Today’s fast-paced world dictates that a digital presence is one of the most important features of a business. But it’s not only your presence that needs to get a digital upgrade.
Existing companies need to reimagine their businesses to suit the current and ever-changing market. To do this, they have to digitally transform their current tools and organizational structures to engage with the client in a modern way.
The phrase “digital transformation” is a bit of a buzzword—almost a catch-all for a myriad of different digital actions—but it carries the potential to revolutionize a business.
How do you know what kind of digital transformation you need? We outline the four types of digital transformation and how you can go about making the changes you need.
What is digital transformation?
Digital transformation is the integration of digital and technological advances into a business. Depending on the type of digital transformation done, it can completely change the way a business approaches and deals with customers, as well as how they navigate the competitive market.
The 4 types of digital transformation
Now, you’re probably wondering what the different types of digital transformation are so you can figure out exactly which type(s) are needed for your company. These are the four types of digital transformation you should focus on:
1. Business processes
Process transformation essentially entails transforming the elements of your business into a digital framework. This includes updating how you record information, your accounting processes, how your staff completes projects, etc. This might entail the implementation of RM, ERP, and MIS technologies to enhance your existing processes.
Here’s an example: Freedom Pizza changed their ordering processes when VeryCreatives developed their new feature that allowed customers to order pizza from any device, propelling their sales to new heights.
2. Business model
Transforming your business model involves reinventing or changing your current business model to suit a digital world. Model transformation differs from process transformation by focusing on overhauling all the fundamentals instead of just certain features in an existing business.
Wholesale changes like this can completely shift entire industries, like Uber, Netflix, and iTunes did: They changed their respective industries by offering new services that didn’t previously exist. Each of those three companies supplied new technological approaches to traditional offerings.
3. Domain
A domain transformation is essentially when a business slides into another sector of business. The idea of a domain transformation may not receive as much attention in the digital transformation sector, understandably, but it can be a hugely successful form of transformation. It doesn’t necessarily mean abandoning your current sector of business, but instead, using your existing capital to try new opportunities.
One of the most popular examples of domain transformation is with Amazon. The online retailer expanded into two completely new domains: Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Amazon Prime streaming. Both of these new domains have been extremely successful for Amazon.
4. Cultural/organizational
Despite what you think about digital transformation, it doesn’t necessarily only entail digital processes. Your organization also needs to align its values and behaviors. This includes formulating a clear and effectively communicated vision about how the organization will work on an ongoing basis within the new digital structures. By failing to transform your company culture, you risk potentially lower productivity and, ultimately, revenue.
HubSpot is an example of a company that prioritizes organizational culture as well as digital modernity. With a huge focus on refining employee experience, HubSpot uses its tools to upskill its employees with free classes and training opportunities.
Which digital transformation type is best for you?
The type of digital transformation your company needs will depend very much on your specific industry and demands. You’ll need to take into consideration what your product is, how you engage with your customers, where your business falls short, and where you would like to experience growth.
You also need to consider that the four types of digital transformation are not necessarily mutually exclusive. You may want to take a multi-dimensional approach to digital transformation that will propel your business even further.
The steps to digital transformation
So, you’ve narrowed down which type of digital transformation is necessary for your company, but the challenge doesn’t stop there. You still have to identify where transformation is needed and how to go about making those changes.
Here’s a simplified, four-step explanation of a digital transformation strategy:
Innovation: Analyze the processes and workflows of your company to find the areas that can be perfected with digital solutions.
Solution: Explore potential digital solutions for a specific problem, then come up with a detailed plan on how to effectively implement the solution.
Design: Design and evaluate the potential solution to see where it works and where it doesn’t.
Implementation: Build or implement a functional version of the solution.
How can VeryCreatives help?
VeryCreatives, a Digital Product Agency, partners with enterprise innovators and startups to ideate, design, and develop creative digital transformation solutions.
Many of our clients don’t have their own development teams, so they battle to find reliable developers and designers to take care of their transformation needs—and it can be costly.
VeryCreatives delivers exactly what your business needs to complete its digital transformation at a more affordable cost. Book a free consultation call with us and we’ll answer all your questions.
