How to Ace Your Digital Transformation Process
For many years consultants have been pushing organizations towards a more tech-savvy way of doing business. Many refused, and others thought they had more time to contemplate and make these transitions. Due to Covid, the world was scrambling for any/all digital solutions. We look at what digital transformation is, why it’s so essential (not just during global pandemics) and how you can ensure a successful transformation from the old to the new.
What is Digital Transformation?
Digital transformation is when a company changes its current workflows, processes, and systems to incorporate more digital technologies. In the process they often automate entire operations that once had to be handled manually. A digital transformation consultant will be able to help you with this entire transition.
Why is it so Beneficial?
There are many more advantages to digital transformation than just being pandemic proof. These are a few of the most important ones:
Improved Customer Experiences
No more waiting on the call center line listening to pan flute music. Now you can ‘click here’ to chat to an automated bot that offers all the answers to customer’s most frequently answered questions. Email inquiry auto-replies make customers feel heard and reassures them that their query is being taken care of. There’s also no need to wait for a sales rep to get back to you regarding a product. Simply select how many items you want, pop it in the cart, pay via numerous payment gateway options and wait for your package to arrive.
Increased Profits
Those who have undergone a digital transformation boast an average of 23% growth in revenue. Why? When sales become quicker, and you can do multiple sales simultaneously, profit increases. Mary can finally pay more attention to client acquisition since she doesn’t have to spend half her time on admin. The list goes on…
Increased Productivity
That tends to happen when valuable team members are outsourcing the nitty-gritty to bots, computer software, AI, etc. Now they can start focusing on the things that really matter.
Access to Data-Driven Insights
With the correct sales funnel technology implementation and digital processes, you will be able to collect and track a wealth of data that is invaluable to driving the success of any business.
Why the Hesitance?
There are many reasons why organizations resist change like this. A lot of it has to do with unfounded fears based on a lack of knowledge. Sadly, many of these fears are also the reason why transformation attempts end up failing. Some of these include a fear that any technology implementation will make them and their job title redundant. Another reason is more of a company cultural issue (the old “but we’ve been doing things like this for decades” gem). It’s easier to get stuck in a rut than people think. There are plenty more reasons, but this is where a digital transformation consultant is crucial in educating and putting minds at rest.
Why do so Many Digital Transformations Fail?
As mentioned, many of these failures have to do with fears, but others are a bit more technical. Here are the most common reasons why digital transformations fail:
Unclear goals
Saying that there will be an increase in technology implementation and that you’re “going digital” can mean many things – especially to team members who don’t know the first thing about digital transformation. For a transition to succeed, you need to have very clear goals that include certain milestones, all linked to specific deadlines. These goals need to be clearly communicated to the entire organization and its team members. A digital transformation consultant can also assist in this communication.
Lack of Skills
Some of this can be due to a lack of tech training, but some of it can also be a generational and capability issue. Gerald, who still uses a Nokia 3310, will not start managing a Trello board no matter how hard you try.
Company Cultural Issue
As we’ve already touched on, the company culture plays a significant role in any transformation in an organization. People get used to things running a certain way, and get stuck in certain routines and habits. Undoing that takes exceptional skills from a specialized consultant.
Ignoring the Customers
It’s all fair and well if you want to implement a cool interactive and responsive landing page that reminds one of a computer game. However, if your target audience consists of insurance brokers in their mid-forties, you’re probably missing the mark. Digital transformation is not about jumping on the latest tech bandwagon, it’s about knowing what do your customers like and how to make their lives easier.
5 Steps to Ace Your Digital Transformation Process
Once you know what digital transformation is all about and its pitfalls, it’s much easier to start the process and manage it correctly. Here are the 5 steps that will guarantee you digital transformation success:
Determine your vision –
As we’ve already established, unclear goals can be a transformation killer.Rope in management & team leads –
This speaks to the cultural issue. If the organization’s leaders are on board, you are 1.6 times more likely to pull off a successful transition.Address the cultural issue head-on –
As we’ve touched on quite a few times, the cultural issue within a company might be the biggest hurdle to overcome. While getting the leaders on board is the first step, you’ll still need to get the rest of the organization up to speed and excited for the changes ahead.Assess & acquire resources and skills –
It’s fairly obvious that unless you have a few developers in the back, you’ll be outsourcing a lot of the tech changes. But who is going to manage these in the long run? You need to look internally for those with the necessary skills or capabilities to head up and work with these technological partners. There are many in an organization with some hidden skills and talents just waiting for the right opportunity to come along.Choose the right tech solutions for your business –
Your tech team should be able to help you with this. Even so, don’t forget to put it to all team members in the organization. Once again, they might surprise you. There are numerous programs, platforms, plugins, etc., to choose from, but not all might be the right fit for your specific organization.
Need a little more information or a digital transformation consultant? Then look no further than our website. You can find all you need here.
