Fully Digital in Your Business:
Business executives who recognize that going digital is vital often exclaim, “We need a digital product!” and instruct their technology teams to develop an online store or mobile application that effectively condenses their current operation into something that will fit on a screen.
This is a severe error. Too many companies believe that digital transformation can be achieved with a single project or product that duplicates their business in the digital arena, especially those in high-growth industries (transportation, healthcare, etc.). Instead of presenting a chance to rethink their business strategies completely, they perceive new digital items as complements to their current service offering.
Now let’s examine a case study. By establishing a platform for renting movies via mail and getting rid of many of the drawbacks of the Blockbuster model, Netflix upended the movie rental business in its early years. After switching to a streaming video platform, the company overhauled its primary business strategy. A few years later, it made yet another transformation when it began to produce original content. The company has survived thanks to its readiness to adapt its business strategy through digital offerings.
Developing a digital product should involve firm leadership, directors of sales and marketing, and technology directors. It should not be an IT-focused approach. It’s a chance to innovate rather than just convert your company to a digital platform.
Although using this strategy for new product creation is more complicated than it sounds, there are a few factors that business owners and executives should take into account to improve their chances of genuinely inventive thinking:
How can I make my business more digital?
Think about these ideas:
- Change your perspective from being customer-focused to product-focused.
- Increasing the production of creative digital experiences
- Create the client experience without relying on technical teams
- Enable remote workforces and automation
- The time for digital transformation has come.
What are the digital needs of a business?
Project administration. A new company (especially one that relies on teamwork across multiple teams or a remote workforce) will require assistance managing all of its various tasks and objectives:
- website creator
- Management of customer relationships
- Access and storage of files
- software for video conferencing
- Accounting programs
Scale-up creating innovative digital experiences:
Customers today demand more personalized, quick, and affordable digital information from stores and businesses (or even free). To maintain customer engagement, business owners must embrace this trend and quickly scale up digital design, collaboration, and content production.
For instance, the international furniture retailer Insidesource established an online competition called Quarantine Studios and a digital magazine to interact with its customers during COVID-19. Participants are encouraged to design furniture using unusual materials they can find around the house. Corral will expertly recreate the winning entry’s table.
Involve Leaders From Across — And Outside Of — The Organization:
Diverse viewpoints are required for breakthrough innovations. Stakeholders from across an organization must participate in developing digital products, especially in the early stages of ideation (i.e., representatives from leadership, sales, customer support and experience, IT, R&D, and finance). If only the technology team participates in the development process, the product is more likely to develop into a complement to the current business than a chance to disrupt it.
Working together inside is crucial, but so is moving quickly. Unfortunately, it takes time to develop the right tempo and camaraderie. However, businesses that use outside assistance are more likely to succeed. Partners who can coordinate their activities and transition them smoothly aid businesses in achieving their internal objectives.
Differentiate Through User Research And Experience:
Product development can only lead to digital transformation if the final product is embraced by your customers and turns into a source of revenue that will advance your business. Even the best-laid plans will fail if your user base doesn’t support the change.
You must operate on the premise that your rivals are also undergoing a digital transformation and are probably developing a product to rival yours. An easy-to-use interface could convince a user to pick your product over that of your rivals. For instance, the early 2000s iPod eradicating competing MP3 players was unquestionably a result of user experience. The iPod was more portable than other devices, even though it had far smaller storage.
Businesses must decide whether to stick with the status quo, expose themselves to competition, or take a detour around it. Companies that have seen this problem as an opportunity realize that transformation is more than merely releasing a mobile app, implementing speedier software, or adding the word “innovation” to your marketing materials. Rethinking how your company interacts with customers, partners, and workers is at digital transformation’s heart.
Focus on training:
You must put a lot of emphasis on employee training when you go digital. You’ll encounter resistance whenever you bring something new or alter your staff’s tools.
People prefer to carry on in the same manner as before. Even when new software is better than they have been using, many employees may reject it immediately since the routine is comfortable.
Offering training is the only way to overcome opposition to utilizing new tools. To begin with, you should teach your staff how to use the latest digital tools and processes you’re putting in place. To ensure that they understand how and why your new solutions assist the company’s digital transformation objectives, you should also teach them in this area. There will always be one or two people who complain about the changes, but with enough time, the majority will accept them.
Start collecting electronic signatures:
Do you currently ask your clients, customers, and workers to sign documents electronically? If not, switching is worthwhile. Digital signatures will simplify your life if you have any paperwork that needs to be signed, such as contracts and employee handbooks.
Electronic signatures can be made highly secure and tamper-evident with the correct software. High-level security and practicality are both provided by file-sharing programs like Box. For instance, when you send a file using Box, the recipient has the option to sign the file directly from the folder. The necessity to download a document, sign it, save a new version, and then upload the file again is removed.
Are you unsure if you can use e-signatures because specific data privacy laws govern your profession? If the signature service is secure, you can employ e-signatures regardless of whether you must adhere to regulations like HIPAA, SOC, FedRAMP, DoDIL, or ITAR.
You’ll start to reap the rewards once you stop using handwritten signatures and switch to digital ones. Your staff will be more efficient throughout the day, you’ll waste less paper, and they’ll discover articles more quickly.
Make it about the user:
User experience is the ultimate objective of digital transformation. Therefore, concentrate on your customer and the user journey to match the demands of the digital age. Determine how going digital can make each touchpoint a better and more practical experience by mapping out the whole client journey.
Create a positive, reliable, and accessible user experience that can be accessed anytime and from any location. Customers want products that are more responsive, easy to use, and technologically advanced. They’ll quickly look elsewhere if the experience doesn’t meet their needs.
Today, customer targeting and engagement use cases—such as increased personalization, targeted advertising, and multichannel experiences—represent more than 40% of digital transformation investments.
A brief aside: The ideal tool for mapping your customer journey is Lucidchart. Even a starter template is available from us.
Make sure it comes from the top:
Top management needs to start the digital transformation process. According to a poll, 75% of respondents said top management should be in charge of developing a digital strategy.
Senior IT managers must take the initiative and push management to research new technologies and hire the personnel necessary to put them into practice. According to a Gartner analysis, firms would need 500% more personnel with digital competence by 2018. Making sure the C-suite is on board is essential because one of the most significant obstacles to digital transformation is when a business doesn’t perceive a need for change.
Partner up with the right technology & service partners:
Don’t select the least expensive option. Aim for technology and service that fits your brand’s needs. Choose a business that knows about your sector or business strategy and can offer insight into your target market. An excellent shout is someone who understands your vision.
To do this, pick a service provider you can believe in. It’s crucial to determine the areas where technological change may be necessary to prevent spending money on technologies your firm might not need. If you’re unsure, ask other people.
Know what needs improvement in digitalization:
Make a list of the urgent concerns affecting your company. Many firms today can flourish and succeed in their professions or fields of work even when operating from home. We can appreciate the past two years for assisting us so much in adjusting. You will be one step closer to making your workspace simple to arrange once you identify the proper priorities for what requires adjustment and improvement within your business. As you eliminate your instruments one at a time, consider both the long-term and short-term opportunities.
Consider remote workers:
Have you considered recruiting remote workers while considering how to go digital with your business? By using remote workers, you may access a diversity of talent from around the world while lowering the cost of operating your company.
Findstack statistics show that roughly 16% of businesses are now entirely remote. If your business is undergoing a digital revolution, you might as well follow in the footsteps of those who have already realized the advantages of hiring remote workers.
