Digital Transformation Solved in 7 Simple Steps

Digital Transformation turns your small business processes from paper and pen transactions into electronic digital input from a phone, tablet or computer.  Once completed, your business becomes flexible, agile, and scalable.

A successful transformation includes the implementation of technology solutions to create a better customer experience.

What is Digital Transformation?

Your end-to-end business processes become completely digitalized.  In a perfect world, your customer’s engagement becomes a seamless transaction to the business.   From the start of the transaction to the end, all information is collected in a digital world.

In a perfect scenario, employee assistance to the transaction is minimal.  This will bring flexibility, agility, and scalability to your business.  Digital Transformation is the future for small businesses to stay competitive.

Definition of Digital Transformation – the adoption of digital technology by an organization.

Seven Steps to Digital Transformation

The following steps will help your business create a digital transformation strategy.

 

Step 1 – Understand Current Processes

Map out your customer buying experience.  How does this process flow?  What steps and processes need to happen in order to record and execute the transaction.

Once you’ve mapped out your small business processes, consider key reports for your business.  Do these reports focus on revenue, customer satisfaction, or time to delivery.

Step 2 – Create an Evaluation Team

Steps 1 and 2 can be swapped around.  You may leverage your team to help document the current processes.  Or task the evaluation team to review the processes you’ve documented.

Even with a small business, your evaluation team needs to include more than yourself.  Include one (1) to two (2) more members of your team in the evaluation process.  Multiple minds exponentially provide more creative ideas.

Step 3 – Know Your Requirements

Once all processes are laid out and documented.  Build a requirements document for what a digital transformation solution must have.  Keep in mind no solution is a one size fit all.  Meaning, not all features and functionality will exist.

However, before a solution is identified make a list of all the business requirements.  What do you really need to improve your business?  This will help not only in the selection process but also during the implementation phase.

Step 4 – Select a Platform or Solution

Once you know your business processes and requirements, select a technology solution or platform accordingly.  This process may take time.  You might want to interview multiple vendors.  Gather ideas and watch demonstrations.

A couple platform ideas include:

• Microsoft 365 Business Premium offers a platform for collaboration, communication, and business automation.  Learn more about the Microsoft 365 solution here.
• QuickBooks Online offers advanced automation and on-demand features and functionality.

Many more platforms exist and provide ways for businesses to scale effectively and efficiently.

Step 5 – Implement

Your implementation will make or break a great solution.  In all of my experience, there is no solution that just magically comes in and makes everything work with a twinkle of the eye.  The key is to understand the result you want in the end.

Really make sure your consultant understands your business and the industry.  Refer back to your requirements to make sure business needs are met.

Also, look for ways to improve upon your current documented processes.  Once technology becomes part of the equation, there may be a simpler easier way to do something.

Step 6 – Train and Communicate

During the implementation phase and before your go live date, invest in training and communicating how this new platform will work in your business.  Sell the benefits for the employee and the customer.

Keep in mind as your company grows different departments need to be able to work together.  Make sure everyone understands their role and the importance of collaboration and communication.

Step 7 – Measure Results

The bottom-line measure results.  In the beginning of this process, you determined key metrics for your business.  Now measure those metrics to verify and validate the new solution works for your business.

If the results fall short of your expectations, analyze changes necessary to obtain the results desired.

Also, make sure key checks and balances are in place for your process.  One of the downsides to automation and digitalization, tasks happen automatically.  In the event of an error, this may cause a transaction or process to go bad.

Put checks in place to verify and validate results.

Benefits of Digital Transformation

In the end, when implemented correctly, the benefits out way the risks of a digital business transformation.  To expound on the benefits, consider the following:

• Roadmap – understand how your current processes will be improved upon with technology.
• Competitive Advantage – create innovative ideas that set your business apart from the competition.
• Reduce Mistakes – removing the potential for humans to type in the wrong information can be a huge benefit.
• Customer Value – if the customer receives their product or service quicker faster and just the way they like it every time.  This becomes a huge win for the customer experience.
• Employee Productivity – if the customer transaction is automated from point of sale through the business process, this will reduce employee time which reduces your overall cost.