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Digital Transformation is what I need … but … where do I start?

Digital Transformation is what I need … but … where do I start?

The most common thing I hear is “I’m tired with my existing technology solutions, they no longer deliver the tools I need to grow my business, but I don’t know where to start in changing things”? Well, if this is you, firstly you’re not alone. Lot’s of businesses find “change” never mind “digital transformational change” challenging at best, & petrifying at worst.

Getting the right Support & Advice

The best businesses, & the right solutions providers, will support you in helping you “join up the dots”. What I mean by that is that there’s no point in investing in technology if it doesn’t support:
  • Your Vision & ambitions for your Business.
  • Delivery of your Strategic Goals & Key Performance Indicator Metrics (KPII’s).
  • Your desired Culture, Customer & People Experience.
  • Helping you make your business more efficient.
so technology alone is not the answer. Whatever you choose as your “go forward solution” needs to align to, support, & drive each of the above, otherwise “why do it”!.

“Helping you through the treacle”

The day’s of going to one supplier for every single element of your technology stack & solutions, is rapidly coming to an end. Nowadays, there is significant choice out there, & what might be the right solution, for one part of your business, may not be the best solution for another part of your business. So, against this background, designing your “technology eco system” to best suit your business needs & ambitions has moved from a ‘nice to have” to a “business necessity”. The “winners in the market” are increasingly identifying a range of complimentary technology components which:
  1. Are relevant to each segment of their business.
  2. Are a blend of “best in class” modular components.
  3. Simplify & enhance their customer experience.
  4. Pull together Sales, Marketing, & Customer Service.
  5. Integrate their front & back office technologies.
  6. Elevate both their use of Data, & Data insight & intelligence to a new level

Winning through Digital Transformation

We are fortunate enough to work with, & across, the Distribution landscape, from Brokers, to Schemes Specialists, to MGA’s, to Insurers, to Software houses, to Data Enrichment providers, so we have a unique view of the market, & what the best performing businesses are doing both right, & differently. Those that are “ahead of the curve” in their Digital adoption, are consistently:
  1. Delivering Faster targeted growth.
  2. Achieving new “previously unheard of” Cross & Upsales ratio’s (average number of products/services per customer.
  3. Delivering stronger Customer & People advocacy scores.
  4. Building a culture of continuous improvement.
  5. Enhancing their bottom line profit at a different trajectory.
Whilst for some, change can be daunting, done in the right way, it can transform your business to the next levels. If this is you, & you require support or guidance in how you might go about this in your business, were here to help. Author Derek Findlayson
The Digital Dilemma: “Twist or Stick” … “the winners are increasingly twisting!!”

The Digital Dilemma: “Twist or Stick” … “the winners are increasingly twisting!!”

When it comes to Digitalising your business we are often asked 3 “Key” questions:

  1. “Where do I start?”
  2. “How do I navigate my way through this myriad of change?
  3. “Is the pain worth the gain?”

“Where do I start?”

The businesses that start with a mindset of seeing data as an asset invariably accelerate their Digital progression faster & deliver stronger results.

Woman sketching a business plan on a placard at a creative office

It’s common sense really, structuring your data in a meaningful way is a “cornerstone” to any digital strategy. In fact I’d go further it’s a key component of what sets customer focused businesses apart from the rest. Get it right & you lay the foundations for using your data & business intelligence insight smartly with both your current & prospective customers. Skip this step & you’re setting your self up for failure & disappointment.

“How do I navigate my way through this myriad of change?

If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, but the transition really isn’t as difficult as you image, particularly if your a business that has Customer & Staff advocacy at the heart go your business values.

Our role is to help you set out a clear path so that the change is:

  • Built on strong foundations
  • Manageable
  • Controlled & phased
  • Focused on the priorities
  • Embedded into your business

For some business starting this journey is intimidating, but typically once you have a clear framework around how you are going to go about this, it becomes:

  • Exciting
  • Cultural
  • Progressive
  • Energising

Is the pain worth the gain?”

For those that get it right, unquestionably “yes”. Whilst digitalising your business is “not for the faint hearted”, the benefits once you’ve started on that journey far outweigh the costs involved (time, energy, & financial).

Shot of a group of businesspeople arranging sticky notes on a glass wall in a modern office

Businesses that have a clear Digital Strategy & transformation plan in place:

  • Tend to attract higher acquisition multiples
  • Attract in investments
  • Think about how they can use & access their Data as a real asset
  • Focus more on how they can enhance their customer journey
  • Attract in Talent
  • Attract Customers
  • Typically enhance their customer loyalty
  • Are best placed to use predictive analytics to win
  • Gear themselves up to improve their efficiency
  • Customer experience driven businesses tend to see better returns on investments & outperform others across a whole variety of Customer metrics including higher average order value, & improved acquisition & retention.
  • A growing % of customers (particualrly in the 18 to 34 age bracket) are prepared to share their data in return for personalised experiences.
  • Members of loyalty programmes generate up to 18% more revenue than non members.
  • Customers who have high quality experiences are 2.7 times more likely to keep buying from a brand than customers who have low quality experiences.
  • Customers who have better historical experiences with transactional brands spend 140% more compared to customers who had bad past experiences.

Customer expectations continue to evolve & being able to access information & engage through their preferred “medium” is central to winning in an increasingly “Digitalised world”.

Author Derek Findlayson

A common dilemma or misconception – Do I Invest in Digital or do I Invest in People?

