Discover the top 5 traits of being a digital business
Digital transformation may sound like a fancy way of updating your workplace technology. But it is a lot more than this. Digital transformation is about completely transforming the way that you work. Which we all know is easier said than done. Below, we tell you the five traits of a truly digital business. See if they sound familiar to you or if you’ve still got a long way to go.
Technology is at the forefront of every department
Some companies have digital reports and processes in one department. Then in another, they are still using paper files and checklists. To be truly digital your technological advancements should be spanned across all areas of your company. A digital business looks at the effects of technology for every department. They have an effective digital strategy and always work with the big picture in mind. They never silo solutions to one particular area.
For example, your learning department should always be up to date with the same technological advances as the compliance department. Simply because employee compliance training is essential for business operations. The two systems should work together to make compliance training quick and simple to roll out. But also to learn.
Providing the best customer experience
With the rise of digital comes the rise of customer power. Customers are now more unforgiving then they’ve ever been before. According to The Journal of Interactive Marketing, there are four sources of consumer power which have changed the way consumers behave.
Demand – The internet and social media have meant that customers have more choice along with better prices and immediate results. For example, a person sees a sofa in a high street store but it’s expensive and they have to wait four weeks for it to be delivered. They then go online to find the same or similar sofa for half the price and delivery time is only one week. The only advantage the store has is that they have real people that customers can talk to. So incredible customer service is paramount to staying afloat.
Information – Customers now have more information at their fingertips then they’ve ever had before. They no longer have to rely on your word about products because they can go out and research things on their own. They can find the best supplier, the cheapest price and the best service all from a search engine. Social Media has also meant that customers can more easily express themselves about brands, the number of people they can influence with their opinion has expanded a lot. Look at Twitter and how many people turn to the platform to vent their frustrations when they receive bad service or products. Look at social media influencers who have the power to make or break your brand with their own reviews.
Network – Similar to the last point, networks have massively expanded. No longer can you just tell your next-door neighbour Bob about your poor service. You can now post a status which can receive thousands if not millions of impressions. This can be amazing for brands or it can destroy their business altogether.
High risk-takers
Digital businesses have to be high-risk takers in order to stay ahead of the curve. They need to constantly change and keep up with the ever-changing market. Their priorities, goals and objectives will always be evolving which means the way they work needs to evolve as well. They are usually agile and adapt quickly to changes in the market. Unlike low-risk businesses, they focus on growth opportunities which digital transformation can offer. Traditional companies are more likely to focus on present issues of cost-cutting which can stunt growth and success in the long run.
A great example is Subway the sandwich shop chain. They quickly realised that in order to guarantee the success of their digital strategy they needed new digital talent. Subway has restructured a whole department and recruited 150 new specialist digital talent to help them drive future success.
They digitally transform on the outside and the inside
Digital businesses don’t just focus on the digital experience for the customer. They focus on the digital experience for their employees and their internal processes as well. They look at their current solutions all the time and figure out how they can improve them or digitalise them to make them more effective.
For example, our project with Virgin Media started by moving their paper files to digital and speeding up their operations. They have now tailored the product so it improves their learning, compliance, internal comms, health and safety, audits, site visits and customer service.
They are obsessed with driving operational efficiencies
Digital transformation is associated with automation and finding more productive and cost-effective ways of doing things. Digital businesses are constantly testing their solutions to ensure they are adding the most value. Anything that is particularly successful is drilled down on to make sure they get further value out of it.
This is because a lot of the time, the best value is found from optimising back-office functions. For example, Virgin Media digitalised their audits and saw an 80% reduction in the time spent doing them.
If you need help digitally transforming your business let us help you. See all of our solutions here. Or if you need consulting or a tailor-made solution for your business we can help with that too. Call us on 01273 778289, say hello at hi@oplift.io or fill in our contact form and we’ll get back to you right away.
