If you enter a meeting room these days, you will find people discussing digital transformation to enhance their business performance. Perhaps, this is the reason that the term “digital transformation” has become the most popular buzzword in today’s business world. The reason is very simple: it represents that entrepreneurs are more concerned about a customer-centric business environment. Businesses all over the world today are trying to use digital technologies to get closer to their customers and evolve their business models.
On one hand, there are some innovative companies such as Google and Airbnb, which have grown and thrived in the digital economy and are disrupting entire sectors and shaping new markets. On the other hand, there are other well-known companies like Jaeger that have failed to cross the digital barrier and lagging behind in this competitive environment. It is because either they have stayed halfway or have not yet managed to understand why they should change or how to do it.
So, if you want to understand better how to successfully implement digital transformation and prepare yourself to go one step further and move towards the digital era. Then keep reading this article.
Steps for implementing Digital transformation Strategy
Digital transformation is the process according to which businesses integrate new technologies to achieve a complete change in all their work areas. Thus, the digitalization of the companies does not consist only in changing the computer equipment, investing in technology or creating a web page. It is a complete metamorphosis – a detailed review of processes, products, and services. This needs to be done in a targeted manner.
Here are some tips that will help you pursue this path:
- The design of the digital transformation
This is the first step towards digitizing a company. Before launching to make modifications, it is convenient to go through an analysis phase – what needs to be addressed first, how this new change will affect your business or how to apply it in your existing model.
- Evaluating the current state of your company
At this stage, you need to do a thorough assessment of how digital or analog your company is – this analysis includes products, services, and company assets. You need to check if the company is easily scannable or it takes a large financial and human resources effort to move the company’s assets from tangible to intangible. Following this assessment, it is necessary to plan the scenarios for change by analyzing strengths, weaknesses and market needs in order to find financially sustainable possibilities to begin the digitization process.
- Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and realize their needs
You need to know your customers and understand how they are interacting with the market, what needs they have and what kind of solutions they are looking for. Based on this knowledge, it is easier to target the offer and add value to it. You should find ways to reach your customers digitally, for example, understand if they communicate through social networks, read newsletters, or listen to podcasts.
Digital communication is increasingly the preferred communication channel for most of the consumers today. Through this mapping, it is possible to develop much more effective segmentation strategies as it focuses on the actual needs and characteristics of consumers.
- Define your strategy
After analyzing all aspects related to the market and the company itself, the next step is to use the data to draw a strategic plan, containing all the stages of digital transformation to be applied in the company. The starting point is always different for each business, as each business has its own specifications. Weaknesses must be prioritized over competition and the company’s strengths should be highlighted.
- Preparing the company for the change
A traditional company tends to be at the center and treat its customers only as consumers of its products, without really realizing the importance that customers have in business evolution. Their approach towards technology is only as a support for operations, and there is little concern for innovation.
A transition to the digital world requires investment, time and a well-defined strategy, and then only then action can be taken. In this age of change, it is important that business leaders should prepare their employees for digitization. This preparation can be done through training actions that make employees realize the true importance and benefit of moving to a digital paradigm.
- Apply the change in everyday actions
It is not enough to say that we want to change. It is not enough to define a plan that ends up forgotten at the bottom of a drawer. Employees need to feel involved in the change process and it is essential to set an example through daily actions. Using technology in actions that were once “traditional” and automating processes is the first step to prove that the company has effectively entered the digitization phase. Only through superior examples the employees will feel motivated and will adopt the new business philosophy.
Wrapping Up
The digital transformation is not something that can be postponed over time. Users have already lived it, and companies must also do so if they want their customers to stay close with them. It’s not just an aspect related to communication or marketing. It is a way of understanding the business, managing the tasks and changing the way of producing. It is a way of adopting new technologies within the company and integrating them into both internal and external development of business.
