Most organizations are digitally outdated and admit it. Some people (thankfully the minority decline) say it doesn’t affect them. Some people think they have a digital advantage, even though they don’t. Few are actually in the seventh stage of continuous digital adoption, but you can benefit from doing more.
At what stage is your organization regarding digital embedding? Continue reading this article we put together to identify the phase of your business and the next steps.
Organizations at this stage will say “our organization has a face-to-face business model, therefore, digital transformation does not affect us. However, that misses the point. How do you create source new clients? How do you maintain relationships with existing ones? Are you at risk of losing market share or being overwhelmed by more digital competitors?
Unfortunately, such organizations have their head in the sand. They do little or nothing in the digital realm, as they strongly believe it will not affect them. Accenture CEO, Pierre NanterMe, quotes: “Digital has been the main reason a quarter of companies have disappeared since 2000. In both B2C and B2B, there is evidence that all sectors are digitized and are affected by businesses of all sizes.
Arriving at the next level
Leaders at this stage need to be first convinced of how digitization will affect them and what benefits it will bring before moving on to the next stage.
Organizations in this phase are already doing a lot digitally, but they are often fragmented and incomplete. They may have just jumped into the implementation without actually understanding or prioritizing what to do.
Most of the organizations are at this stage. They may think they’re doing everything they can do digitally, or at least everything that matters.
Digital-savvy leaders can rely on individuals, teams, or institutions that claim to be digitally covered, but in reality they have only experience and foresight in the field of digitalization. .. For example, you have a great website, but your SEO is inadequate, or you collect a lot of data, but you don’t make much use of it.
Arriving at the next level
Executives don’t have to be digital experts, but they need to have a good understanding of the spectrum of digital transformation and how numerous domains connect to understand that fragmentation can lead to inefficiencies and lost opportunities.
Organizations in this phase are already aware of the need to transform their digital operations into something more holistic and positive. This is the first step in resolving inactivity or stagnation. In other cases, this perception is only apparent within a particular department or role, not at the board or management level.
Older leaders are still in the early stages and they require convincing of the gaps and business cases. Only then they will be able to make essential changes to move your organization forward. This is not an easy task and can be time consuming. Relevant outside parties can work with internal advocates of digitization to make a difference.
When a company promises to change, it raises the question of “what” and “how.” In a Celonis survey, 42% of Csuite leaders say they don’t know where to start when developing a transformation strategy. Internal teams and roles may be able to achieve this, but defining and / or executing strategies often require additional expertise. And you don’t have to hire everything in-house or outsource everything. This is usually a balance between the two.
Arriving at the next level
Make sure leadership is aware of the digital gap and budget for change. If additional resources do not already exist, provide a clear description.
In this phase, you have at least the right resources to define a strategy for using the full range of digitization. You may already have the resources needed to carry out this strategy (internally or through an agency), but with additional expertise you are able to maintain a high level of digital maturity and effectiveness over the long term.
Arriving at the next level
Find out what you are doing now in all aspects of digitalization, and where the gaps and opportunities are to define a clear path.
In this phase, organizations fully evaluated the potential of digital and how they intend to use them. Not only do they follow a path distorted by a particular digital domain, but they also follow a path that maximizes digital technology to achieve the best results and ROI.
If you have a clear direction and the right resources, you can implement it.
The important thing is not only to define this strategy, but also to secure the necessary appetite and investment and market it to leadership.
Arriving at the next level
Supporting the business for the strategy and hiring the right teams and skills to carry it out.
At this stage, you have the right strategies and implementation resources to get the most out of your digitalization. You may have successfully transformed your business model, mastered the use of data, and created a compelling customer experience.
Today, even if you’re doing everything digitally and perfectly, it’s not the time to say that your digital transformation is “complete.” What you are doing today may not be correct in 6 months. Also, if you implement a strategy defined more than 6 months ago, how can you know that it still fits your purpose?
As digitization continues to grow, benchmarking what to do with a fixed set of digital measurements means there is a risk of confusion.
Arriving at the next level
Be agile enough to reassess your digital maturity and strategy at least quarterly and make changes accordingly.
Digital and consumer expectations for it are constantly rising. If you don’t act on it, your organization will not be able to maintain a high level of digital maturity. Level 7 organizations are set up to do this. This means that they continuously test in the market and monitor competitors and categories, as well as off-market.
How to maintain this stage:
Rewrite Digital’s futures program is specifically targeted at companies in this mature stage and is influenced by other sectors and global examples of the latest generation of digitalization.
The extent of organizational adjustments required for digitization requirements can vary significantly from company to company and can take some time. Nevertheless, in the age of the digital revolution, they are fundamentally important for maintaining and expanding their relevant position in the market.
