Companies can shape a digital business strategy to leverage technology that meets the changing needs and expectations of stakeholder groups
Addressing Key Areas
Becoming a digital business is not about having an up-to-date IT system, it is about embracing customer or stakeholder-centricity. Technology has irreversibly changed the world forever by transforming the way in which people interact with each other and businesses. Global research company, Gartner, predicts a lack of digital business competence will cause at least 25% of businesses to lose competitive ranking over the next 5 years.
Vice President of Gartner, Ken McGee, explains: “In a digital business, digital technology, for the first time, moves into the forefront, into the heart of what the business is doing and how it generates revenue, seizes competitive advantage and produces value”.
Successful businesses know (or are discovering) that digital transformation is about constantly reviewing the needs and wants of your customers and wider stakeholder groups. Using this insight, companies can shape a digital business strategy to leverage technology that meets the changing needs and expectations of stakeholder groups.
Digital business strategies must address these key areas.
The Digital Business Strategy
Clear Executive Leadership
Digital transformation has the potential to disrupt businesses and industries, possibly even cannibalising P&Ls, so it is important that the CEO sets a clear vision for the future as a digital business. What does this mean in practical terms? When your CEO sees how digital can drive new revenue, he or she also understands that it may be at the expense of existing revenue streams; this requires the CEO to reset performance expectations with business unit leaders and shareholders. Some 60% of executives report that their CEO is responsible for setting the vision, but just 26% report that the CEO sets a clear vision for their company as a digital business, suggesting most CEOs have yet to grasp the potential for digital to change their business.
Exude a Digital Culture
Half of all business leaders agree that the culture of the company is important to its success as a digital business. Successful digital businesses are much more likely to view culture as critically important to their survival. These companies depend on having the right culture to guide employees every day. Culture is shaped from the top down, putting CEOs and the C-Suite in the spotlight
Employees Must Know Their Metrics
Employees connect to the culture through the metrics used to measure their success. Metrics are a proxy for what matters most to senior management. But the measurement of success varies widely across the enterprise. This creates conflict and confusion in your business as employees struggle to work toward customer outcomes in a collaborative way, while being measured on completely different success metrics.
To learn more about digital transformation, book a free consultation by getting in touch with our experts and discover our Digital Transformation Services.
