Digital Marketing

Why Digital Transformation is Important for Modern Businesses LoyicaBlog

How a business presents itself to the consumer market changes from time to time. What used to work before may no longer work

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Author
Loyica Team
Feb 20 2020
Why Digital Transformation is Important for Modern Businesses

How a business presents itself to the consumer market changes from time to time. What used to work before may no longer work nowadays. Customers are prone to changes since economies, technological environments, or even personal values also change. All of these are crucial to the success of a business’s marketing campaign. If companies fail to acknowledge these changes, their marketing campaigns may lose their effectiveness – costing companies for nothing.

The world of business is fiercely competitive and extremely unpredictable. Even with the millions of dollars spent on forecasting risks and mitigating their impact, some companies’ resources still dry up which forces them to go bankrupt. Others are fairly lucky. Some success stories seem impossible to be true, but they are. When one company goes up, others go down. No hard feelings. All of these are not considered uncommon in business. 

But this begs the question: what did those successful companies do to make them what they are? How did they grow (slowly or exponentially) over a period of time? Are there some secret hacks that small-time entrepreneurs should know so they can share in this success? What is digital transformation and why is it important for modern businesses?

What is Digital Transformation?

Digital transformation is the planning and implementation of improving or integrating existing technology to businesses to improve processes for efficiency. It recognizes that the changes in technology have caused the rise and downfall of several companies. If a company refuses to acknowledge the importance of digital transformation, it can lead to its lack of relevance in the modern market. Digital transformations around companies have changed and disrupted industries. And a difference in output caused by technology can mean millions in profit or loss.

What are Modern Businesses?

Modern businesses are characterized by their use of technology to improve their operations and profitability. For most modern businesses, efficiency is key. Without efficiency, costs could skyrocket.  This could hurt their prospects of gaining profit and achieving growth. 

Modern businesses are also not just concerned with using technology, it also has to consider using the best technology. As the needs of modern businesses evolve, tech companies evolve too. Hundreds of tech companies come and go, offering software or systems or platforms to address the needs of businesses. Some of them are great at what they are doing. Others just fail.

There are more things modern businesses have to factor in when making business decisions. They have to consider their customers’ needs as well. Because the business environment has continuously evolved over time, it is expected that customers’ needs and preferences will. These days, customers are all about speed and quality of service. Fail to do that and you may lose that customer forever.

These highlights the reason why it is imperative for businesses to be careful in choosing the best technology and shaping the best work practice. Because in the age of technology where everyone is almost interconnected, word spreads like wildfire. And a bad reputation could cost you your business.

Why is Digital Transformation Important for Businesses?

There are risks that businesses are challenged to address and these risks can be mitigated by developing a strategy that employs technology. More than this, the tech they are adopting should also be scalable and can be adjusted to adapt to changing business practices. And ultimately, companies should also be sufficiently equipped with the knowledge of using the tools provided by technology so they can get the results they need.

Digital transformation is becoming more and more useful in modern businesses. With the disruption brought about by technology and with the shifts and changes in the market forces, industry practices are also changing. The costs associated with operating businesses are not getting cheaper and sales, marketing, and HR teams are faced with a growing workload. Technology will not only allow them to automate their tasks to reduce their workload, but it is also proven to help the company save unnecessary costs and increase work efficiency.

In the end, businesses that fail to adapt to changing work practices and take advantage of digital transformation are at higher risks of failing. So be sure to get your business ready to adapt to technology.

What Does Digital Transformation Look Like?

Digital transformation can take in many forms––it can include the acquisition of equipment and infrastructure for technology, it can take in the form of software installation, or even small things like business processes (as in interacting with your customers, processing orders, etc) shaped by technology.

Here are a few examples:

  1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) - SEO is defined by a series of tasks conducted so your web page will appear first in search engines. This is done by understanding the algorithms, qualifications, and activities involved in search engines that decide whether or not a web page should rank higher over the others.

  2. Social media marketing - social media marketing highlights the importance of engagement. Most social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram measure engagements – a reaction or interaction often measured by likes, comments, follows, or subscriptions. All of these are linked back to how much you are driving traffic or awareness to your brand. Brand awareness can result in lead generation and sales conversion.

  3. Marketing automation - marketing automation uses software technology to power campaigns and automation increases the efficiency of these campaigns. Automation happens when the software uses tools to automatically gather and analyze data like consumer info and engagement. You can also schedule posts and messages to target audiences so you won’t have to manually do it every time.

  4. Email marketing - email marketing is as simple as sending a curated email with the goal of having the recipient open the email and buy something from you. Just make sure your recipient “opts-in,” meaning, they have to know what kind of emails they are getting from you and they can unsubscribe from your email program anytime they want.

Conclusion

Digital transformation is indisputably an important aspect when doing business these days. Industries are so shaped by technology that it is becoming imperative for key players to transform too, or else they will be left out. When a business grows irrelevant, it is highly likely to be left behind in the competition. This will not only damage the brand but will also stagnate its growth and hurt its prospect of dominating or at least scaling up amidst the competition.

There are several companies that are testaments to this claim. GoPro and Nike, for example, extensively studied their target market and adjusted the way they interacted with them. They also use tools designed to collect and gather data from their customers––from opening their emails in select subjects, purchase behaviors, or even personal preferences. These are data useful in crafting a strategic marketing plan that allowed these companies to break barriers and leave everyone behind. That is indeed the power of technology and why it is extremely important for modern businesses to digitally transform.

Companies like Uber, BuzzFeed, Starbucks, The Verge, and Adobe have also been doing these for years and they have been successful at it. Digital transformation is a relatively new concept in the business world. A lot of businesses are still learning how to set themselves apart from their competition across digital platforms. This is why it is important for you to know what digital transformation is and acknowledge its importance. Craft a successful digital transformation plan for your business now.

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