Acquainting Yourself with the Digital Transformation

In today’s market, there are a lot of companies that have never had direct interaction with their clients. For example, manufacturers often depend on other performers in the value chain, such as distributors, dealers, and retailers, to create and control the connection with the end consumer. These companies are now in a difficult position, and their customers expect these manufacturers to have a digital presence, participate in the way the customer evaluates and experiences the products, and be personally relevant to the customer. In addition, digital customers expect these manufacturers to have a digital transformation.

These companies need to begin aligning themselves with the expectations of digital transformation even when they are only beginning to comprehend the voice of their consumer base. This extends to knowing your partners, dealers, and retailers, as well as assisting them in understanding that having a relationship with (as opposed to transacting with) a customer is no longer a channel conflict, but rather an essential component of aligning to the digital expectation that your collective customer base demands.

Even companies that actively communicate with their clientele regularly cannot credibly claim that they fully comprehend their clientele. The first step for a company to take to become digitally obsessed is to acknowledge the rapid pace at which digital requirements are changing. What you think you know about your customers now may not be what you need to be preparing for very shortly. Regardless of whether companies are just beginning to understand their customers or believe they know their customers very well, trends in digital commerce will continue to expand purchasing habits and expectations beyond what they are now. This is because digital commerce is always evolving. Understanding the consumer should be a top priority for companies, and this may be accomplished by ongoing work by either an outside agency or an inside team.

Evaluation of Needs of People, Processes, and Technology Auditing

Keeping up with the latest market trends, technological developments, disruptive forces, and ever-evolving digital needs may be challenging, if not impossible, for company owners who are also responsible for running their companies. It is an exercise in futility to try to keep both your “heads up” and your “heads down” at the same time. It is essential to bring together the appropriate individuals who can give information on market and technological trends in addition to having a comprehensive grasp of the company and what it takes to align to digital needs. After that, only then is it possible to conduct a meaningful review of a company’s existing resources, processes, and technology to determine the areas in which the company is having difficulty and is not properly aligned with the digital consumer expectations.

For conducting an in-depth analysis of the current situation of a company and identifying areas in which there is potential for development, it is essential to have viewpoints on the following topics:

• How the progression of technology affects the process.
• How the evolution of the process affects the competency criteria.
• The role that increased skill development plays in facilitating greater adoption of technology.

Constructing a Route Map to Victory and Completing the Trip

Finding the gaps between the two requires both an understanding of the digital transformation of a consumer and a critical analysis of the status of a firm. On the other hand, the most difficult part is coming up with a transformative program that is crystal clear, so that a company can close the gap and align itself with digital expectations. The digital maturity of a company must be improved, the competitive landscape must be addressed, technology trends must be embraced, the technical debt must be paid off, resource constraints must be overcome, and the business must consider a variety of other influential factors if it is to be successful. The strategy must provide for agility, the capacity to adapt to changing digital demands, the appearance of new disruptors, and the possibilities that come along with an environment that is fast changing. The outcome of this endeavor will decide the future prosperity of the firm, and in certain situations, even its continued existence.

Most companies have trouble effectively building a road map to a new digital future by bringing together the voice of customers (VOC), the voice of employees (VOE), change management, and technological trends all at the same time. Typically, organizations are unduly acclimated to their methods of doing things, do not have insight into what is technically feasible, and do not know what new changes in people and processes would have a beneficial impact or any combination of these factors. Despite this, companies must overcome these problems and meet their digital customers on terms that are acceptable to the customers. For evidence of this indisputable fact, company executives need just consider the competition between Blockbuster and Netflix, or between Amazon and Sears. How they react will define whose destiny they will be a part of.