4 critical elements of successful digital transformation

According to research by Gartner, digital transformation initiatives by large traditional businesses are typically taking twice as long and costing twice as much as anticipated. But this is also creating big opportunities for smaller and more agile enterprises that continue to lead the way with digital innovations.

By contrast, smaller teams seldom have problems with information silos and communicate much more effectively. Smaller budgets also create an environment of ingenuity where innovation can thrive. Companies that upgrade their company culture redefine their business and leverage digital technologies are transforming the way they deliver value to their customers.

Technology has traditionally enabled businesses to deliver better products and services while also reducing costs. But the digital transformation is seamlessly integrating technology into every area of your business.

However, your digital transformation journey is not about technology at all. It's about change. It's time to unlearn traditional methods and the familiarity of our analogue past. No more five-year-plans and never-ending IT projects. It's time to retire the phrase, "But, we've always done it this way."

Here are the four critical elements of what a successful digital formation should look like:

Find your why and put strategy before tech

Since 2000, an incredible 52% of companies in the Fortune 500 have disappeared as a result of digital disruption. Combine this stat with the fact that £10bn was invested into British technology start-ups last year, and there is no escaping the fact that you need a different strategy.

Unfortunately, remaining relevant in a digital age is not as simple as buying an off the shelf tech solution. It's much more about understanding the increasing demands and expectations of your customers. Only then can you begin to build new business models and introduce technology to bring your strategy to life.

The fact it's a journey, not a destination can feel incredibly daunting for many leaders. But, the good news is the emergence of digital transformation solution providers that ensure that you don't have to navigate unchartered digital waters alone.

For example, we work closely with our clients to define the goals for their digital transformation project. We then create a 'tree' of objectives that flows from these goals into clear project outcomes. Remember that the success of your digital transformation project will be determined by your people and your strategy.

Diving headfirst into the latest shiny tech solution that is looking for a problem to solve is possibly the worst mistake to make. Placing tech before strategy and objectives are the biggest reasons why so many projects fail.

You can only improve what you can measure

Armed with the right strategy, it's also crucial that you record a baseline measurement before you implement any changes or improvements. Essentially, it's a snapshot of where you are now that enables you to see what you need to improve and record the progress on your digital transformation journey.

Ensuring your specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely (SMART) goals are in place alongside your baseline is critical. It also becomes much easier to deliver clear project outcomes. The use of key performance indicators (KPIs) will keep you on track and allow you to tweak what is not working as you progress forward.

For example, we passionately believe in helping clients capture their KPIs and begin to measure them on their existing systems before even thinking about starting any new development plan. This simple approach enables businesses to identify exactly where improvements can be made while also making it easier to measure future successes too.

Metrics enable you to make data-driven decisions based on your goals. It's these insights that help you transform workflows, functions, and processes, not technology.

Digital transformation is about people, not technology

Contrary to popular opinion, it's your customers and employees that are key to your success, not technology. Businesses, websites, products, and services are all designed and developed by people. Although we buy solutions, we connect with each other.

People are at the heart of every digital transformation strategy. Whether it's transforming your employee engagement or customer experience, it's the hearts and minds of people that will be taken on a journey of change. For these reasons alone, both employees and your customer base will need to be on board before implementing any technology.

Many businesses fall into the trap of implementing technology at the expense of human employees. However, only a hybrid approach that leverages the best of humans and machines can increase efficiency, improve performance, and create new experiences fit for a digital age.

We believe that you cannot design a system, build and implement it without visualizing the people who will use it. We always create personas and user stories to ensure that we always have both the customer and stakeholder in mind when we think about change.

Personalised customer experiences

It's no coincidence that the most highly rated companies in the world are also leading the way in digital customer experiences. Bringing both your employees and customers along for the ride and making them feel a part of your digital transformation journey is critical.

Over five years have passed since IBM's Bridget van Kranlingen warned, "The last best experience that anyone has anywhere, becomes the minimum expectation for the experience they want everywhere." Amazon, Netflix, and Spotify are just a few examples of companies that provide a seamless, personalised experience on any device. But this has now become the norm.

Unsurprisingly, Accenture revealed that 75% of customers are more likely to buy from a company that knows their name, their preferences and recommends a product or service to them without being creepy. Experiences have now become even more important than the product or service itself.

The lines between B2B and B2C are also beginning to blur as employees bring these same expectations as a consumer into the workplace top. For your business to remain relevant in the eyes of your customers, the digital transformation of everything should be seen as an opportunity to seize a competitive advantage providing unique experiences before they look elsewhere.