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The change that is sweeping across industries is digital transformation, and it has influenced all the sectors of the global economy. The physical transformation of work and procedures is a much simpler process. In that, the process involved is drawing charts, diagrams works flows and transforming the old procedures into the new one.
When it comes to digital transformation, the customer is the key. In this process, it’s the chemical transformation of the organizations that has turned out to be more important. There has to be a change in the entire mindset of the company’s human resources, and it should evolve into a purely customer-centric organization. The ideas, processes, services, and the products should always improve keeping in mind how relevant they are to the end user or the customer.
In this transformation process, as the commercial ecosystem is gradually becoming more customer-centric, the companies realize that it is the end of the commanding control type of leadership. Instead, they are changing their mental models, and there is an entire change of the leadership styles as well, and organizations are evolving with more flat structures.
The organization culture has to go through a radical change, and the culture should be such that there is an environment of co-creation with the customer. The customer experience models have also changed. It is no more about being present in the diverse channels of communications. It is more so about co-creating with the customer and taking the feedback and suggestions from customers and operating in an environment where the customers’ opinion is of paramount importance.
Today, the business environment has evolved to become more socialized. In such an ecosystem the customer not only dictates through his or her choices alone but also takes an active part in the decision-making process either directly or indirectly. If such a process has to be created the whole organization has to be streamlined so that every piece of information and data is used for the benefit of the customer.
This is what we call the culture of co-creation along with the customer by keeping the customer at the center. The point is when an organization moves towards a culture of co-creation keeping the customer at the core it can be said; it is heading towards the right path of digital transformation. This calls for ample experimentation throughout the organization which can equip it to become more competitive in the global digital market eco-space.
The digital revolution has enabled companies to unearth not only what the customers want but what the customers need more ardently. The companies are going one step ahead and digging deep into this phenomenon of what the customers need and are trying to cater it. This requires the companies to be more customer-centric and agile to act and react in a faster way.
If this has to happen there has to be a total digital transformation in the strict sense of the term. In this context let’s see how a systematic digital transformation can take place that can accelerate customer experience from all angles and make a company more competitive.
An approach to a Customer-centric digital transformation
Set up core teams: Agility is one of the core principles of digital transformation. The system should be such that information is processed quickly and the decisions are taken in a faster manner. For this to happen, build smaller teams that would lead the change process. This team would benchmark processes, consult with department leaders, and chalk out new practices and procedures involving the staff and the stakeholders.
The central team of digital transformation should be small and agile, and such a team should be formulated with experts from IT, functional specialists, and the leadership team as well. This team, in turn, can lead to a further formulation of smaller teams who would formulate and initiate changes in their departments.
Engage consumer behaviorists
If customer experience is the key, it is more about bridging the gap between what the customer wants and what the customer needs. For this a detailed analysis of the customers’ habit patterns, needs, wants, and other variables have to be studied and analyzed.
This can be done through data, analytics, and the right approach would be to engage consumer behaviorists and cognitive scientists. Deeper insights have to be applied to how the customers use the product or the services in their day to day lives and what impact it has on them. How can the impact be changed to make it better?
Such questions have to be answered to deliver a package that is going to enrich the customer experience. The bottom line is, the richer the information and data about customer experience; the better would be the competitive advantage a business would have.
For successful digital transformation, the core business activity of making decisions has to be driven by data. As data has to be refined to get the right insights, different types of analytics such as Predictive analytics, Competition analytics, Customer analytics or Conversion analytics come into play. Also, analytics has a vital role because both the amount and variety of data being generated today is massive, and proactive decisions are only possible through analytical procedures such as forecasting, optimization, data mining, and pattern identification.
Implement agility in marketing
The agile principles should be adopted in the marketing approaches with the product launches having an element of incremental improvement which is evolutionary, capitalizing on launch and learn methods. The practices should be such that the organization-wide belief that interactions with customers and individuals are more important than processes and methodologies is accentuated.
The internal marketing operations should function in a way that enables them to act and react in a faster and more effective way to customers’ demands. Collaboration should be the key to leverage information and know the customer which should be imbibed in the processes and practices. Communication channels and technologies should be used methodically to ensure the customer gets the best of services at all touch points.
In whatever is done, a balance should be struck between technology, processes, and individuals in leveraging the marketing ecosystem for enhanced customer experience. The digital transformation process that a company undertakes and for it to be customer-centric and enhance customer experience, the participation of customers is important. As we already talked about co-creation, a platform and new practices should be established so that customers are empowered to do things on their own.
This makes a company co-create with the customers, and this is a great way and probably the best way to know the customers wants and needs. As digital transformation is a continuous process and what is more important is creating a roadmap towards enhanced customer centricity of the business enterprise enabling better customer experience through evolution and interaction.
