Irrespective of your industry, knowing how to implement digital transformation and maintain it is integral in the modern work sphere. However, there’s far more to this than just setting up a website. Learn what digital transformation truly entails and why recent trends have made this a must-do implementation for small- to medium-sized businesses.
What is digital transformation?
Digital transformation is the integration of digital technologies. Companies go through internal changes to take on a greater digital presence or amplify their existing online footprint. This goes beyond monetizing a website or optimizing for SEO. It’s a comprehensive strategic approach that encompasses the way you interact with customers, employees, and investors.
Implementing digital transformation at industries is about staying competitive when trends or major events necessitate rapid digital adoption. With a successful integration, companies hope to achieve:
- Greater customer acquisition and retention
- Greater employee productivity
- Increased customer engagement through new digital mediums
- Reduced spending
Why does digital transformation matter?
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies already supplemented their brick-and-mortar store with an e-commerce strategy. When COVID peaked in early 2020, digital transformation went from being supplementary to mandatory. As citizens began sheltering in place, they had no choice but to go digital for their grocery shopping, banking, entertainment, etc.
Case in point: Since COVID lockdowns began around the world, online banking has increased by 50%, with 87% of customers citing they plan to continue digital banking post-COVID, according to a report cited in Credit Union Times. It’s not difficult to fathom the negative effects of companies in the financial sector that fail to make notable digital transformations. Similar trends can be observed in other industries, both in the B2C and B2B sectors.
COVID has essentially created an ultimatum: Prioritize digital transformation or be massively outperformed by your competitors.
Digital transformation steps
A digital transformation roadmap outlines the how, what, when, and why. It provides an organized blueprint with detailed step-by-step processes on how to reach the end destination. Here are five essentials components of brainstorming a roadmap with your collaboration team.
1. Analyze the metrics
Collect all data that will be impacted by the digital transformation, including customer information, social media activity, customer reviews, employee key performance indicators, etc. You’ll need the data when establishing goals and initiatives.
2. Assess employee integration
How will the digital transformation change the way employees perform their day-to-day duties? Identify the changes and assess the level of training and learning curve required. Here are some questions to consider:
- What’s the estimated number of training hours to fully integrate employees into the new digital model?
- Will training be remote or in-house?
- Will training be conducted by in-house staff or a third-party digital solution agency?
- Will the digital transformation include remote working days?
- What kind of technical knowledge will my staff require?
- If staff will be using company-based tools or apps on their personal devices, what bring-your-own-device (BYOD) protocols must be in place?
3. Set clear goals
What do you hope to achieve with the digital transformation? Some of the objectives are obvious, such as increasing ROI and reducing churn rate. However, transformations should also include significant changes at the internal level. Examine internal data and devise goals along the way that are realistic and measurable over time.
For example, let’s say a part of the digital transformation includes a hybrid in-office/remote work model. What objectives can you produce from this using internal metrics? Perhaps this move can reduce the rate of employees calling in sick last minute. It may also increase productivity since employees save time by commuting less. Create benchmarks to assess whether digital adoption has yielded a positive trajectory over a measurable period of time.
4. Identify the technology
What technologies will you need for the digital transformation? Will you require an e-commerce website or upgrade an existing site so it can process customer orders? Create a list of technology-ready solutions; this may include widgets, plug-ins, apps, and SaaS products. Here are some examples:
- A CRM tool
- Cloud service
- Project management software
- Cyber-security risk mitigation tools
- Document and digital signature software
On top of that, identify the entities that will manage these tools. Will it be through a third-party provider or an in-house team?
5. Prioritize agile project management
Once set up, digital transformation requires continuous refinement and scaling. Do your digital transformation implementations allow for easy maintenance, changes, and customizations? Modifications will naturally occur over time to accommodate changes in the work environment, customer needs, etc.
Learn how to implement digital transformation with VeryCreatives
Undergoing a digital transformation without disruption to daily business operations is no easy task. Fortunately, with VeryCreatives, help is readily available. Our team will integrate with yours to formulate precise digital transformation steps in accordance with industry and internal specifications.
Book a call today to find out how we can be part of your game-changing transformation!
