The so-called “digital transformation” went from a nice-to-have to a full-on imperative seemingly overnight. Businesses that had been incorporating more digital-first strategies were forced to adapt quickly in the face of the pandemic, radically altering not only how their organizations functioned, but the products and services they offered their customers, and how they supported those offerings.
This imperative meant big business, too. It’s estimated that global investment in digital transformation topped $1.5T in 2021 alone. And it’s not done yet. As per Statista, these same estimates say that this global investment could nearly double by 2025.
This is because digital transformation is not a one-and-done strategy, it’s an iterative process that impacts both internal functions and customer-facing infrastructure. For brands prioritizing digital transformation, smart investment can mean stronger organizations, better customer experience and an increased focus on important initiatives like sustainability.
What digital initiatives mean for customer experience
The eCommerce revolution has been in the making for decades. However, even just 10 years ago, online sales only accounted for about 6 percent of all retail purchases according to the US Census. The pandemic drastically accelerated these numbers, with the share of sales to eCommerce surpassing 16 percent in the US, with an even larger proportion globally. And the genie is out of the bottle; it has been reported in Forbes that estimates show by 2026 that percentage could reach 26 percent globally.
In this new digital-first retail environment, priorities are shifting. First and foremost, business models are changing to maximize profits for organizations. Rather than selling products via larger retailers, brands offering everything from cars to toothbrushes are taking a direct-to-consumer (D2C) approach. By selling directly via their website - or through a host of social channels they control - brands can cut out the middleman and earn far better margins on their sales. It’s no surprise that D2C sales increased by 16 percent between 2021 and 2022, according to Insider Intelligence.
Brands entering the D2C space are now being put in direct competition with giant global brands that have invested heavily in digital services and infrastructure for years. They say a rising tide lifts all boats; however, this increased competition means businesses, both big and small need to embrace the digital transformation of their customer experience.
What this means is creating a frictionless experience across all channels, from the moment a customer first encounters a brand, through the purchase process, and beyond.
During the pre-purchase phase, brands need to smartly and ethically use all of the data at their disposal to provide a personalized experience for their customers. The purchase phase needs to seamlessly connect all social and commerce channels. Having said that, an area that digital transformation has really impacted customer experience has been in post-sales support.
Through the evolution in machine learning and artificial intelligence, brands can provide customers real-time answers to their product and order queries without expanding support staff. By deploying cutting-edge chatbots and automated support systems - bolstered by back-end data management platforms - customers can get the answers they need to resolve any issues far faster than waiting on hold for a customer service representative.
Bolstering a digital-first global corporate structure
The pandemic not only disrupted how we shop, but also how we work. For many organizations, even if the digital transformation wasn’t a priority, it became a necessity to keep providing services and support to clients through uncertain times.
Those early days of figuring it out have evolved into a wholesale reevaluation of how organizations are structured, and this shift has been strengthened by emerging digital tools.
The emergence of better cloud storage, collaborative work tools, and enhanced communication platforms has made it so organizations are no longer limited in the talent pools they can draw from. Top talent can work remotely for companies anywhere in the world, all connected by a new generation of digital tools that enable never-before-seen connectivity.
By promoting remote work, organizations are also able to spearhead sustainability initiatives that are becoming increasingly important in the modern corporate environment. Reducing commuting for workers by creating stronger digital workflows can have a reverberative effect on green initiatives.
Modernize networks with a hyperconnected ecosystem
In the current business landscape, organizations find themselves immersed in a vast and intricate web of suppliers, customers, and partners. To truly embrace digital transformation, it becomes imperative to establish a hyperconnected ecosystem that encompasses this entire network.
A hyperconnected ecosystem goes beyond mere connectivity; it ensures seamless collaboration and is infused with intelligence, enabling organizations to thrive anytime, anywhere. By embracing hyperconnected ecosystems, enterprises can transform their workforce, supplier and customer experience management systems, and associated platforms. This transformation empowers enterprises to harness the full range of benefits offered by digitalization.
With hyperconnected ecosystems, enterprises can transcend geographical boundaries, operating seamlessly across continents and countries. It facilitates enhanced performance; meeting customer demands for improved services characterized by lower latency and heightened security. Additionally, it fortifies supply chains and ensures network availability, providing a robust shield against potential vulnerabilities.
It’s never too late to start investing in digital transformation
The concept of digital transformation isn’t a pie in the sky goal anymore. Whether organizations have already taken these steps or are merely in the initial phases of planning them, the number of resources at their disposal is growing every day, and the job is never fully done.
When taken seriously, a digital-first approach can dramatically impact customer experience and completely reinvent corporate structures, all while enabling organizations to take on larger initiatives like sustainability.
Fortunately, we’re also at a moment in time where communications and technology companies, as well as ISPs, can reliably foster these growing digital ecosystems through better connectivity on a global scale.
