Today, a hot topic for discussion in the field of technology and software is the so-called Digital transformation. This phenomenon affects marketing and sales approaches, the market for marketing services, the market for IT products and much more. But the most interesting thing is how Digital transformation affects real business, operational processes and the organization as a whole.

How does Digital (digital) conversion affect your customer's user experience?

This is the most important question, and in a sense, the most difficult to answer. Digital transformation is not about technology. It's about creating new experiences for your customers and attracting them more effectively. To be truly successful at the moment of Digital transformation, you have to put your customer at the center of everything you do.

This approach starts with us being honest about how well we understand our customers and working hard to create the culture, workflows, and Analytics needed to improve customer experience and add value to customer feedback across the organization.

Imagine two years later, in 2021, your Board of Directors is on the cover of Fortune magazine. Why are you here? What was the main point that made it happen?

Digital technologies are developing at lightning speed, in this regard, business needs to move very quickly towards strategic priorities. To answer this question, you need to clearly articulate the key opportunity of your business and understand how to use your strengths to achieve it. Thinking about the turning point will help you understand the key issues and challenges of your business that stand in your way.Usually, clients answer the above question differently depending on the nature of their business. The answers often boil down to two options:

  • the turning point was when the Board of Directors and the Executive team reached an agreement and approved the expenses that were necessary;
  • the turning point was when it turned out to change the corporate culture and unite previously disparate groups into a single effective workflow.

These conclusions lead to the following two questions.

How will you measure the success of your business?

Digital transformation is often accompanied by a new set of key performance indicators (KPIs). It's more than tracking new customer data, analyzing digital experiences, or measuring conversion growth – though it should all be a key part of your Analytics strategy anyway.

Businesses should have a deeper think about KPI. For example, what is more important: to track the income of the current month or to measure the annual or even lifetime value of the client? Should you keep track of how well your internal teams work together and then encourage them? Do you encourage your teams to accumulate knowledge about the client?

The most difficult part of managing Digital transformation is not technical, but cultural. Therefore, changing the way you track and encourage success throughout your business is an important tool to overcome fragmentation within an organization and promote change in corporate culture. It helps the whole business focus on the things that matter.

Your Board of Directors with you?

Let's face it, true Digital transformation is often costly and involves many internal changes. This is a strategic investment decision, and it will definitely go against the cost-cutting strategy. Digital transformation also often requires changes in governance and reporting structures. Transformation is so closely intertwined with every aspect of the business that it is almost impossible to implement it at the level of middle management. All businesses should be on Board in this matter: from the founders and CEO to all employees of the organization.

In companies that are not digital since inception, Board members may have a generational problem. They may be experts in business, but newcomers when it comes to digital. If the answer to the indicated question is not enthusiastic "Yes!" then you should understand that you will have to spend your efforts on information, education, and lobbying.

Where do you expect quick wins?

True digital transformation is a long way to go for most businesses, but no one has two years to wait for the results. So it's important to think about where you can show quick results in each quarter.

As with any big change in your business, there will be doubters in the organization and those who completely deny the change. Even your supporters may be concerned. The ability to demonstrate quick wins and results over 60-90 day periods is of great importance in silencing critics and amplifying your transformations. Think of the cases or clients that will be affected primarily by Digital transformation, and make sure you have the tools to publicize those quick wins.

How does the data go through your organization?

If the heart of Digital transformation is the consumer experience, then the life force (blood) is data. Data is the most valuable asset of any digital business, but it is never used one hundred percent.

Data is your understanding of the client — who he is, what he wants, how he behaves. You can't create a good digital experience without it. The problem is that the data of most enterprises exist in disparate and unconnected systems.It is critical that you understand where your data exists today in each individual part of the business, where you have gaps, what new data you will have, and what your plan is for all of this to be connected and work together to support the customer.

It also involves a broader approach than the standard use of customer data to increase sales and revenue. You should consider personalizing sales, privacy, and how your data can be used to encourage customers and build long-term relationships.

Are You ready to face the challenges of scale?

The transition to the digital environment makes many opportunities and challenges faced by traditional businesses stronger and more relevant. In digital format, many global brands should be able to interact with tens of thousands of customers not just every day, but every second. Creating a fascinating, personalized customer experience requires additional customer data, more attention to detail in managing the customer journey in digital and a huge amount of content that is displayed at the right time, in the right place, on hundreds of different devices and in hundreds of channels. In terms of marketing, we call this "content speed." But full digital conversion is more than just scaling the speed of content. Digital transformation is also directly related to operational efficiency within the business. You can only take advantage of digital growth if you're ready to scale every part of your business quickly.

And that, in turn, means thinking about technology and culture. Content creation and demonstration, operational excellence and efficiency. Bringing these changes to life — building a customer-centric culture, integrating workflows from disparate parts of the business into a coherent whole, and rethinking the way success is measured — is as important as choosing and implementing the right technology platforms.

Translation and adaptation of Stephen Frieder article.