5 Questions About Digital Transformation for Beginners

1. What is Digital Transformation?

Digital Transformation is the process of leveraging available digital technologies to create new business processes or improve existing ones to become more efficient; it also means to radically change and improve the customer experience and company culture to meet evolving market needs.

2. Why is Digital Transformation Important to Businesses?

As digital technology evolves and advances, it plays a crucial role in our daily lives. For the business’s customer, it has tremendous implications because customer satisfaction and happiness depend on it. As digital innovations emerge and advance, customer have come to expect digital technology and innovation to benefit them. Mobile devices and social media mean that consumes are connected 24/7 and want “around-the-clock access to the companies they do business with”. According to the Harvard Business Review, 73% of customers prefer to connect with brands that personalize their shopping experience. As such, businesses that do not innovate will get left behind.

3.What’s behind the growth of digital transformation?

Digital innovations and the growth of mobile devices and social media are driving customer expectations. As customers become digitally connected they want the brands they engage with to connect with them round the clock. It has now become increasingly easier for customers to comparison-shop for products, services, ease of use, quality of service, engagement and personalization. According to the Harvard Business Review, more than 70% of customers prefer to engage with brands that can personalize their shopping experience. Thus, customers are at the heart of digital transformation in business, having come to expect digital technology and innovation from brands.

4. Who leads digital transformation efforts in an organization?

Usually, digital transformation efforts are led by the CMO (Chief Marketing Officer). However, many CEOs are also increasingly leading their companies through digital transformation, having recognized the importance and value of the power of digital technologies and innovations. Digital transformation is effectively, business strategy that leads to business transformation.

5. What does Digital Transformation look like?

Companies, big and small, have started to leverage the power of digital technology to drive change and innovation in operations, delivery methods and customer experience. Collaborating across departments is key to digital transformation. For example, in Sales, the ability to collect large amounts of data on customers enables sales reps and others in the organization to have a complete, 360-degree view of the customer. As sales reps enter sales activity information, someone in marketing may design a campaign specifically designed for that customer that moves the deal along. They are able to do that because systems no longer operate in silos and are visible to everyone in the organization. Artificial Intelligence systems can quickly analyze large amounts of data and identify patterns and correlations existing in that data. They can also shed light on which campaigns and promotions were most effective.

In marketing, the move from analog print materials to digital such as email marketing means reaching more people while spending less money. Producing print marketing materials such as print mail and advertising is more expensive. Moreover, digital marketing means being able to do marketing automation, experimentation and analytics in a way analog media never could. Marketers can tailor messages to customers based on their preferences instead of adopting a one-size-fits-all approach.

In Customer Service, social media monitoring and response has added a new dimension to traditional service. Customers today heavily use social media to connect with the brands they buy from; so meeting the customer where they are enables companies to not only respond quickly to customers but also to win business. Leveraging AI in service illustrates the power of digital transformation. AI-powered chatbots that can answer simple customer service questions allows the service agent to address

other, more complex questions from customers.

Industries, from banking to insurance to retail have started to utilize the power of artificial intelligence systems to make their operations and processes smarter and more attuned to the customer, thus transforming their businesses.

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