Digital Transformation: The Path to Returning to Normal

Have you heard of Netflix? Well, that’s not really a question to be asked in this decade. Began their journey as a DVD rental company in 1997, Netflix started their online streaming services in 2007 and today is world's top online entertainment service with over 160 million subscribers in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and films. While Netflix came so far, many DVD companies still went with the old business model and disappeared without a trace. So, what Netflix did differently to overthrow its failure that might have been predicted by the standard management models? Because there was the necessity for survival in the middle of the growing market demands, Netflix identified the power that lied behind the data and analytics to come up with an exceptional recommendation engine, Cinematch that would predict the request for the DVDs by the subscribers based on their titles. Being the mother of invention, it is necessity that has been driving many enterprises around the world to rethink the way they had been doing business forever. And it is this necessity that is being addressed currently by the enterprises across the globe due to the rapid disruption caused by COVID-19. Taking its toll on restructuring the world economic order, the pandemic has pushed firms to position themselves on a better edge, adapting rapidly to the evolving client needs, at the same time cruising their economic and operational concerns.

How to manage the impact of COVID-19 on your business through digital transformation?

With many businesses struggling with the agile digital world, it’s a question of whether to go digital or to die out in the meantime. To navigate your business through the pandemic, you have to fundamentally embrace digital transformation that requires a re-alignment of three elements: Customer experience, Business Continuity Operations, and Sales Management- the cornerstones of a successful enterprise.

1. Digitalize client interactions

Porsche, the leading, most traditional and most profitable Sports Car manufacturer in the world, has brought in their digital transformation keeping their customer experience at the focal point, digitizing the interaction the clients can have with their cars. They launched “Car Connect”, an automated driving application that handles everything from navigation to broadcasting music. Thus, for any form of digital transformation, the initial focus should be a substantial part of your business: the clients and their experience. In the current scenario, organizations that have their company web-enabled are at an advantage. The others should realize the necessity to bring customer interactions more efficiently through virtual customer assistants (VCAs) or chatbots. With digital transformation being the only solution on how you deal with clients right now, shifting the customer interactions more rapidly with the help of digital technologies would bring you at the leading edge.

2. AI-enabled Business Continuity operations

Artificial Intelligence has the potential to bring forth improved proficiency and efficacy to your business processes. Ever heard of Betterment robo-advisors? They are online financial advisors that make use of AI to provide customized financial assistance in a simple, cost-effective manner. This economic revolution assures to unlock financial planning to the masses at critical times. Thus, a conversational hybrid workforce, which is a cluster of both digital and human employees, can work together to perform internal operations seamlessly, bringing in the line a fair degree of business continuity, reducing many business risks.

3. Digital Sales Automation

With the obsession with AI getting into the business world, the time has come to switch to digital sales automation proactively; a simple, efficient and cost-effective way of dealing with the sales. With more focus given to customer experience, the sales is getting more about sending personalized and targeted messages to your prospects and clients who want to know more about you. Since being in constant touch during this pandemic poses a continual threat, automating the sales pipeline is a viable way to augment your sales result as it saves your corporate time and money-both valuable at the time of COVID-19.

Placing the lot into perspective

I had once read that the employees of Apple, the leader of Innovation in the world operate on the three F's: Feel, Felt and Found. They use this to empathize with the customers to help them get their flawless technology solutions. This is exactly what any business around the world should focus. Feel the necessity, empathize with it to find the right solution that would transform your enterprise for the better. Each one of the industries, including your own, will face digital disruption. But the question is who will adapt more quickly and efficiently to define the rules of customer experience and business interactions in 2025 or 2050.