Now that Digital transformation is a trending topic in all corporate meetings, maybe it is time to think what the driving need for your transformation should really be.
Some companies seem to think that by changing their business to digital, or by introducing new software / “digital tools”, everything is solved. This by itself comprises two major false assumptions:
1. Technology by itself matters. Wrong. No new app, marketplace, ERP, CRM or other similar acronyms will solve anything by itself. Customers do not really want your technology; they want a better product and/or a better service that meet their needs and exceed their expectation.
2. Changing technology is just about changing tools. Wrong again. You might change all your tools to digital, but if you do not redesign your processes, engage and train your teams and redesign the way you do things, you may get worse than when you started.
Recent Covid must-change-to-new-technology-approach shed some light to this issue. Many businesses moved to, or, in most cases, boosted their online shopping experience and put their efforts in the software side of the equation.
As most customers experienced, the result was below expectations. Processes were not designed accordingly, and so the customer experience was most times a painful walk through inefficiency: hard time to navigate, hard time in selecting, hard time with delivery, deadlines not being met, customer fidelity programs not linked to the online experience and, at the very end, wrong products delivered, wrong size, wrong colour and no after-sales support. Urgh!
You should do the other way around: make sure the customer is on the very centre of your concerns and put your efforts in providing the best product and experience – online and offline. Use technology as a tool to better provide that experience, to optimize your processes and increase efficiency. Do NOT deploy any digital tools without redesigning your processes and engage tour team.
Your Team is your best asset, not your technology. Your focus should be in your customer experience and expectations, not technology. Technology is amazing, but it is just a mean to achieve a goal.
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