As digital transformation spending is predicted to top $2 trillion dollars by 2023, various businesses and corporations are pouring their investment into digital. Like any other investments, those who don’t set the proper initiatives and strategy may risk wasting their capital and resources.

A digitally transformed company understands its users, designs solutions they will want to use, and creates those solutions with available technology. Digital transformation is about more than solely technology or the adoption of new digital tools and services. It is about understanding the needs of customers and acting on that insight to create a more compelling user experience.

Digital transformation must start with people. 

Here are 5 main principles of digital transformation to take into consideration for your organization:

Leadership is the starting point for digital transformation

If you want your company to transform into a digitally-savvy operation, you have to create a culture of digital transformation and user-centricity. If people in your organization feel uncomfortable embracing the need to change and to add digital transformation to their core mission, they will not succeed at either. They may even drive the transformation effort back and slow progress.

If you want your transformation to succeed, you need to transform your leadership, too. This means that every leader within your organization needs to be thinking, acting, and making decisions with the customer experience in mind. A digitally transformed company knows their value proposition and why customers choose to buy from them.

People operation is one of the key factors in digital transformation

Digital transformation is not just about technology or the IT department. It’s about the entire organization and how it operates. In order to make all aspects of your organization function properly, you need people who are equipped to succeed in the new landscape. This means people who have the expertise to use the tools and tech available to them, people who understand the importance of data analysis in decision-making, people who know how to build relationships with customers. 

People operations is about ensuring that you are hiring and working with the right and well-equipped people. Most importantly, it is about making sure that they are happy in their roles. It involves everything from recruiting to retention, outsourcing if needed, and everything in between.

Recognise where you are and where you want to be

Before you can create a roadmap to digital transformation, you need to understand where you are now in your company’s evolution. You need to understand what your current technology solutions are, how your products and services are delivered, and what kind of user experience your customers have with your business. Where do your customers interact with your business—online or on the telephone? What products and services do you offer? How do you interact with your customers? 

After you have an idea of where your company is today, you can decide where you want to be. You can identify what things need to change in your business and what you need to do to get there.

Creating a well-crafted digital transformation strategy is crucial to the success of your business. Support is available closer to you than you think. There are aid programs that help you get started and accelerate your business through digital technology. One of the most recent and prominent ones is the Canadian Digital Adaption Program (CDAP), which provide funding to small and medium businesses. On top of this, working with the right partner and specialist can help bring your digital vision to life.

Consider a customer-centric approach

Technology facilitates our connection and relationships, when utilized properly and strategically. If the goal of digital transformation is to improve customer experience and intimacy, an organization must orchestrate their business strategy around their customer. And this starts with an in-depth understanding of their customer. 

Across the customer journey, from awareness to purchase to advocacy, each interaction and stage benefits from a customer-centric approach. In a world with an inundated amount of information and content, the need for personalization and personal identity representation is more emphasized than ever. 

Spotify is one of those companies that take personalized experience to a new level. Their annual Wrapped campaign gives Spotify users an in-depth look at their yearly music by collecting data on their frequently listened to artists, songs and podcasts.

It didn’t take long for their feature to go viral and become a year end ritual for all music lovers all over the world (of course except those who use Apple Music)

Measuring and tracking are key

The outcome is as important as the process since it reflects what organizations do effectively and what you need to refine in order to achieve the desired results. Otherwise, businesses will spend money and resources aimlessly. In order to meet the demand of today’s digitally connected world, measurement must be consistent across all the departments.

For example, customer experience today does not only involve solely customer service and sales representatives. Ensuring customer satisfaction now intersects with other aspects of the business such as website design, product development, and supply chain management. 

That’s why creating an organizational commitment to digital transformation is so important. For digital transformation to work, everyone in your organization must commit to making the changes necessary and achieving the ultimate outcome of providing customers with the experience they love. 

Transformation is a process

Transformation is more than a one-time event; it’s a process.

Digital transformation works for organizations who place customers at the heart of what they do and ensure a unified mindset and attitude of all their employees.

Deciding the digital tools and the strategy needed to achieve their goals come after setting the right intention. 

While changes can be difficult and challenging, with the right mindset and support from within and without, you will be better equipped to succeed in the digital world.