by Barton Goldenberg
According to an IDC estimate, the spending on digital transformation initiatives will exceed $2 trillion in 2019. With this level of investment, it is concerning that less than 1/3 of these executives believe that their digital strategy is correct, and only 21% believe the right people are setting their digital strategy. What is causing this disconnect, and why are so many digital transformation projects underperforming or outright failing?
Based on my 34 years in the CRM industry working with many of the world’s best companies, I have concluded many executives are not sure how best to tackle Digital Transformation; they do not have the right roadmap to drive Digital Transformation success, and/or they are falling short integrating in one or more of the five core building blocks into their Digital Transformation efforts.
Components of Digital Transformation
The picture to the right pulls together the building blocks of an effective Digital Transformation strategy. Successful companies tackle Digital Transformation by implementing these components in bite-size chunks, supported by a long-term roadmap that focuses as much on people and process issues as technology.
CRM
Data & Analytics
Social Media Communities
Customer Engagement
Emerging Technologies
Because executives prioritize customer experience (CX) as the top driver behind Digital Transformation and given that each of these building blocks impacts CX, an effective Digital Transformation roadmap must describe how to integrate all five building blocks over the long term.
Related Articles: Digital Transformation: Getting It Right!
Said differently, every company’s Digital Transformation initiative needs to be based on an integrated framework where individual projects connect and feed each other, e.g., leverage Data & Analytics as a foundational platform to analyze and provide insights used in Social Media Communities, CRM, and Customer Engagement; leverage Customer Journey Mapping and Customer Experience surveys to feed the holistic customer profiles; and leverage Emerging Technologies like AI in CRM to provide “next action” step with individual clients.
Bit-size Your Projects
The right way to eat an elephant is in bite-size chunks. By focusing on bite-size projects in each of the five Digital Transformation building blocks, as well as the integration between these projects, companies greatly increase their likelihood of Digital Transformation success that meets the ever-increasing customer expectations and delivers compelling customer experiences.
ISM has found that a successful Digital Transformation program starts with a high-level strategy in support of the company’s business direction. This is followed by the creation of a multi-step Digital Transformation roadmap that addresses people, process and technology issues, that clearly identifies key milestones within the roadmap, and that has tight linkages back to the company’s business direction.
Successful Digital Transformation is not without risk. Keep an eye on buy-in from every member of the executive team. All it takes is one holdout for the initiative to stall or outright fail. Be sure to involve customers at each step of your Digital Transformation roadmap. Move quickly; it is better to move and fail than to watch your competitors eat your lunch. Having a good partner to guide you through every step of this process can help ensure optimal results. Over 34 years, leading companies have trusted ISM to implement transformative customer strategies. Contact ISM today to ensure the success of your customer initiatives.
Related Articles:
A Digital Transformation Framework – Part 1
Digital Transformation Building Blocks – Part 2
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