3 Steps To Consider For Digital Transformation Success
Are you stuck in your digital transformation journey? There are three steps to help you out of the rut.
Despite their best efforts, most organizations have fallen short of their digital objectives, undergoing slower, delayed, and less effective transformations than expected. Digital transformation is an often overwhelming proposition, and it can be difficult for organizations to understand where to start, how to assess progress, and even to know if it is all worth it, states John Telford, EVP of growth at Bounteous and enumerates three key digital transformation considerations to bear in mind for success.
Seeking to understand the impacts and specific priorities of successful firms, a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting research evaluated the digital maturity of various companies and identified the benefits experienced at different stages of the digital transformation journey. The study found that digitally advanced companies were nearly twice as likely to experience double-digit revenue growth as less mature ones.
But what distinguishes the actions of digitally mature companies from those of their less mature competitors? Investing in digital solutions that allow them to move at the customer’s speed, selecting partners who co-innovate rather than just ‘provide value,’ and treating innovation like a muscle, not a one-off project.
See More: Why Are We Still Talking About Digital Transformation?
Three Objectives To Remember in Building Digital Maturity
Achieving these three objectives will greatly advance any company’s digital maturity and make them far likelier to unlock double-digit growth. Let’s dive in.
1. Invest in moving at the speed of the customer
High-quality customer data is critical to any digital transformation and integral to achieving optimal growth. Moving at the speed of the customer means that as the customer provides you with information (data), you have the tools (technology) to be able to respond to the customer’s need in real-time.
To become digitally mature, companies must invest in a scalable and flexible data and technology architecture, weaving together various data sources and using a robust toolkit of well-known and emerging technologies that empower them to develop a deeper understanding of customer journeys.
Customer data platforms (CDPs) play a fundamental role in digital strategies. While data lakes, data warehouses, CRM platforms, etc., have existed for over two decades; for the first time, organizations are able to securely and with appropriate governance utilize historical and behavioral data of the customers in a real-time manner to generate personalized experiences that drive results. This is all made possible by a foundational data and technological ecosystem that empowers them to innovate with intention and act with confidence.
2. Select partners who will be teammates, not just ‘deliver a project’
Teamwork is the cornerstone of any great business achievement. Much like every star athlete has a visionary coach or meticulous trainer pushing them to perform at the top of their game, so too does every digitally advanced company have a cadre of trusted partners who innovate alongside them to ensure their success.
A holistic digital solution is inevitably an ecosystem of players who must all work together to achieve a common goal. We at Bounteous began an engagement with a large travel and hospitality corporation that had recently emerged from bankruptcy. Not only were their systems overdue for upgrades and cloud migrations, they had not been investing in the necessary training and enablement for their own team members on the latest technologies and methodologies. Their chief digital officer made it clear from the onset that he didn’t want the work to be done for his organization but with his organization – to involve the employees actively in the process of change. Taking a partnership-first approach to the engagement, we structured blended teams, including hands-on keyboard training and shared methodologies, while also delivering new products and applications.
These co-innovation teams delivered new products, including a booking engine that increased revenue by over 25% while concurrently upskilling the team and then being sought out as speakers on digital transformation and delivery.
A dream team of star players doesn’t win games unless they all work together, after all.
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3. Treat innovation like a muscle, flexing it often
Digital transformations allow organizations to leverage data and cutting-edge technologies to create and execute against innovative growth opportunities. Mature digital companies prioritize a culture of continual innovation over one-time investments in innovative ideas.
Much like an athlete training for a marathon, top-performing companies unlock the potential of their digital infrastructure by regularly flexing their innovation muscles. This suggests that continuous innovation and agile product development are key features of fast-growing, digitally mature organizations.
An example of this can be seen in Domino’s Pizza. Fifteen years ago, Domino’s was just getting started with online ordering. At the time, the vast majority of their orders were placed over the phone. While convenient (everyone had a landline back then), the phone orders were difficult to track, and the experience the customer had was largely dependent on the training of the individual Domino’s employee.
As Domino’s moved their customers online, they were able to open up a channel of continual innovation that was not available over the phone because they would be able to measure all of the customer’s interactions with the experience and use that data to generate insights that would be valuable for creating new innovative experiences.
One of the insights encountered was that customers were unsure if their pizza would be built properly based on their request. This led Domino’s to develop the Visual Pizza Builder, which showed real-time how the customers’ selections would be fulfilled on their orders. This visual feedback made the customer feel more confident that they would get what they wanted instead of ordering over the phone and led customers to place more orders digitally.
With the increased number of users coming online, Domino’s was able to harness additional insights, such as the fact that “buyer’s remorse” kicks in pretty quickly after a customer hits “submit” after placing the order. This insight led to the development of the world-famous “Domino’s Pizza Tracker,” which provides real-time insight and information to the customer on the progress of this order. For the next decade, Domino’s continued to roll out new innovative experiences such as Domino’s Anywhere. This type of information and experience was possible because Domino’s could move their customers online where measurement was possible, and they also used the data from this online behavior to drive future innovations.
Compound Innovation for Digital Transformation
Continuous innovation powered by a culture of learning eventually builds on itself, resulting in compound innovation that grows exponentially over time. These well-trained innovation muscles yield improved product offerings, more efficient operations, and greater agility in the marketplace.
Double-digit growth is within reach for companies undergoing a digital transformation. But to do it, businesses must invest in scalable and flexible digital infrastructure, establish productive partnerships, and have a culture of continual innovation. Otherwise, they risk being replaced by their more digitally mature peers.
Are you using any of the strategies mentioned above to unlock digital transformation success? Share with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. We’d love to hear from you!
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