A common dilemma or misconception – Do I Invest in Digital or do I Invest in People?

I’m often asked what is the right strategy for my business? Invest in digital or invest in people.

My response is simple, you’ve got to invest in both, but in a complimentary way.

In my experience, those businesses that are thriving in the rapidly evolving digital world blend the speed, ease of access, convenience & efficiency of digital services with the authenticity, experience, & expertise of talented empowered people. It’s about getting the mix & balance right.

If I think about how my children, who have grown up in an increasingly digitalised world, like to access products & services, they look for:

  • Ease of Access
  • The speed and convenience of digital services, particularly for straightforward administrative tasks,
  • Supported by ease of access to talented people when they are looking for specific advice & guidance.

A selection of staff in some of my clients gave an interesting alternative perspective on the “dilemma”. Whilst some saw the advent of digital as a potential threat to their futures, the majority, saw it as an opportunity to:

  • Strip out some of the inefficient, duplicated, & mundane processes they have historically had to  do day in day out.
  • Deliver a better, faster, & higher quality service to their clients
  • Focus their skills on the areas where they can really add the most value to their customers
  • Contribute positively to the culture that attracts high quality talent into the business.

As someone who is passionate about:

  • Talent development
  • Creating the culture to grow your people
  • Building an exceptional customer experience
  • Using Technology & Data as an intelligent Business enabler

it feels to me that those business that blend their digital & people strategies in a well thought through complimentary way are the most likely to:

  • Grow their businesses faster & more profitability than the rest
  • Create an environment that attracts in the best & most dynamic talent
  • Stimulate a continuous improvement culture that uses technology & people expertise in the right proportions & in the most effective areas
  • Deliver a dynamic & engaging customer experience

Author Derek Findlayson

 

 

 

What does it take to win & succeed in a rapidly changing Digital world?

What does it take to win & succeed in a rapidly changing Digital world?

Why is it some businesses see Technology as a real barrier to growth in their business & other’s see it as the platform to push forward at a different trajectory & win market share?

Well if there was an easy answer everyone would be doing it, but here’s a few pointers we see day in day out from working with some of the fastest growing & most successful business in the market:

What are some of the things the Winners do differently

  • Structure – Invest in shaping & structuring their Data in a way which enables them to use it proactively as a valuable asset.
  • Enrichment – Actively enrich their data with relevant 3rd party Data to elevate their insight to the next level.
  • Segmentation – Segment their Customer data to target & personalise any marketing, communication, or cross & upscales activity.
  • Alignment – Match their data to relevant stages of their Customer Journey
  • Analysis – Analyse & interrogate their data to identify relevant patterns & insight
  • Elevate – Use Machine Learning & artificial Intelligence at appropriate stages of the Customer journey to optimise their proposition & success
  • Intelligent & Relevant Cross & Up Sales – Use their Data Intelligently to cross & up sell relevant products & services to their clients at the most appropriate stage of the customer journey.

Getting the most out of your Technology, Data, Customer knowledge, & Insight is increasingly setting the Winners apart from the rest.

Talk to us if you are interested in knowing more about our approach to helping businesses enhance their use & understanding of Technology, MI, Data, & Customer Insight.

Author Derek Findlayson

Data & customer insight – a rapidly changing world

Data & customer insight – a rapidly changing world

I find it fascinating to see the different approaches adopted by businesses in managing & investing in their MI, data, & customer Insight.

At “one end of the spectrum”, we see businesses with historically a very “light touch’ approach to:

  1. The MI they measure.
  2. The Data they collect.
  3. The Customer Insight they gather & proactively use.

Whilst often still being solid businesses, they typically:

  1. Struggle to achieve the growth achieved by some of their competitors who use MI. data, & Customer insight to a greater extent
  2. Measure success in their business on a very limited & very narrow set of KPI’s which are mainly “backward looking”.

At the” other end of the spectrum”, we see businesses who continually invest in & enhance their approach to gathering & integrating their MI, Data, & Customer Insight.

These businesses:

  1. Have a huge appetite & thirst for Data, & Customer Intelligence.
  2. Continually look for ways in which they can use the data & insight they gather to enhance their customer proposition, journey, & experience.

When it comes to these “data hungry” businesses we find 3 common characteristics:

  1. Integrating all their Data – Wherever possible, they look for ways to Integrate all their data – Customer Journey, customer advocacy, business performance, CRM, Multi Channel Marketing activity & interaction e.g. social media, SEO, email, PPC, live chat
  2. “Dynamic Data” – Choosing & shaping the right Dashboard – They integrate all of their sources onto a  “real time” Dashboard that gives they dynamic data to proactively to drive success & improvement in their business
  3. Focusing on the right metrics – They measure a much wider range of relevant KPI’s that look both “forward” & “backward”

Through having an integrated approach to aggregating & using their data, these businesses typically:

  1. Outperform the competition in terms of Growth, Cross & Up Sales, & accelerating Customer Lifetime Value.
  2. Uncover more opportunities within both their existing Customer base & their Prospect pipeline.
  3. Create & capitalise on the ability to benchmark their business against the market.
  4. Quickly drive real value & time savings from having all of their data in one place in a format they can easily access & interrogate.

Talk to us if you are interested in knowing more about our approach to helping businesses enhance their use & understanding of MI, Data, & Customer Insight.

Author Derek Findlayson