What Is Digital Transformation And Its Keys

Digital transformation is those opportunities for business strategies that arise thanks to the appearance of new technologies. We see, therefore, that technological innovation plays a fundamental role, but we must not forget that this change also affects individuals and all work in organizations.

A key characteristic of the transformation is that it must always be linked to the objectives and strategies of the company. It is not about “being to be” or incorporating new technologies just because it is “what happens” at a given moment. And it is that according to a study by the IDC consultancy, 66% of executive directors consider digital transformation as a critical piece of the business plan.

Today, digital change is no longer an option but inevitable reality for companies. Incorporating it from now on has many advantages for the company, employees and customers:

Facilitates internal collaboration. The new tools enable more fluid and horizontal communication flows, make it possible to coordinate different team members using much fewer resources and favour geographical relocation and teleworking.
Improves the relationship with the client. The digital transformation gives rise to more accessible companies with which the client can communicate as and when they wish.
Allows adaptation to change. We live in a technological and even social environment where innovation is constant. If they do not want to be left behind, companies must be able to respond to it in an agile way.
Helps increase sales . Although it is not a panacea, the truth is that companies that have started the digitization process have increased their sales by 39%, according to a study by CA Technologies.
Another point to remember is that digital change is a process with different phases, not an “all or nothing” issue. Thus, IDC has identified five categories of companies based on the stage they are in, from least to most significant involvement:

Resistant. This phase encompasses 21% of companies. They do not yet have any plans for targeted transformation, so digitization initiatives (if any) start with individual employees.
Explorers. This is the case for 26% of the companies. In this phase, some digitization projects have already been carried out, but only within specific departments and not at the global level of the company.
Players. The majority category includes 29% of the companies analyzed. The player companies have already understood the importance of digitization to achieve strategic objectives and have plans that involve the entire company.
Transformers. 18% of companies already have digital services in all departments.
Disruptive. Finally, at the top of this classification are the 6% of companies whose initiatives represent a disruption in the market. They are the pioneers, the example to follow.

The seven keys to digital transformation in companies

1. Have a convinced leadership

As we have seen before, digital transformation is directly linked to business objectives. And as such, it must start with the management and involve the entire company. It is useless for employees or departments to take individual initiatives if the general direction is not to assume them as part of its mission.

Once embarked on this process, managers must create conditions that facilitate a smooth transition and ensure that the company has the necessary financial and human resources.

2. Change your mindset

Digital change does not only happen by adding technologies to the company. It is a global change, and it will inevitably face resistance: why change if everything worked more or less well before? Aren’t we running too many risks with this change?

For this reason, digitizing a company is a process with a profound scope, which must be accompanied by reflection and adequate risk management. The good news is that technology makes it easy to implement changes quickly and at reduced costs compared to the previous paradigm.

3. Improve the customer experience

Digital transformation only makes sense if it can put the customer at the centre. After all, the main objective must be to remain competitive in an environment where users are increasingly demanding.

Therefore, when it comes to digitizing processes, we must always ask ourselves how we will improve the customer experience: can they contact us in less time? Close a conversion with fewer steps? Obtain a better after-sales service? And above all, what can we offer that makes us stand out from the competition?

4. Incorporate big data

“Big data” is another of those fashionable terms in the business world, but we have only explored the tip of the iceberg.

Data management is one of the great secrets of digitization. Thanks to new technologies, we have more information about our customers and prospects, but it’s easy to get lost in the endless unstructured data. For this reason, data scientists are one of the essential roles in the marketing companies of the future.

5. Train employees

Rather than going crazy hiring digital workers, good managers know that the solution lies in betting on training and making their current employees integrate into the digital transformation.

When implementing a digital training plan in the company, we can resort to new solutions such as MOOCs (massive and open online courses) or gamification, which allows us to give an attractive and addictive design to the lessons. It may also be interesting to implement a mentoring plan in which young employees help older ones with new technologies and, in exchange, veterans contribute their experience to the company.

6. Promote telecommuting

For employees, the digitization process involves changing their mentality and ways of working. But in return, they can get many advantages not found in more traditional companies.

The digital change opens the door to telecommuting and flexible hours, which allow employees to reconcile their personal and professional lives much better. With the new work and communication tool, it is possible to abandon the culture of presenteeism and adopt a goal-based approach. The result is that they will be more motivated, happy and willing to give their best at work.

7. Think in terms of continuous improvement

Digitization is an open process in which new elements are continuously incorporated. We live in a rapidly changing environment, so the famous maxim “renew or die” is more accurate than ever.

If you adopt digitization as a work philosophy, you must be willing to constantly consider what you do, why you do it and how you can improve it. Only in this way can you continue to move forward on the path towards satisfied customers, happy employees and better business results.