What is digital transformation? – Kagool’s 101 guide

The question “what is digital transformation?” has been on marketers’ lips for a while now. Like a lot of buzz phrases it’s been floating around out of context. Which means organisations think a new website or a few Twitter updates will unlock digital transformation. But that’s not the case.

To reach true digital nirvana, you’ll have to dig a little deeper.

What digital transformation means

Real digital transformation touches every function of your business. Purchasing, finance, HR, operations, technology, sales and marketing will all be aligned to digital processes. And these transformations will be visible from the outside, to your customers and consumer audience.

Some of the key drivers for digital transformation are:

• Increase profitability by reducing costs
• Improve service to customers by enabling business process digitally
• Increase demand by opening up new revenue opportunities
• Update (or keep up with) technology
• Keeping up with competitors
• Meeting the changing needs of your customers

According to Econsultancy, a digital organisation focuses on customer experience across every channel. Digital transformation doesn’t necessarily mean your company is digital-centric. But you need to be customer-centric. This means accepting the importance of digital technology’s presence in today’s markets. Digital transformation isn’t just driven by technology, but by changing customer behaviours.

Most of our everyday experiences and conversations involve digital these days. Think of the shops you’ve visited where sales assistants carry tablets. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, they can quickly check stock levels and help you order home delivery of the product. That’s one way businesses can harness digital to improve customer experiences in-store, not just online. And when that’s your business’ focus, you’re undertaking digital transformation.

What are the benefits of digital transformation?

So we’ve debugged “what is digital transformation?”, but now you’re probably wondering “what are the benefits of digital transformation?” Well, if your business isn’t embracing digital with open arms yet, you’re probably struggling. Digital transformation lets brands evolve in line with their market. According to Gartner, businesses that take on digital transformation have the upper hand scouting out new opportunities and putting them into action.

Benefits:

• The company vision is modernised and humanised, earning support from digital customers
• Inspire a culture of innovation in the company and the ability to innovate in product and services
• Improved customer journey that meets their needs, improving conversion
• Build a competitive advantage that executives recognise
• Improved collaboration between internal business functions
• Employees and leadership are empowered through learning
• Decision-making and processes across departments becomes more efficient
• Better data organisation across the organisation

How Sitecore can help with digital transformation?

Sitecore’s digital maturity model is a great starting point for businesses wondering “what is digital transformation?” By figuring out just how digitally mature your business is, you can assess how far you have to go.

Key Sitecore features to help your business grow:

• Integration for marketing automation systems – generate and nurture more quality leads
• Sitecore content management system and Media library – manage large amounts of content and media from a single source
• Sitecore Analytics – goal tracking to testing to keep marketers focused on targets
• Sitecore SEO – optimise your content to drive quality traffic and improve Google rankings
• Cross channel automation – reach wider audiences across mobile and other channels
• Sitecore Experience Database – store customer data from Sitecore and integrated systems to track engagement and improve customer experience

Digital transformation comes from understanding how digital impact your business and its customers. That’s where Sitecore comes in. No matter how digitally mature you are, Sitecore has the tools to boost your digital transformation. Sitecore is easy to use and develop as your business grows. Especially since the release of Sitecore 8.1 and the new Sitecore licencing model, there’s even more support for businesses who aren’t quite at enterprise level.

Need help with digital transformation?

If you’ve been wondering, “what is digital transformation?” and you want to know more about how your business can grow, get in touch with us. If you’re already using Sitecore and you think your Sitecore implementation is holding you back, we can give you a Sitecore audit. If you’re new to Sitecore, we’d love to give you a free Sitecore demo.