The world has changed over the past few months in ways we arestill coming to terms with. The ways to live, travel, and do business are not the same anymore. But still, some things will never change, like our need to connect and community building, the efforts to make the world better for the next generations, and our thirst for ingenuity. Resourcefulness has always led us to new ways of doing things. Now, it drives us to disruptive and transformational change.
We all understand the value of using technology to improve the way we operate. However, digital transformation allows us to reimagine how businesses should functionand what customers need. Because of recent unforeseen worldwide events, i.e., the pandemic, the paradigm has shifted. Earlier digital transformation was an eventuality, but now it is a necessity.
Why should you go digital?
Executive Chairman of CISCO, John Chambers, is known to have stated that at least 40% of all businesses will perish in the next ten years if they do not figure out how to accommodate new technologies. Among many things, digital transformation uses cloud technology, automation, and AI to simplify business processes, eliminating obstacles and strengthening competitive advantage. So, going digital is crucial to sustaining your operations, keeping them productive and cost-effective. Technology will eventually penetrate and revolutionize every product or service soon. However, it’s still not too late for companies to transform their traditional business operations. By using Digital Supermarket and several other online tools and services, businesses can reimagine how to create and optimize unique and technologically superior customer experiences. That said, there are several reasons why digitalization is beneficial for your business. These include:
- Surviving challenging business times
Because of the ongoing pandemic and the need to create physical distances to spread the contagion, businesses solely relying on physical stores suffered. Lockdowns have forced outlets to shut down and terminate staff to cut costs.
These events have laid the need for digitization. It can be helpful to reboot business activities by creating a website and social media presence. Moreover, the digital model can generate more revenue than the brick-and-mortar business model by keeping operational costs low. Today, creating a functional website is as easy as 1, 2, and 3. It does not require you to learn web development or any other technical skill. But of course, extra know-how does help in creating better experiences for customers.
- Improvedconnection with customers and workforce
Digital software like Zoom, Google Meet, etc., enable meetings, academic classes, and even live music concerts to take place virtually. This saves time and makes working remotely more effective. On the other hand, chatbots have made it easier for sales teams to communicate with customersand address their queries on time. An iPad live chat allows you to answer the customers’ questions at any time of the day. It is estimated that two-thirds of customer experience projects will use AI and machine learning technology by 2022.
All this digitalization can help your business grow and improve in a competitive environment. Moreover, every interaction with your customer is an opportunity to provide a great customer experience – for which they can choose you over others.
- Gather valuable customer insights
Digitalization makes businesses capable of tracking, analyzing, and forecasting customer behavior. The calculated results then help to derive the most accurate strategies, budget, and marketing campaigns. With the increase in your business’s digital presence, you will generate more valuable data than ever before, leading to more sales and customer retention. This process helps you bump up your marketing efforts on social media platforms and search engines. Following are some crucial matrices that can help you to gather valuable insights:
- Web traffic (conversions vs. bounce rate)
- Chabot engagement
- Email response rate
- Social media engagement
- Increase compliance & mitigate risk
This concept does not seem to be the most tangible benefit of going digital. Still, it is one of the most important solutions every business looks for. No one wants their business to be the next big headline for fraud. Technologyhelps you manage retention schedules, make your audit process a little less painful, and have real-time monitoring of security risks. Furthermore, security apps and cloud-based security solutions help you manage your operations on the go. Cybersecurity and tax fraud can break your entire business if you do not take measures to mitigate these risks. Technology makes curtailing the risk pretty straightforward if you know how to use it smartly.
- Cost reduction and increased efficiency
Want to do more with less? The digital route is the best way to accomplish this. Using automation tools to work faster through repetitive tasks saves time and money lost in laborious human hours. As a result, your human resources have more time on their hands to execute other essential tasks such as decision-making and strategy development. Having the right digital solutions can increase productivity, make your employees happier, and positively impact your bottom line.
- Improve employee experience
If you’re working on outdated systems, your employees will get frustrated. This frustration will automatically contribute to a negative workforce experience, leading to demotivation and a high turnover. According to Oxford University’s Saïd Business School research, workers are 13% more productive when they’re happy. So, to keep your workforce motivated and engaged, try the following:
- Automating repeatable and intense manual tasks
- Promote the use of collaborative tools and social media at the workplace
- Invest in digital employee rewards and recognition systems
- Uncluttered resources
Digital transformation gathers information and resources into a suite of tools for business. Instead of using a diversified database and truckloads of paper, it brings company resources together in one place. Digitization can integrate databases and software into a single repository for the enterprise. This process makes it easier to manage and store data and effectively helps in information-sharing and decision-making.
Conclusion
Digitalization – it’s everywhere, affecting everyone and everything. The possibilities are infinite and are not limited to a specific industry. This article mentions some benefits of going digital with your business. These include surviving challenging business times, better connections and communication, improved customer insights, more productivity at the workplace, etc. So, consider adapting to make your business more efficient and cost-effective.
