Digital Transformation Won’t Save You
Executives say that 52% of “digital transformation” projects aren’t thought through.
In a recent survey, companies cited loosing $28 million per year, on average, because of poorly planned “digital transformation” projects. You know how this happens? Because most executives can’t tell the difference between an IT strategist and a digital strategist.
Sorry to get on my soapbox here but I have to say something. I have seen SO many projects started by “strategists” that push technology without thinking through what audience they’re targeting, what that technology should do, or how it impacts the overall bottom line of the company.
Here’s what the difference and how you save companies money…
You start with the customer journey – the entire customer journey. I’m talking offline, online, and everything in between. Use data to track where customers go and surveys to understand how they make decisions. If you don’t have data, give it your best educated guess. You deal with them every day. They pay your salary. You know more about them than you know.
Map that out on a step-by-step journey to figure out where the audience’s pain points are.
For instance, is your audience not getting enough information? Are they struggling with too much information? How valuable is the information they are receiving? Where should you insert yourself, as the brand/product/solution/etc. and what medium makes sense?
Sometimes you’ll find digital isn’t the answer. Sometimes sales is the answer. Sometimes product labeling is the answer. The point is to not assume the answer is technology.
IT strategists, like many consultants, see themselves as hammers and the world as a bunch of nails. That’s great. Technology is great. However, remember that the phone is technology too. In fact, that piece of technology has been pushed to the point of abuse so many times that the federal government had to make a friggin’ block list!
You avoid abusing technology as a solution by not just looking at the transformation project as digital but as an audience transformation project! You get the smartest people from around the organization and you talk through the journey.
If digital makes sense, fabulous! If it doesn’t – figure out what you really need. The point is don’t be goaded into a project that seems to good to be true. Vet the opportunity and the advice you get as an executive.
Remember – the best solutions are the ones that seem small in the beginning but make a huge difference in the experience of the customer.
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