Digital transformation comes at a price: the cost of new technologies, the risk of embracing these; and the disagreements you face with those who say “but we’ve always done things this way”.

So, unless you’re ready to roll up your sleeves, work hard and install confidence throughout the chain of command, your digital strategy will lose momentum. 

And success in digital doesn’t require you to necessarily have a multi-million-pound budget at your disposal either; reviewing and re-establishing the following areas should give you a pretty healthy start.

KPIs and data

Nowadays, board members seek clarity on how a business can measure customer habits across new technologies. For example, the correlation and growth opportunity between offline to online, and partner channel marketing vs the aspiration to win back margin through direct sales.

Making sure you have the resource in place to regularly analyse and monitor your business’s Data Capture Architecture is critical.

“Walking in the customer’s shoes is one thing, keeping them on the right path at every juncture builds up confidence and satisfaction”

With an ever-increasing number of new-world marketers entering your business, unless you’re able to measure indicators of success (ROI to most), it will result in frustrations and inevitable delays.

Get thinking about how to fully utilise the realms of personal data to deliver well-targeted campaigns.

Personalisation through advanced analytics and artificial intelligence is very real, and if you haven’t already got a SWOT analysis in play then I strongly advise you do.

It’s much better to know your customer, rather than to think you know your customer.

Customer experience, design and journey

Often there’s a lack of appreciation behind what is required to deliver a consistently modern and inspirational online destination for any business or service – one that strikes a balance across all customer devices, is functionally fit for agile development and is aimed at giving the customer what they want, when they want it, wherever they may be.

This takes knowledge, experience and understanding. 

Walking in the customer’s shoes is one thing, but keeping them on the right path at every juncture builds up confidence and satisfaction.

Structure, support for change, teambuilding

Another major challenge is legacy company structures.

There’s a fine line of responsibility between a traditional marketing lead and a digital lead, and when an IT lead isn’t being consulted on new technologies, this can cause disruption. 

HR is left scratching their heads. By the time this eventually finds its way to the boardroom, 50% are in favour of change and the others believe it’s not necessary “at this time”.

Welcome to digital deadlock.

A business needs alignment at a board/senior level that digital-first is a strategic priority. There is absolutely no point putting a digital lead in place, be it temporary or permanent or reporting to the chief executive, unless everyone is singing from the same sheet.

“If you want to swiftly identify the digital naysayers, ask yourself: can digital transformation succeed through self-fulfilled glory hunters or by survival of the fittest?”

If you want to swiftly identify the digital naysayers, ask yourself: Can digital transformation succeed through self-fulfilled glory hunters or by survival of the fittest?

One area that cannot be overlooked is regular teambuilding sessions – a great way to manage expectations, take questions and explore ideas outside of those directly responsible.

For some businesses this presents a challenge to be in the same place, at the same time on a regular basis. So, why not invest in a simple internal facing mechanism for such purpose? Intranet plugins, web forums and even simple online surveys are readily available.

At a time when many industries are facing criticisms for lack of digital innovation, more than ever business leaders seek certainty for where big investment focus should be next.

As digital transformation continues to evolve, there’s room for all businesses ready to embrace change – undoubtedly this topic is not going anywhere, anytime soon.