The art of digital transformation

In the B2C space, the move towards an omni-channel environment has been largely driven by the consumer. And it is digital transformation that is helping brands to be successful in this environment, while delivering a consistent experience across those channels. But the shift to a fully digital organisation, one that is fast moving and has the momentum to respond to customers isn’t easily accomplished.

In this omni-channel environment, it doesn’t matter which channel the customer is interacting with the organisation through, they expect the same brand value and consistency of experience. Whether that is text, chat, web, app or shop, the customer experience must be the same throughout. And, as an organisation, you need to set, meet and maintain the same standards in your digital presence as you do in your physical store.

This all comes down to transforming your organisation, changing it and shaping it into a genuine digitally-enabled organisation. But, many organisations simply do digital by default without a proper strategy guiding the move or an in-depth understanding of what digital transformation should entail. The key to digital transformation, in fact change of any kind, be it social, physical or digital, is having a board or senior management team that drives the process from the top down. And, more than that, the messaging, tone and change philosophy must be set by them and, in effect, embodied by them. But does the board actually understand what customers want in the digital space?

Part of the issue with digital transformation and making it successful is that often the boards themselves are not digitally enabled or are not full digital thinkers. Those people in an organisation that are fully digital are the so-called digital natives or millennials, but it seems very few are sitting on boards or in executive leadership teams. Not only are millennials tech savvy and keen for leadership, but they are also set to revolutionise the working environment over the next few years, and will exert some influence over business — this is according to a recent IBM study that debunks some of the myths that surround this generation.

At the core of the digital transformation

When it comes to digital transformation, millennials should be at the core of your business and not on the periphery. If they are not ready for board or executive roles, you need to get them ready and use them in an advisory capacity.

Coming back to the customer experience, the two guiding factors for an organisation should be speed and ease. Customers want the shopping, research and ordering experience to be quick and easy, and they want the supporting service element to share those same traits. Millennials on your workforce can be key in answering your question of how to make it quick and easy for your customers.

In this digital age then, it’s no longer a choice between delivering good service fast or delivering fast service well, but a combination of the two that leads to a happy, returning customer. Just consider the success of some brands’ service options — Argos recently launched a same-day delivery service, while Amazon has been using its one-click ordering model for years to make the customer experience a good one, and is constantly updating the service.

But are boards and executive teams set up in their digital domain to follow the examples of top brands and provide that easy fast service? Perhaps not. It’s good to remember that digital transformation must be shaped from the outside in and not the other way around — with customers being the advocates of that change. Add to that the influence of millennials on staff, and you have the beginnings of a powerful shift.

And this transformation needs to be encompass the entire organisation, touching all areas of business. Not only that, digital itself is in a state of constant development, which means that the process of transformation needs to be the same. It’s not a change programme with a defined start and finish, but an evolution that continues and adapts as customers change, the organisation grows and the market develops.

Regardless of industry, B2B or B2C, the overriding objective at the end of the day is to deliver an excellent customer experience. This is becoming more complex in the omni-channel world where digital is influencing both buying behaviour and the ways in which customers interact with an organisation. This is why true digital transformation needs to take into account a number of things — most importantly that it is driven from the top down and guided by customer needs — in order to help organisations meet customer expectations.