Future-proof Your Business: 4 Key Steps to Incorporating Digital Transformation

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For Companies

Published:

April 17, 2023

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6 minutes

Embed digital into organisation, Future-proof Your Business: 4 Key Steps to Incorporating Digital Transformation

Leo

Experienced copywriter who spends a lot of money at restaurants and regrets it later.

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The future of business is digital. Not just in the West, but all around the world. Whether it’s the rise of Fintech in Africa or the digitalization of paper-based processes in Australia, digital is taking over the world.

So, it’s safe to say that even you will have to dabble in digitalization very soon. But how exactly can one bring digital transformation into their business? Is there a specific way to create a strategy? And are there any experts who can help?

In this article, we will answer all these questions. Specifically, we will discuss the 4 key steps to embedding digital into your organization. So, let’s dive into it.

1. Start With the “Why”

Why do you want to embed digital transformation into your organization? Is it because your friend told you it’s cool? Is it because a competitor is doing it, too? Or is it because it’s a popular buzzword these days?

Well, unfortunately, none of the aforementioned reasons are right to bring digital transformation into your business. You must analyze your business situation and list down reasons why digitalization is the right choice. That said, here are some useful reasons why you should choose digital transformation:

Efficiency: There could be a 10,000-word article on how digitalization improves business efficiency. But, in a few words, you can streamline processes, almost eliminate errors, increase productivity, and save money through digital transformation. For example, you could use chatbots to respond to thousands of customers at once instead of just relying on human employees.

Data collection and analysis: Flying blind in business is never a good idea. At any given time, you must know what’s selling in your industry and what’s not popular. You must also be able to predict what your customers like to buy, when they buy, and how they prefer to buy it. All this is only possible if you have a huge amount of data and a credible AI system to decipher the complex data and give you actionable solutions.

It will be the norm soon: According to Statista, global spending on digital transformation will be $3.4 trillion by 2026. If you didn’t know, the GDP of the United Kingdom was $2.67 trillion in 2022. This means that spending on digital transformation will be around $1 trillion more than the entire GDP of the UK! Digital is taking over. It is the future, and you should join as soon as you can.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The global spending on digital transformation is expected to be $3.4 trillion by 2026, which is higher than the 2022 GDP of the United Kingdom.
Digital transformation is clearly the future and companies around the world are investing heavily in it.
To start your own digital transformation, you should first have a vision of what digital looks like in your business.
There are many ways to create a digital strategy. One way is to define a vision, then evaluate your company, then define your digital goals, and finally, create a roadmap to turn it into a reality.
Hiring digital transformation consultants is highly recommended because they can develop those digital strategies for your company that have worked for their previous clients. They can also stop you from making mistakes and show you the right way from the get-go.

2. Create and Execute a Digital Transformation Strategy

Creating a digitalization strategy will certainly require a lot of time and brainstorming. But you can speed up the process by simply hiring a digital transformation consultant (more about that later). In case you’re testing out a new digital strategy on your own, here are some steps you can take to ensure the best outcome:

Step 1 | Define a vision: What does digital transformation look like in your company? Imagine it in your mind first. For example, “Our company signs up 10 times more customers per month by enabling them to submit their documents online instead of post.”

Step 2 | Evaluate your company: Is your company capable of achieving your digital transformation goals? If not, then what is needed? You may need more equipment, technology, consultants, or full-time workers in order to achieve your digital goals.

Step 3 | Define goals: This is different from defining a vision. Your digital goals must be SMART, which stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. You see, a vision can give a brief overview of your digital dream, but goals have to be more detailed.

Step 4 | Create a roadmap: This is similar to any other project you may undertake. This means you have to define the scope, objectives, deliverables, and timeline. It is also necessary to create a budget plan at this stage and know how much it will cost you.

Alright, so these were the four steps to creating and executing a digital transformation strategy. But you should know that there are many other ways you could do it. There’s no one set approach, and you can add or remove steps as per your needs.

3. Measure the Results and Make Changes if Necessary

Here’s the fact: Your efforts to embed digital into your organization may not necessarily be fruitful within the first attempt. You may have to iterate as you move forward. This is why, after deploying a digital transformation, you must measure the results to understand what’s working and what isn’t.

Here are some steps that you can take:

Look at the numbers: What are the KPIs saying? Is the digital transformation strategy really bringing in the numbers that you were looking for? For example, if your goal was to increase online sales by 30% through a state-of-the-art e-commerce website, are you really reaching those goals? There’s no point in allocating a huge budget to digital transformation projects if you’re not reaching the metrics that you desire.

Check out competitors’ progress: Are there any other competitors in the industry who are using digitalization? What are their numbers? It’s crucial to compare your stats with those of your business rivals to ensure that you make the most of your digital transformation efforts. For example, if another company is selling more products with the same digital strategy as yours, you may need to come up with a new one.

Take Nike for instance, a company that has mastered digital transformation. You can visit Nike’s website and create a unique pair of shoes for yourself. You can choose your own colors and materials for each part of the shoe. But Nike’s competitor, Adidas, had to close its online customization program Mi Adidas and stop offering this privilege to customers. Why? Potentially because Nike came up with this strategy first, and they can’t simply copy-paste Nike’s strategy.

Ask the customers: Customer satisfaction has got to be one of the most important metrics when it comes to measuring digital transformation. According to McKinsey, digitalization efforts that focus on customer experience result in a 20-30% increase in customer satisfaction. The fact is, customers want top-notch buying experiences. So, in case you have rolled out a digital transformation project and want to know what customers think about it, ask them through surveys. Besides this, you could also ask your employees about their thoughts on your digital projects.

4. Hire Digital Transformation Consultants

Steps 1-3 that have been mentioned above can be made much smoother with the help of a digital transformation consultant. This is because these consultants have years of experience working on digitalization projects. Whatever your digital goals are, chances are, a digital transformation consultant has already helped other businesses achieve those goals before. So, instead of going for ‘trial and error’, why not hire someone who’s already aware of the right steps?

Now, the term ‘digital transformation consultant’ is very broad and can include the following subcategories:

Digital Readiness Assessment Consultants: You can hire them if you want to evaluate your employees’ readiness to adapt to new technological changes. Besides, they can also create strategies to improve customer experience.

Digital Strategy Consultants: These consultants can create a structured plan to bring digital transformation into your business. They can also help you create a popular omnichannel customer experience and find ways of entering new markets through digitalization.

Business Model Digitization Consultants: Want to turn your traditional brick-and-mortar business into a future-proof revenue machine? Then you should hire these consultants. Well, someday very soon, you will have to transform your business and make it more digital. That’s when these consultants can help you.

Process Digitization Experts: How to reduce human errors in your day-to-day operations? For one, you can digitize your processes. Process Digitization Experts can turn traditional operational procedures into digital processes. This can increase efficiency and productivity, which will eventually result in a better customer experience.

Okay, so now you may be thinking: Where can I find these digital transformation consultants? Here at Consultport, we have thousands of consultants in our talent pool. What makes them so special? Well, we only choose the ones who have worked with big firms and top digital companies—so you will only get the best.

If you’re looking for your next digital transformation consultant, get in touch with us now.

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