Saartjie Wait, Marketing and Digital Experience Director at Westcon-Comstor, explains what he thinks is the most important part of a Digital Transformation strategy.
Despite all the technology innovation taking place, business is fundamentally a people-driven endeavour. Whether it is employees, partners or customers, an effective Digital Transformation strategy must never neglect the human element. It is, therefore, the digital customer experience that combines the best technology practices with a focus on the individuals themselves that will be the critical building blocks for companies as they are forced to adapt and do business differently.
In the pre-lockdown days, much of the personal touch centred on face-to-face interactions. Salespeople meeting leads for lunch or over coffee. Account managers keeping regular phone tabs with their key clients, and the like. But with distributed working now a reality, organisations must rethink how they approach these ‘old school’ engagements using digital means. Helping in this regard is the immense volume of data available that can augment the decision-making process with sophisticated digital tools. Today, every transaction and engagement create invaluable data points that can be used to garner insights into buying behaviour, bespoke customer requirements and trends that could shape organisational strategy.
Yet, digital-first does not mean to the exclusion of everything else. It merely helps guide the organisation to prioritise the opportunities created by digital technologies to deliver quality experiences and positive business outcomes for vendors, partners and employees. It uses the innovation available to the company, bolts on much improved data analysis and results in solutions that are better geared for the rapidly-changing environment that will await organisations in 2021.
Now, more than ever, the personal touch helps bring with it a much-needed simplicity in the service offering. Yes, it is influenced by data-driven insights, but it is about gaining a better understanding of specific customer needs. This is happening at a time where any bit of competitive advantage can significantly foster organisational growth.
As the name suggests, Digital Transformation will bring a renewed focus on a more enhanced way of managing processes. And if the organisation keeps end-users at the forefront of their thoughts, it will introduce a much-needed people-centred component to an otherwise technology-driven environment. Companies, regardless of size or industry sector, can benefit from this as they transform into more agile enterprises. Given how customer expectations have shifted to a digital channel, this repositioning becomes imperative to retain relevance in a rapidly evolving marketplace.