We are facing a new paradigm in which the internet and disruptive technologies are transforming society and companies. In this new competitive environment, the habits of consumers and therefore the business models of companies are changing.
It is time to accept new challenges and assume a cultural change in our organization that allows us to tackle digital transformation successfully.
Table of Contents
What is digital transformation?
It is the process of adapting the entire organization to digital technologies to obtain an optimization of the customer experience.
It affects all departments of the company, human resources, marketing, production, sales, administration, customer service and of course management. A new business vision is necessary based on a new organizational culture in which the core of the company, its strategy, its processes, its people, its products and services is involved.
The success of a digital transformation process leads to an increase in income and cost savings for the company. But there are other benefits that should be taken into account, such as improving customer service and experience or getting employees more motivated and involved due to the reduction of repetitive tasks thanks to the automation that technology allows.
Phases and keys of Digital transformation
To carry out the digital transformation of companies effectively and efficiently, below we describe a model that has been applied successfully in many companies from Espinosa Consultores.
Vision:
The digital transformation of an organization is only successful when there is a total commitment by the management, that is, the CEO of the company must be the engine of the company’s digitization process. Without the maximum involvement of the management, it will be totally impossible to make such a change in corporate culture.
It is necessary to rethink a business vision based on a new digital culture that is transmitted across the entire organization.
A committed leadership will make the difference between a simple implementation of technologies and the true transformation of the company.
People:
Digital transformation is not a technological change, it is a change in business culture through technology. Companies are made up of a human team, therefore it is not the companies that are digitally transformed but the people. This clarification is necessary to highlight the importance of people in the process of digitizing companies.
Human beings by nature are afraid of the insecurity of change, for this reason one of the main challenges is to make the human team lose their fear and glimpse the opportunities and advantages of digitization. For this, training in the different digital subjects is necessary, promoting Employer Branding, detecting digital influencers within the organization, creating less vertical structures or promoting collaboration among others.
In addition, we must incorporate digital-oriented management positions, which help the CEO to facilitate the transformation. Such as: Chief Digital Officer, Digital Marketing Manager, Chief technology Officer, etc. Other more operational digital roles are also necessary, such as the SEM specialist, Web developer, Social Media Manager, SEO specialist, Data Scientist … How do we attract this digital talent? The selection of personnel must be in accordance with the digital world: detection of talent in social networks, creation of a positive digital image as an employer or define employee strategies as brand ambassadors.
Processes:
Digital transformation entails a certain automation of processes, which allows us to guide our human team to more strategic functions. The automation of processes thanks to digital technology, reduces time, costs and also human errors.
Through digitization we will obtain new data about our processes. It is necessary to implement a system for capturing, measuring and analyzing such data. Thanks to the optimization of our processes, we will be able to improve decision-making, we will be a more agile company and ultimately we will add more value to our clients.
Customer:
The consumer is increasingly digital, and adopts a greater digital interaction with companies. If it does not exist or is not optimized, it can cause consumer discomfort and cause the search for other brands that do have an optimal digital model. Therefore, digital transformation is a process that does not have to be led by technology but by the customer.
We must focus on the digitization of the customer experience. For this, it is necessary through Social CRM, to study and get to know our client through active listening and analysis of social networks. Customers interact with companies through different channels, it is vital to identify all points of contact with the customer to improve their experience. Customer service through different channels such as the immediacy of Twitter is a reality for many sectors. The Customer Journey Map is an excellent tool to identify and analyze the different points of contact of the customer with the brand throughout their purchase process.
Metrics:
If we carry out a digital transformation of the company, we must also track the results of the strategies and actions carried out.
We have to take into account the objectives that we want to achieve with the transformation process and the investment that we are going to make, to later select those KPIs management indicators of the objectives that we want to measure and that we will later include in the scorecard.
Some examples of metrics are: agility of change, indicators of use of digital tools by employees, visits to the site, conversions made, time in processes, quality of service, etc.
As we have seen throughout the article, digital transformation is not only technology. To carry it out successfully, it is necessary to work on many aspects of the organization, such as: the redefinition of processes, the selection of digital talent, the vision, the customer experience and the measurement of results for continuous improvement.
Without a doubt, if companies want to be competitive they have to adapt to this new digital environment to find new opportunities and be more efficient. The changes necessary to carry out the digital transformation should not mean the end of the world, but the beginning of a new one.
