Digital transformation is the new buzzword in business. However, it’s not just a fad that the next big thing will replace. It’s an essential part of any business and can affect your customers and employees more than you realize.
Hence, many businesses have already adopted or are on their journey to embrace digital transformation. According to Statista, the spending on digital transformation reached $1.59 trillion in 2021 and is expected to continue rising to $3.4 trillion in 2027. This article lists some benefits to highlight why you should adopt digital transformation.
What Is Digital Transformation?
Digital transformation is a process of change that allows an organization to stay relevant and competitive in the digital age. It’s not just about technology. It’s also about changing the way you do business.
Digital transformation isn’t a one-size fits all approach. Different businesses need changes that can help them adapt to changing market conditions and improve processes. Hence, many digital transformation projects fail. According to findings by BCG, 70% of digital transformation projects fall short of their goals, leading to failure.
The key to digital transformation is creating an action plan based on your goals, objectives, and resources, then taking steps toward making them happen. If you can get it right, digital transformation can offer you many benefits.
Making your digital transformation successful can be challenging, especially if you don’t have an in-house IT team. In that case, you can always seek help from a managed IT service provider. A managed IT provider can offer you IT services that are crucial for successful digital transformation.
For example, a managed IT services provider can help you with cloud enablement, data delivery, network security, and more, all of which are important pillars of digital transformation.
Benefits of Digital Transformation
Digital information can benefit your company significantly. Hence, most businesses are adopting it. The Tech Spend Pulse report by Flexera states that digital transformation is the top concern of CIOs in 2022. This shows that companies understand the benefits of digital transformation.
Gaining Access to New Technology
As you know, technology is changing quickly. If you don’t stay on top of the latest trends in digital transformation and implement these new platforms and tools into your business, your competitors may leave you behind.
If this sounds scary to you, it shouldn’t be. Digital transformation doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming if approached correctly. There are several ways businesses can easily implement digital transformation to maintain their competitive advantage over other companies within their industry.
Improving the Customer Experience
Customer experience is one of the essential parts of digital transformation. It can bring you more revenue and growth. According to an executive survey, 87% of the senior business leaders in the USA and the UK believe customer experience to be their top growth engine. As a business leader, you know it’s critical to deliver a great customer experience to reach your customers and keep them coming back. But what exactly does this mean?
Customer experience encompasses more than the actual product or service being sold. It also includes how easy it is for customers to find information about your company and how they can connect with you through social media, email marketing campaigns, live chats, etc. When customers have an easy time finding what they want and get answers to their questions quickly, they are far more likely to come back again in the future than if they don’t receive good service from your business.
Increased Profitability
The benefits of digital transformation don’t stop at the positive impact on your brand. Digital transformation can also significantly increase profitability and revenue while improving customer satisfaction and efficiency. A Valoir report shows that companies with successful digital transformation can see 2x revenue growth. Digital transformation can help your business achieve these goals by:
- Increasing profitability through increased revenue decreased costs and improved productivity
- Increasing productivity by streamlining processes to improve efficiency
- Improving customer experience with a better user interface that reduces the amount of time necessary to accomplish a task
Using Data More Effectively
As a business owner, you probably have a lot of data. It’s your job to make sense of it all. Your data can help you understand your customers better than ever before and can better inform your decisions to grow your business and be more successful.
- Data analysis gives insights into what your customers need and want from their experience with you and what makes up their ideal experience. The more available information about them, the clearer an understanding of them will emerge.
- It also helps put everything in context. How are you doing compared with other businesses in your industry? What are your competitors doing? Are they making better choices than you? Data analysis answers these questions so that you know where you stand at any given time, allowing you to adjust your strategy accordingly if necessary.
Improved Productivity
You might be wondering, how do I improve productivity in my business? Well, there are several ways by which digital transformation can help.
For example, automation is one way to increase productivity. With the right software and hardware, you can automate your workflow and reduce manual tasks that take up valuable time. This will allow your employees to focus on higher-value activities that further grow your business instead of performing repetitive tasks or catching up on paperwork after hours.
Another way digital transformation can boost productivity is through robotics and artificial intelligence (AI). These technologies have been around for decades but have recently become more common among businesses due to their ability to take on high-volume tasks like data entry or inventory management. What was once reserved for only large corporations is now available for everyone who wants it. There’s no reason not to use them.
AI also has its place in increasing productivity because it allows humans less time spent learning new skills/concepts, so they can focus more on other things like strategic planning or brainstorming new ideas for products/services that would benefit their business.
Conclusion
Whether you’re a small business owner or a Fortune 500 company CEO, digital transformation will allow you to remain competitive and relevant. It’s easy to think that digital transformation only applies to larger companies that have been around for more than a few years, but even small startups can benefit from embracing this trend.
When you consider how technology can improve your business processes and customer experience, it becomes clear why so many companies are making this shift today. If any of these points resonate with you, then now might be the perfect time for your organization to explore new opportunities.