Digital transformation is vital for all businesses, regardless of whether you are a newly founded startup or an enterprise-level organisation, it is important to remain competitive by identifying new ways to adopt digital processes in today’s global digital economy.
Despite being saturated with messages from webinars, keynote speakers and industry experts that embracing digital transformation is the way forward, many business leaders are unsure as to what digital transformation actually entails, and what it means for their business.
The term simply refers to rethinking old operating models, requiring more experimentation. Digital transformation for businesses can be defined as the integration of digital technology in all business areas; the most integral aspect of transformation requires businesses to identify areas for change to ensure they continue to deliver value to customers and employees in the most efficient way possible.
“Digital Transformation begins and ends with the customer” - Marc Benioff, Chairman and CEO of Salesforce
Startups and new businesses have the power of youth and agility on their side which means they have most likely adopted digital technologies to help enhance their internal processes and customer experience, and are able to adapt to new ways of doing business as they evolve and grow. However, for established businesses who have failed to evolve at the same pace, reimagining their digital strategy is essential in order to remain competitive.
"Businesses don’t transform by choice because it’s expensive and risky. Businesses go through transformation when they have failed to evolve." - Howard King
Digital transformation will look different depending on which industry your business falls under and how many existing paper-based systems you have in place that will need to be re-examined. For many long-standing established companies, digital transformation is about shedding outdated processes as much as it is about adopting new ones, and for SME’s or agile startups digital transformation means understanding your technological investments in full in order to capitalise on existing technologies. It is important for businesses that they understand the potential of their technological investments and adapt processes to fully utilise these capabilities rather than just asking 'how much faster can we do things in the same way?'.
Our digital scorecard will test your businesses digital capabilities and suggest ways to improve your digital strategy as we head into a new decade with plenty more technological advancements to follow. Below are some tips to help you leverage the power of digital in 2020.
It's vital that your future customers are able to find you quickly and easily online and are left with a great impression when they do, prospects are looking to see if you are a company they would like to work with and want to see that other customers have had a good experience working with you or using your company's services. Therefore, being visible online by optimising your content for search is essential. More than this, ensuring that your online content is engaging and your brand narrative is consistent across your website and social channels will help build trust amongst prospects.
Businesses that are able to portray a consistent brand narrative on social media platforms consistently perform better seeing higher engagement and conversion rates by effectively educating prospects about their brand. Brands often make the mistake of posting content on social channels that they think will generate high engagement rates because it is ‘popular’ or ‘trending’ on the internet, yet, if your online content does not relate to your brand or fit into your brand narrative it doesn’t add any value to your brand image.
Consumers are too savvy to be reeled in by desperate marketing ploys and as our social feeds are saturated with more content than ever before, prospects are searching for content that is genuine and authentic. We have seen more brands flirting with the realm of politics, aiming to align themselves with a wider sense of purpose or social justice in an attempt to lure in Millennials. Consumers are able to acknowledge when companies are desperately trying to connect with a ‘deeper purpose’ in a cheap attempt of making short-term profits. Subsequently, if you're thinking about ‘trend jacking’, make sure you only jump onto social and political trends that relate to your brand narrative.
The average person spends more than a day a week on their mobile phone, a testament to Britain's mobile addiction. The companies who have understood the power of mobile and reimagined their industry, putting mobile-first, hold a massive advantage over their competitors.
If the mobile age has taught us anything, it's that convenience is king, and today's consumers look to their smart phones above all else to carry out everyday tasks, navigate around the city, to shop online and even to order takeaways straight to the front door.
If we take the online food delivery market as an example, we can see that food-delivery apps have dramatically changed the way consumers purchase takeaways and restaurant meals in the Western world. Online food-delivery platforms are expanding choice and convenience, allowing customers to order from a vast range of eateries with a single tap on their mobile phone. Established businesses and startups have acknowledged the growth of the online food-delivery market and have already started to expand into the online food-delivery service to disrupt a rapidly growing sector.
Food-delivery is a relatively new avenue of growth for Uber, with the extension of their brand UberEats established in 2014, which now dominates the mobile food delivery service. Arguably, the shrewdest decision UberEats has made since 2014 is drafting up an exclusive delivery deal with McDonald's in 2017. Uber acknowledged that one of the world's largest food chains lacked an online/mobile-accessible delivery service that would massively appeal to consumers and reignite McDonald's sales revenue; coinciding with Mc Donald's 'Experience of the Future' digital initiatives implemented in 2017.
Uber Eat's company IPO revealed that almost 10 percent of McDonald's food sales in the UK come from the UberEats app and their exclusivity deal has been one of the most significant facets in setting them apart from competitors such as Deliveroo and Just Eat. The huge success and popularity of the UberEats app has prompted other startups such as DoorDash and Grubhub to develop apps and compete for the McDelivery contract in order to reap the benefits of our fast-pace consumer culture.
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