What Is Digital Transformation And Why It Matters

1. What Is Digital Transformation And Why It Matters Digital transformation seeks to improve customer experience through the use of digital technology and integrate it into all parts of a business to enable fundamental changes to operations that benefit employees, partners, and customers. Ideally, digital transformation focuses on the customer’s decision-making journey and improves it through the use of technology.

2. Why Is Digital Transformation Important? Digital transformation began with the introduction of web browsers back in the 90s. Several innovations followed and led to a rise in eCommerce and online shopping websites in the early 2000s. Over the years, more technological advancements and the advent of smartphones and high-speed connectivity has enabled businesses and customers to communicate more and more online. From physical goods to services, the online ecosystem is larger than ever before. This transformation that has helped businesses go digital has also involved a detailed strategy and implementation. If you want to carve a niche for yourself in the hyper competitive internet-enabled industry, you need to think and build a perspective that is customer-centric. Both economic forces and technology have put the focus first on customers and their interactions with their businesses. Businesses mandatorily need to have a deep understanding of their customers to serve them well.

3. Going Native With Digital Transformation Digital transformation has bridged the gap between online and offline businesses. Customers do not differentiate between physical retail stores and e-commerce platforms; they expect the same experience regardless of the platform.

4. A research conducted by PwC shows that 30% of customers would never return to a brand after one bad experience. Moreover, 86% of customers want the same experience from brands regardless of the platform. Here are some of the expectations from modern age customers that your business should strive to meet: 1. Point of Contact Customers prefer to be instantly connected to the point of contact when interacting with businesses. 90% of Americans use customer service as a factor in deciding whether or not to do business with a company. Customer executives need to be well-equipped to handle all queries online in digital business. It helps customers navigate faster when websites offer online assistance with their purchases or have grievances addressed. Better communication can be achieved by using customer data and making use of analytics to train and empower support staff in digital businesses. 2. Digital Banking and Payment Services Customers want seamless banking and payment experience when transacting online. Digital banking has been successful over the years, which has enabled online businesses to tap into the online market. Payment gateways form the driving force of the e-commerce industry and enable businesses to maintain strong online transactions. As a business, it is important to offer all payment options available,

5. including PayPal, bank transfers, debit/credit cards, and even Cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency payment options were popularized in the last three years, with an increased interest in Bitcoin and other digital currencies. By offering your customers the most options possible, you are more likely to increase convenience and significantly reduce checkout abandonment. 3. Brand Value and Customer Perks One of the most important aspects of building brand loyalty is to offer value to customers. According to a report by Customers are more likely to increase their engagement with a certain website or an application if there are rewards involved. Rewards do not necessarily have to mean monetary benefits. High-priority customer care, faster delivery, and specially curated offers can increase interest in your customers. For instance, mobile wallet services are popular because they offer additional discounts that increase customer retention and loyalty. Reward points is another example that customers can redeem for special discounts during their next purchase, thus increasing further engagement 4. Data and Analytics Personalization and recommendations help customers navigate through websites and apps easily. Understanding the needs of customers through the use of data and offering recommendations that they are likely to be looking for on websites cuts

6. down on the time they need to spend searching for the right product or service. Using data and analytics, businesses can track the shopping activity of customers and use it to highlight the best-selling products or boost marketing efforts towards products and services not performing well in terms of sales and revenue generation.

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8. Frameworks in Implementing Digital Transformation To implement digital transformation, you need to be ready to re-establish how your business operates. Here are some essentials steps towards achieving successful digital transformation. 1. Re-Establish Your Core Processes If your business has a limited online presence and does not deploy technology to its fullest, you need to start leveraging automation and digitization at the soonest. The best way to start is by connecting with your audience and learning what they want from your business. This is the most fundamental way to start the digitization process. After working towards your customers’ perspective, you can consider processes that could be more efficient and optimized via technology and redefine them. 2. Identify the Right Technologies It is important to make use of the right technologies that can help you transform your business. You need to assess the pros and cons of each technology before implementing it. Just because something is popular doesn’t mean it will benefit you. Cloud technology, automation, data analytics are just some of the most tried

9. and tested solutions that you can experiment with. The technology you adopt should align with your business objectives and help make your operations more efficient and effective. 3. Find the Right People and Solutions To implement new technology, you need to have a team of professionals that are dynamic and can work together. IT experts are core to digital transformation, and you need to set aside a budget for training your existing staff to adapt to the changes to your business. There are IT solutions available that can make digital transformation easier for your business and adopt new strategies. Identify your key performance indicators as early as possible and work on them to make your digital transformation process easier. With modern technologies like Big Data and machine learning, working towards better customer solutions has never easier. Conclusion The factors that lead to the success of a business are not just limited to great sales anymore. It is equally important to offer your customers seamless experiences. This is largely possible through digital transformation. The points mentioned in the

10. article talk about leveraging technology and innovation for increasing efficiency, customer-happiness, and eventually ensuring higher revenue for the business. Digital transformation inspires entrepreneurs to rethink and redefine the ways of doing business by being more receptive to the modern market, customers, and their needs. The journey of digital transformation promises a rewarding result for organizations of every size and scale. Source - https://www.netsolutions.com/insights/what-is-digital-transformation/