The coronavirus pandemic was a real game-changer for the UK’s retail sector, as many brick-and-mortar establishments closed their doors and ecommerce ventures continued to thrive.
In fact, Covid-19 accelerated the trend for online shopping, with ecommerce comprising as much as 31.3% of total retails sales in Q2 2020.
This only reflects one aspect of online business operations, however, with digitisation now a key concept for ventures in 2022. But why should your business go digital in the months ahead?
What is Digital Transformation and its Main Benefits?
The term digital transformation can mean different things to alternative businesses, but it’s important to start with a general understanding of this concept and how it’s likely to impact your business.
In layman’s terms, digital transformation (which may also be referred to as DT) means leveraging innovative technology to optimise business operations and drive growth in both new and existing markets.
To understand this in more concise detail, we’ll need to consider the primary benefits of digital transformation. The most obvious is that it provides more accurate, data-based insights, based on tangible and real-time metrics that are gathered during digital marketing efforts.
Similarly, digitisation can be used to transform the entire customer or user experience, with some 92% of leaders developing advanced DT strategies with this objective in mind.
Digital transformation may also help to drive greater levels of collaboration across different internal departments, creating a more holistic, unified and potentially cost-effective company approach.
In instances where employees and key stakeholders are aligned to a common purpose, you’ll usually find a more efficient business that operators smooth and seamless processes in sales, marketing and similar departments.
How to Drive Digital Transformation in Your Industry
Because DT can also lead to enhanced agility and innovation in your business, it’s little wonder that companies are looking to embrace digital transformation on a broad scale.
The various methods of implementation will also vary depending on the nature of your business and core objectives, but it’s highly recommended that you consult with industry experts before getting started.
This will enable you to identify the key areas in which digital transformation can be most effective, while allowing you to organise and prioritise your transition effectively.
You’ll also have to create a clearly defined budget when investing in digital transformation, which can require significant upfront costs.
Ultimately, you should strive to measure your spending against any projected returns that arise as a result of digital transformation, to ensure that you make the most of your capital and achieve your goals over time.
