What Is Digital Transformation

A successful digital transformation starts with a clear strategy. It’s not just about implementing the latest tech and hoping it will help improve workflow and customer experience. It starts with identifying where the business is aiming to get to and looking for the smoothest and most resistant free way of getting there. Having a clear strategy ensures that the journey is seamless and creates a smooth path to successful transformation.

Technology is the backbone of digital transformation, businesses need to implement different aspects of technology into everyday running’s of a business to stay in line and ahead of competition. In today’s minefield of platforms and programs that are available knowing which digital tool will create the biggest impact without disrupting day to day work is difficult. This can end up becoming expensive as well as disruptive due to trying lots of different products. This ends up becoming a “that will do” situation sacrificing productivity and features which results in staff fighting with a “that will do” product and having to jigsaw 2 or more products together that do not integrate to complete a simple task. Having a data driven digital strategy can overcome this issue.

The shift to a more digital-first mindset requires a change in company culture. Leaders must not only champion new technologies but also foster an environment that encourages learning and adaptation to new products while leaving the old ways of working behind.

This does not always come easily and must be prepared for push back and lots of questions during the transformation process. The key to overcoming this is to identify members of staff that may struggle with the changes to day to day working and including them in the process, asking for opinions and input. Strong leadership is critical in guiding teams through this transformation, managing change and ensuring that all employees are equipped with the skills they need.

At the heart of digital transformation is a focus on the customer experience. Businesses would not be able to operate without its customer base, therefore, during a digital transformation ensuring the customer experience and journey must come first.

Achieving this comes down to a focus on tracking how customers use the tools the business has given them, this can be a website with Ecommerce making sure finding the product is smoothly paired with a seamless payment option, or this could be a website with a focus on call to action with contact forms and call buttons. Making sure that these forms are quick to fill out and any button to make a call allows it to be directed to a phone app on a mobile.

In a digital world, speed and efficiency are key. Everyone is used to using Amazon just clicking buy now and next thing they know the product is at their door. Places like Amazon have set the standard in efficiency. But they have also done a lot of the hard work for everyone else, we can now look at how they have achieved the highest level of efficiency as well as ease of use on their website and apps and adopt some of their methods and transform it for use on our websites.

At the foundations of digital transformation is data. Data and analytics are one of the most valuable assets a business can have. Effective digital transformation relies on real-time data to drive insights, inform decisions and optimise processes. Having access to accurate, actionable data helps organisations stay ahead of trends, identify new opportunities and make more informed choices. If this data is out of date or not accurate, this can lead to misinformed decisions moving the business away from its goals or slowing down its progress.