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How Digital Transformation is Driving Business Growth

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Digital transformation is a concept that is making a significant impact these days in a lot of different niches. If you’ve never heard of it before, it refers to solving problems with fast, frequently-changing digital technology. It particularly applies to digitizing formerly manual or non-digital processes so that they’re more convenient.

There are many examples of this, such as cloud computing. When you’re talking about digital transformation, what you’re dealing with is a radical rethinking of how technology can work.

Let’s look at digital transformation a little closer and examine business growth in the context of this emerging idea.

Digital Transformation Services

There are some niches that still rely on old-fashioned concepts and business models. Some of these areas might include:

  • Real estate
  • The medical industry
  • Various retail enterprises
  • The hospitality industry
  • Supply companies

Any of these can function more efficiently by hiring a company that provides digital transformation services. Let’s say that you have a business that makes office furniture.

The company’s owner might be a little old-fashioned. She prefers to contact clients through a manual rolodex.

Digitizing her contacts will ensure that she never loses client information, because now, all those names, phone numbers, email addresses, etc. will be safe in the cloud. Not only that, but the cloud can keep track of prior orders. Digital transformation can result in detailed client profiles through analytics.

Why Client Profiles Matter

employees

Taking this thought a step further, once a company has gone digital with its record-keeping, it can figure out a customer loyalty business model. For instance, maybe that same furniture company knows, from market study, that most companies replace their existing furniture every 2-3 years. Once that time elapses, they might:

  • Send out emails to companies that bought from them before, to see if they want to place another order
  • Send a digital newsletter to those companies which mention a sale or discount
  • Mention a loyalty program with perks if they refer another client  

Without digital transformation, the furniture company wouldn’t be able to accomplish these same feats online. They’d be stuck making phone calls and sending fliers through the mail, which is increasingly outdated methodology.

Smart Applications

Other examples of digital transformation would be smart apps where business entities can meet up in the digital world, rather than doing so physically. In the Covid-19 era, this sort of thing has become more critical than ever.

Apps like Zoom exist, meaning that different teams can congregate at a set time without endangering their health by meeting in-person. They can also strategize with clients to discuss ongoing projects digitally.

The continuation of these business models seems likely even after the pandemic is over. Many companies are finding out that they no longer need physical office spaces, which means less money for leases. The business owner can then repurpose that money for things like employee bonuses, more diverse marketing, or whatever else would benefit the company.   

Proprietary Platforms

Digital Transformation 2020

Another example of digital transformation in action is proprietary hubs or platforms. The term proprietary in this context means a platform or hub that a company creates exclusively so their employees can use it.

In other words, rather than using a service like Zoom or Skype, a company can hire devs to create a digital workspace that only their employees can use. Again, this is how a business goes from an outdated construct to a modern one.

Proprietary platforms can be expensive, but they’re worth it once companies see how efficient they are. These digital meeting places allow workers to meet whenever they like, message each other, or provide feedback on various aspects of projects in progress.

They are also more secure than old-fashioned ways of conducting business. Employees are the only ones who can use a proprietary system. Clients or customers will feel safe giving companies their credit card or bank account information because they know that digitized technology is the most secure option.

Digitization is something that is happening in virtually all businesses and niches, and it is the rare company trying to buck this trend. Going digital with as much of your company as possible has no real drawbacks since it perfectly combines security with convenience.

The one catch is that it does cost money to go from a non-digital system to a digital one. However, if you own a business and this is what’s deterring you, keep in mind that the financial outlay is usually a one-time deal, and the tech will pay you back many times over.