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5 Digital Transformation Examples That Will Inspire Innovation

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Published:
September 27, 2021
Reading Time:
5 minutes
consultport-author
Leo
Experienced copywriter who spends a lot of money at restaurants and regrets it later.

You may have heard about the term digital transformation a lot, and you may even have considered digitalizing your own business.

But what does digital transformation success actually look like? And what factors determine the success of a digitalization project?

The fact is, not all digital transformation projects end up being fruitful. That is why in this article, we will only discuss those projects that actually benefited companies. You will also learn why these projects were successful at the end of this article.

So, here are some digital transformation examples that will motivate you to start your own digitalization journey.

1. Nike

Nike’s digital transformation success story is one of a kind. The company has used digital technology to offer customers a shopping experience like never before. First, they enabled shoppers to customize their shoes online. Instead of buying whichever shoes were readily available, customers could use the in-built customization options on the website to create a completely unique pair of shoes. Nike’s website has this feature to this day and buyers can choose the colors, materials, and graphics of their choice.

Now, let’s talk about Nike’s mobile app. This app allows customers to scan their feet using their smartphone camera before buying shoes to ensure that they find the size that fits them best. The company has seen tremendous success because of its investment in digital transformation, according to the ex-president and CEO, Mark Parker.

“Every industry and every organization will have to transform itself in the next few years. What is coming at us is bigger than the original internet, and you need to understand it, get on board with it, and figure out how to transform your business.” — Tim O’Reilly, Founder & CEO of O’Reilly Media

2. Domino’s

If you’re into pizza, you may have heard about Domino’s AnyWare. Domino’s used digitalization to enable its customers to order from a range of channels, including Google Home, Alexa, Slack, Facebook Messenger, phone text, Twitter, and even through smart TVs and watches. Just a decade ago, this may have seemed to be something straight out of a sci-fi movie. But now, it’s the reality.

Domino’s digitalization example reinforces our confidence in a very well-known business strategy, and that is to make it extremely easy for customers to make the purchase. If someone is hungry at work, they can just use Slack to place an order while working on their office project, and if someone wants to verbally order a pizza as if they were in an actual Domino’s outlet, they can do so using Alexa.

According to Domino’s official website, over 65% of the company’s sales in the United States comes through digital channels. Nothing surprising here, digital transformation of such level rarely fails!

3. IKEA

IKEA, the Swedish furniture and home goods company, is famous for its exciting collection of beds, tables, kitchen appliances, and almost everything else that turns a house into a home. However, assembling a piece of furniture that you buy online is not a walk in the park—unless you’re a professional carpenter.

digital transformation examples, 5 Digital Transformation Examples That Will Inspire Innovation

This is why IKEA acquired TaskRabbit, an online marketplace that connects customers with local freelance labor who can help them move and/or assemble their furniture. This removed a major obstacle out of customers’ way who may have initially hesitated to buy large pieces of furniture through IKEA’s website, especially the ones that were way too complicated to assemble.

Again, IKEA’s digital transformation success story can teach other businesses to use technology to address customers’ objections. This digital transformation example should also motivate one to join forces with other companies and enjoy digital transformation success together.

4. Hasbro

Hasbro is a multinational conglomerate that has provided children all around the world with some of the best toys and games. Now, you might think that because they are selling mainly to children, their target audience is children, right? Well, not quite. Thanks to modern technology, the company analyzed data and found out that it’s better to create marketing campaigns to target the people who are actually making the purchase, that is, the parents.

Hasbro then leveraged digital content marketing and shared a series of YouTube videos that were tailored towards parents of kids. The company also used data analytics to better understand its customers and even though they had to increase ad spend by 1100%, they were able to increase their sales by a whopping $1 billion. Now, we can agree that digital transformation success depends on both technology and choosing the right target audience.



5. Target

Let’s now discuss the last digital transformation example for this article. Target is the US's second-largest retailer and pretty much a household name in the entire country. Target launched its mobile app in 2013, and it has been gathering precious data and insights through it ever since.

According to TechCrunch, the app has been used by 27 million shoppers to make a purchase and this helped the company understand customer preferences, shopping habits, popular products, and other crucial aspects of its business. Reports say that Target’s digital efforts resulted in a massive success—over $5 billion in sales in 2018!



Why Were These Digital Transformation Projects Successful?

We hope that these 5 digitalization examples have inspired you, and hopefully, you are planning to begin your own digital transformation journey now.

However, we must first understand why these companies succeeded in digitally transforming their business. Of course, part of the reason is their big budgets. But there’s another critical reason behind their success—it’s expert advice!

Undertaking digital transformation by yourself can be a daunting and expensive task. Fortunately, there are experts who can help you with digital readiness assessments, digital strategy, digital growth processes, and much more. They are called digital transformation consultants, and we can connect you with them in a matter of hours.

We have hundreds of top-tier digital transformation consultants who have worked with renowned digital agencies and blue-chip companies. If you’re keen to hire Fortune 500 talent on a freelance basis, get in touch now.