Ever heard of the term ‘going digital’? The word ‘digital’ has become one of the most used prefixes in the last decade and has become the talk of the town. We hear about digital media, digital processing, digital data, digital marketing, digital education, digital transformation, etc., being used colloquially. Everybody is either going digital or wants to go digital, including companies, businesses, corporations and organisations. So, what is this talk about going digital or going home?
For the sake of not stating the obvious, let us begin with understanding digital transformation. Or digital business transformation as some people would like to term it. It can be defined as the advancement of business processes, activities and competencies along with the business models to influence the available changes and opportunities of digital technologies so that it impacts the business in a strategic and prioritised way. To put it in simple terms, digital transformation is the driving force that moves a business forward.
The strategies, more often than not, are usually helpful in driving the business aspect of transformation in the companies and hence some call it digital business transformation. These transitions are leveraged by several factors like technology innovation, customer behaviour, business demand and other external factors. However, it does not mean that business transformations are always helpful. It usually depends on how the company adapts and uses the applied transformation techniques that prove the worthiness of the entire process. In other words, implementing digital technologies to all walks of business to build more sustainable relationships and better understand the customers are vastly dependent on how the company/business and its employees take to the new methodology.
The Importance of Digital Transformation Strategy
Very well, now that it’s clear, let us look at the logic behind going digital. To begin with, it enhances the interaction with the customer for any business and company thereby improving the customer experience and engagement. In addition to that, opting for digital transformation also helps increase the efficiency of the operations of the organization and helps improve decision making. Besides, there is a lot of scope for improving the innovation in the company in all teams to help truly transform the business.
Technology has made a significant impact on human lives. Furthermore, digital transformation has transformed how businesses interact with their clients, their e-commerce trading and marketing among other factors. This inevitable advent of digitalization in every sector of business has had a significant contribution to how the business operates. However, this inevitability has its advantages as it helps businesses gain an edge over their competitors. This has made digital transformation crucial for corporate survival.
In simple terms, going digital for a company could become a key factor in its growth. Off late, potential employees are seeking digitization as one of the main reasons that they consider while joining a company. However, companies going digital without proper planning strategy yields next to nothing. To get caught with the flow and not make strides of improvement with it would be meaningless.
The Need for Digital Transformation
A digital strategy for any company should help transform the business, streamline the working process and make use of the existing technology to better the customer relations and experience. In a private study, it was found that 55% of the start-up companies and businesses adopted digital transformation during their inception while only 38% of the traditional and established companies adopted digital transformation at later stages. Here are some of the reasons that highlight the importance of digital transformation for companies.
- Accelerated Growth of Business – With more and more companies opting for digital technologies to ease their task, digital transformation has picked up the pace all over the world. This changeover has resulted in an accelerated growth to businesses that have given them a position of leadership in their respective sectors.
- Digital Competition – The era of internet and technological advancements has put an increasing pressure to compete digitally. As a result, long-established business models that involved conventional methods are being disrupted by the start-ups that adopt digitization from their inception. However, adopting digital transformation aims to overcome digital competition or at the least, hold the ground.
- Customer Expectation & Satisfaction – Customers expect a good experience across all products and services. It becomes the duty of the companies to ensure smooth interactions with a seamless experience and exceptional response. Digital transformation helps companies achieve the same with minimal resource expenditure.
Things to Remember
Given below are some quick points to remember when opting for digital transformation.
- Quick Implementation of Innovation – As the saying goes, “Change is the only permanent thing.” Refusing to budge or adopting the necessary changes can be detrimental to the growth of the company. Change is the only thing that people can be sure of. Striving for constant innovation and greatness in operation helps in gaining an edge over the competitors.
- Accepting the Internet of Things – The advent of the Internet of Things (IoT) has brought about significant and drastic changes. IoT has become a key factor in creating an innovative experience with everyday objects and devices, which has enabled it to create new opportunities for businesses in various sectors. Companies, businesses and customers will only benefit from it in the coming future.
- Embrace the New Trends – New trends have taken over businesses in almost every sector. Not surprisingly, they have taken over marketing as well. The invention of digital marketing has slowly decreased the demand for traditional marketing, which will eventually phase out in a couple of years from now. Utilising the new trends will only add to the benefit of the company/business.
Cater to The Needs of The Customer – Ignoring the customers’ needs can result in them ignoring the company. A good product alone cannot suffice the customers, good after-sales service is equally important if not more. Catering to the needs of the customer becomes easier with the implementation of digital transformation due to the availability of tools that help ease the process.
