Wakey, wakey, the world is changing! You may not necessarily like it, but the market landscape has shifted dramatically during the past years. Moreover, since the pandemic started, more and more people have started noticing the benefits of going fully digital.
It’s hard to reach much about business strategies and updating infrastructure without stumbling upon the term “digital transformation”. And, in all fairness, digital transformation stands at the heart of every business as we’re currently speaking. If it weren’t for it, many more small businesses would have gone bankrupt than we would’ve liked to imagine during the pandemic.
What is Digital Transformation?
Digital transformation refers to the process of building a digital alternative for an already-existing manual, physical, non-digital business.
Now you might think that your particular business has no way it can go digital. However, in most cases, you would be dead wrong. We can give you a few examples from business models that used to exist strictly in the offline space that have now gone digital without any hiccups.
Examples of Digital Transformation
Several fast-food restaurants have started relying on services such as FoodPanda, Uber Eats, and Bolt Food to deliver their dishes to their customer’s houses. But it’s not just restaurants that do this anymore, but grocery stores as well.
Walgreens, for example, has partnered with Postmates to deliver their fresh food, grocery items, and personal care products all over the US. Practically just about anything that can be bought from a store can easily be delivered to your customer’s doorstep without a necessarily hefty extra cost.
As for services that otherwise have to be performed on the spot, you’ll be happy to know that there are alternatives as well. For example, many gyms have now started to create video tutorial training programs for their customers. Another great way they have managed to stay afloat is by organizing online live streams with their users, similar to a group workout but from home.
Ways to Adapt Your Business For a Complete Digital Transformation
Before going digital, it is necessary to keep in mind a few helpful tips that will help you with the process itself. It’s important to keep a list of all these things and consult it whenever you feel the need to refresh your memory and make a complete digital business plan.
Shift Your Focus From the Product onto the Customer
When going digital, the user experience (UX for short) is of utmost importance. OK, that doesn’t mean that your product should be neglected, but it does mean that creating a great experience for your clients is a must above all else.
People are just as emotional as they are rational. It’s not just about offering them a good price for a quality product. You have to take care of their journey whilst getting to said product. Make the website user-friendly; everything should be accessible through three clicks or three taps of the touchscreen.
It goes without saying that the experience should be simple and intuitive. Even a grandmother should be able to find and purchase what she’s looking for. Yes, making crafting an experience on that seamlessness level is a must.
Implement Chatbots and Artificial Intelligence
No matter how hard you work to make everything perfect, there’s always one customer that stumbles into a problem. Or simply put they might need help with a decision regarding your services.
In any case, offering fantastic customer service is highly beneficial. One step you can take in doing so is through the implementation of chatbots. These little AI-powered tools help customers solve basic problems within a tiny chat window. And for major problems or more complex questions, they can redirect the customer to the client support team.
The implementation of smart chatbots comes with two main benefits. First, it gives the customer access to a reliable support method 24/7, free of charge, and basically instantaneous. The other benefit is that your support team will no longer have to work on solving menial tasks, only on those that do require a more specific human touch.
Think About How You Can Offer Your Services Online-Only
As we gave you examples earlier, some gyms are now offering video training lessons or even online live training sessions. Stores now allow customers to shop online and have their items delivered to their doorstep.
With a little creativity, you might be able to find a method to make turn your business fully digital without sacrificing much of the original experience. Take for example some online solutions for land-based casinos that have managed to get people hooked up solely on the internet regardless of the fact that bettors used to prefer going to brick and mortar casinos. And it’s not the only type of business that has managed to thrive during the pandemic by far.
The Bottom Line
There are very few trades we can think of that can’t be performed online, such as cutting people’s hair, construction work, etc.
However, you can still adapt based on the examples mentioned above. Maybe you can create some barbering tutorials and sell them on your website. But we’re just getting off-track now. You get the picture; with a little inspiration and by following the above-mentioned advices, you too can enjoy a fully digital transformation of your business.
Thanks for this useful Post