Digital transformation is one of the biggest buzzwords in business today, but it’s not just another fad or marketing strategy to implement for its own sake. In fact, digital transformation can help your business make strategic advances in productivity, customer service, and agility, which are crucial to succeeding in a competitive marketplace. If you’re ready to learn more about why digital transformation matters and how you can begin to make the most of it, read on to discover 7 reasons why digital transformation is absolutely essential to the future of your company.
1) Digital transformation improves customer experience
Customers have never been more demanding. Today, customers expect brands to meet their needs through personalized and customized experiences, no matter how or where they connect with your brand. As such, digital transformation isn’t about simple automation or digitizing one aspect of your business, it’s an enterprise-wide focus on creating modernized services that can deliver on customer expectations at any time and any place. By leveraging digital technology and moving away from legacy platforms that aren’t equipped to handle today’s consumer demands, you can improve your customer experience in areas like information access, service delivery, inventory management and even pricing schemes. And doing so can help you attract new customers while retaining those who already buy from you regularly—which makes investing in digital transformation worth every penny.
2) Digital transformation creates jobs
With nearly 15 million unfilled jobs in America and employers struggling to fill open positions, it’s more important than ever for US companies to compete globally. The good news? Technology gives companies of all sizes—even small businesses with fewer than 10 employees—the opportunity to create competitive advantages. With advanced technology and innovative processes, you can attract and retain top talent while providing state-of-the-art services that engage customers. And, as today’s workforce continues shifting from brick-and-mortar jobs to jobs tied to online business models and technologies, being nimble enough to keep up with rapid digital change is essential for survival.
3) Digital transformation helps companies grow faster
When your customers are adapting to technology faster than you are, they have more options than ever before. Those who embrace digital transformation and make it a priority will grow faster, while others fall behind. It’s that simple. Companies that stay ahead of technology trends will outpace their competitors and grow quickly over time. In fact, according to research by IBM, 53% of CMOs believe that superior customer experience through digital marketing and sales creates competitive advantage and can lead to increased market share or revenue growth. That’s why it’s crucial for companies to stay on top of new technologies as soon as they emerge so they can be first to market with innovations in their industry.
4) Digital transformation makes operations leaner
Businesses that utilize digital transformation see an 8 percent increase in operating efficiency. Digitally transformed companies are 24 percent faster at responding to market shifts and 15 percent more able to adapt to change. Small businesses that use technology to boost their efficiency—such as automation software—are significantly more profitable than those that don’t. What’s more, digital transformation leads to decreased costs: For every dollar spent on digital solutions, small businesses save $2.50-$3 in costs. (Even big businesses see similar results.) Digital services often carry lower price tags than traditional services: For example, banks spend $10 billion annually on ATM fees while digitally-transformed fintech startups charge 0 percent for many transactions.
5) Digital transformation generates revenue opportunities
The need for digital transformation isn’t just about keeping up with competition or making customers happy. It can also help companies recognize new business opportunities and give them access to larger markets they otherwise couldn’t reach. For example, Jack Ma realized that rural consumers in China were going online through their mobile phones to buy items because they didn’t have access to brick-and-mortar stores. Alibaba capitalized on that opportunity by creating platforms like Taobao to allow those consumers purchase goods through its site. Today, Alibaba is worth over $300 billion and it doesn’t seem like it will stop growing anytime soon.
6) Digital transformation improves business processes
One of the main benefits of digital transformation is it helps businesses maintain and improve their business processes. For example, companies can use artificial intelligence to provide better customer service or offer more relevant products to existing customers. Additionally, companies can use big data analytics to monitor their business closely and quickly identify areas for improvement. Businesses also benefit from transformation because it allows them to speed up their decision-making process by putting information at people’s fingertips without having to rely on e-mail communication or direct meetings. Because decisions can be made much faster through digital platforms, companies will spend less time debating decisions that need immediate attention and have more time for strategic thinking about long-term goals.
7) Digital transformation will transform your business.
Digital transformation will transform your business. You’ve probably heard that catchy phrase somewhere along your company’s digital journey. But what does it really mean? And more importantly, how can your business successfully make such an enormous shift to its operations and culture? According to Gartner, transformation means making fundamental changes to all parts of a business from its core operating model to value chain, structure and talent. And like something you’ll want some help with as well. So where do you start? It depends on what needs updating first.