Digital transformation goes beyond than just buying or implementing technology into your company.
Digital transformation means yes, you have to implement technology, but you also have to change and update your business models, the way people work and do business, the way you communicate with suppliers, clients and the community, and update some other processes.
Now you’ll see why it’s not only about technology: if you focus only in buying or implementing technology without adjusting your processes, you will end up with an obsolete and inadequate but somehow “digital” process that won’t add value to your customers and clients.
So, what does digital transformation truly means? It means you have to redesign or transform your business models, business processes and also work on and with your people and the way they work. In other words, you must have a deep understanding of your customers and their needs in the current environment, so you can improve for them and guide them to use technology in a more efficient way.
In this article we will show you what are the phases and key elements for digital transformation for your company. Keep reading if you’re interested!
Digital Transformation Phases
We share with you the three key phases of the digital transformation process
1. Customer Experience
The first step for your digital transformation is to truly and deeply understand your customer’s needs and experience. Your main goal should be to offer a great digital customer experience, so you can bring in new customers through this channel.
Thanks to the different technology changes and improvements, customers are now the main focus of all digital strategies. So, any digital transformation you’re planning on implementing should be customer-centered.
So, you must make sure that your digital strategies are truly focused on solving your customer’s problems, as this is the first step for your digital transformation. Customers come first, and then comes the processes and the technology to serve them.
2. Business model
Your business model has to be updated and upgraded, too. New business models focus on 4 key aspects:
- Value proposition
- Value delivery
- Value creation
- Value capture
As you can see, it’s all about creating value for your customers and your business, and going the extra mile to connect with your clients.
Technology helps you to boost your value proposition, your services and products, and also your income. In this modern and digital world, it’s a real need to implement a digital transformation that truly responds to your customer’s needs, as well as to your company’s goals.
There are no few cases in which tech-based startups disrupt the market and mess with old, more traditional and big companies. This happens because those tech-based startups use innovative business models and apply new technologies to truly offer a complete digital experience for all kinds of users.
This is why all companies and brands should focus on reinventing and redesigning their business models, and see how they can change, innovate and improve by using technologies and moving into the digital world. Think about what you can do to improve your business model.
3. Operational processes
As previously stated, digital transformation is not just about adding tech to the company. A good digital transformation process identifies and measures the processes, products and services that can be digitally transformed.
By doing this analysis and using technology to redesign operational processes, you create a great and positive impact in your company’s ability to succeed and offer amazing experiences to your clients.
Digital transformation for operational processes usually takes advantage of the latest technologies, like:
- Artificial Intelligence (AI): Allows systems to learn, understand and anticipate to several needs. It can be used to understand your customer’s needs, suggest products or services, increment ROI, identify patterns, anticipate steps, automate processes, and so on.
- Robot Process Automation (RPA): Allows to emulate one person’s actions or decisions. A software learns how to act or make decisions based on some information or intel. It can be used to speed up and automate processes, reduce waiting times, optimize your workflow, and so on.
Digital Transformation Key Elements
When planning and implementing digital transformation for your company, there are 4 key elements that will help you to succeed:
1. Thinking Different
Digital transformation is a major change, so it’s common to be questioning yourself “Do I really need this? Am I taking a risk implementing digital transformation?” before implementing it. We get that you’re worried, but make no mistake: it’s all worth it.
First, you need to acknowledge that digital transformation is a complex process that requires all your attention in order to make it right.
The best thing you can do is to begin to think different about your processes and your company. How can you use tech to make your processes easier for your employees and clients? How can you improve the way you do business by using technology?
Try to think differently and to make things in an easier, faster and simpler way. Technology is just a tool to make things happen, but first you have to rethink your processes.
2. Big Data
Big Data is a key element in digital transformation. You can have as many information as you want from your customers and clients when implementing new technologies.
With the right tech, you’re able to capture and analyze the data from your processes, clients and suppliers, and use them to improve the way you work and the way you do marketing, to sell more or to design better products or services.
You’ll need a professional able to implement, collect and analyze all that information so you can use it wisely within your company.
3. Educate your employees
With digital transformation usually comes fear among your employees or co-workers. People tend to think that technology will replace them or will get them fired.
So, you should offer some peace of mind to the people working with you, and educate them instead to embrace and use technology. The solution won’t be to fire anyone or to hire new and younger people, but to educate your current employees, customers and suppliers in how to take advantage of the new processes and technology.
You can accomplish this by mentoring them, offering physical or online courses and training, by doing some fun and innovative group sessions, and so on. Be creative!
4. Process Optimization
Process optimization is key when formulating a digital transformation strategy.
Every organization has several processes and operations that can be optimized to improve workflow and become much more efficient, thus reducing costs and project delivery time.
The strategy must ensure that business processes are optimized while meeting the objectives set for both customers and the internal team.
5. Continuous improvement
We live in a world that is constantly changing and evolving, so it’s very important to keep up with the latest innovations and renovate your business accordingly.
Digital transformation should be a top priority for your company, and as you implement it you should be looking for how you can keep improving and doing better things. This is the only way you can successfully and quickly move forward and keep up with the everchanging environment we live on.
So, once you have optimized your processes and you implemented some technology, keep asking yourself “How can this be better? How can I improve it?” to reach bigger and better business goals.
6. Results
The results of your company’s digital transformation will be influenced by the correct implementation of your digital transformation strategy.
The results will always be different depending on the practices you choose and the technologies you implement. Your team must be flexible enough to observe the results and undertake changes if necessary.
The key to the success of your digital transformation strategy is agility. You must follow the detailed strategy you have formulated, but you must also be open to change if it is not going as you expected.
Conclusion
Now we know why in digital transformation there are other important things besides technology. Your company should be user-centered, offer improved and better products and services, renew its business model, educate employees, clients and suppliers, and look for expert consultancy on digital transformation in order to succeed.
Are you ready to take your company to the next level?
We’d love to help you grow! Drop us a line and let’s talk about how can we help you to implement digital transformation within your company.