If you think your company has ample time to evaluate your approach to digital transformation, think again. While you’re moving cautiously, your competitors aren’t – and new entrants are disrupting your market. They’re completely reimagining their business models to take advantage of the data, technology and services now available. According to a recent Forrester study, a large percentage of executives think that almost 50% of their revenue will be influenced by digital by 2020.
Companies are dedicating huge resource to digital transformation. PwC’s 2015 Global Digital IQ survey found that 31% of companies globally are assigning more than 15% of their revenues to digital investments and by 2019, companies around the world are expected to have spent a total of $2.1 trillion on digital transformation, according to IDC. This means you need to plan your digital transformation efficiently yet effectively to ensure you remain competitive in this fast-moving environment.
Consumers are in the driving seat
Consumers now have a digital-first mentality, and there’s an evolving preference for speed and personalisation.
Think of how Amazon has challenged bricks-and-mortar retailers and Uber has disrupted transport.
Customers want to complete transactions quickly at the time and place they choose, which means digital channels – social, messaging apps, SMS and chatbots – are becoming the first entry point of the customer journey. The expanding number of touchpoints across that journey then puts pressure on you to provide a consistent message and experience, which means everyone from marketing to customer service needs information and contextual responses to facilitate a connected experience (rather than isolated interactions).
Consumers expect to be treated like individuals
“Over 46% of consumers said that they’d be more encouraged to purchase if promotional offers and updates were tailored to their likes, dislikes and channel preferences.”
Consumers expect an immediate, responsive service
“Companies who engage with consumers and respond to customer service requests on social media end up gaining 20 to 40% more in sales from those customers.”
Consumers don’t mind paying for a better service
“86% of consumers are prepared to pay more for better customer experience.”
These expectations for consistency and personalisation will only increase. And if you can’t efficiently and effectively transform customer data into personalised and predictive experiences, you’re at risk of losing market share to technology-enabled innovators.
Download our latest whitepaper to discover how to leading brands are approaching digital transformation to dominate the competitive landscape.
