◉September14,2021
Ashocking70%ofalldigitaltransformationprojectsfail,accordingtodatagatheredbyMcKinsey.Why?Thesimpleanswer–changeofany kindisahugeundertaking,digitaltransformationevenmoresoandwithsomanymovingparts,it’seasyforthingstogoawryThereare someverycommonmistakescompaniesmakesuchasnothavingasolidstrategy,notincludingtheirentireteam,ortakingonthis transformationforthewrongreasons.Here’showyoucanavoidmakingsomeofthesemistakes.
NotFullyCommittingToTheChange
Oneofthegreatestsetbacksyoucanfaceisresistancetochange.Ifyourtransformationstrategyisevergoingtobesuccessful,allparties involvedneedtocommittoit.Fartoooftencompanieswillspendthousandsofdollarsoutfittingthebusinesswiththenecessarytechnology onlytofindthattheirteamrefusestoutilizethis.Ifthereareanymemberswhoareresistanttothechange,thisissomethingthatneedstobe addressedintheearlystagesofplanningortheentireinitiativecouldfail.
Beforeanynewtechnologyorprocessescanbeintroduced,allowyourteamthechancetosharetheiropinionsandraisetheirconcerns. Maybethey’rewillingtotrybutsimplydonotknow-how Thisisyouropportunitytoensurethattheyarewell-informedandeducatedonthese changesandthemotivationbehindthemtoensureamoreseamlesstransition.
ImproperPlanningAndTesting
Yourprojectisonlyasgoodasyourstrategy.Onceyou’veidentifiedwhatyourendgoalisandwhyyouwanttoachievethis,youneedto carefullymapouteachstepthatwillgetyouthere.Designthinkingplaysahugeroleinreducingyourchanceoffailure.Therehastobea clearpathforwardandcontingenciesinplaceforanypossibleoutcome.
Thetestingphaseofyourdesignthinkingprocessalsooffersyouthechancetogobacktothedrawingboardandironoutanyissuesyou haveratherthanlaunchingahalf-readysystem.Youneedtoacceptthatasyougoalong,newopportunitieswillariseandyouneedtobe adaptabletothem.Aninabilityto‘gowiththeflow’oradjusttomeetthenewdemandsofyourcustomerbasewillultimatelyleadtofailure.
Let’sfaceit–everybusinesswantstooutdotheircompetitionbutifthatisyoursolefocus,youwon’tgetveryfar Yourprimaryreasonfor implementingadigitaltransformationstrategyshouldn’tjustbetobeatacompetitor–itshouldbetogrowyourownbusinessbyproviding solutionstoyourcustomers’problems.Gettinganedgeoverothercompaniesisafringebenefittoasuccessfulstrategy.Beforeyou undertaketheinitiative,youandyourteamneedtoidentifyyourmajorobjectiveandalignonthis.
Areyoutryingtomakecommunicationmoreeffective?Offeryourcustomersaneasierwaytoshopwithyou?Ensureyouhaverepeat business?Byhoninginonyourobjectiveandthereasonforinitiatingthistransformationprocessyou’llbebetterabletocreateandexecutea strategyYou’llbeputtingstepsinplacethathelpyouachievethisobjective,andcapitalizingonuniqueopportunitiestohelppushyouforward ratherthantryingtoimitateyourcompetitors’model.
AligningWithTheWrongDigitalPartners
Digitaltransformationisahugeundertakingthatrequiresaspecificsetofskills.Youandyourteammightneedextrainsightinintegrating technologyintoyourbusinessmodel.Thiswillrequireyoutoworkwithadigitalagencyorhirenewteammembersandyouhavetochoose wisely
Dotheyhaveexperienceinachievingthecompany’sobjective?Dotheyalignwithorsupportyourcompany’svalues?Aretheywillingtotrain yourteamtomaintainyournewsystemsorworkwithyourcompanyonalong-termbasis?Byengagingtherightdigitalpartners,notonlycan youlaunchasuccessfulsystem,youcaneasilyadapttochangesbecauseyouhavesomeonewhoiswellequippedworkinginyourcorner
Ourteamhaslaunchednumeroussuccessfuldigitaltransformationprojectsforcompaniesacrosstheregionandwe’realwayslookingfor newwaystoassistcompanieswiththeirowngrowth.Wetakeacustomer-firstapproachandworkcloselywithourclientstoensurethatwe understandtheirobjectivesandcandeliveronwhattheyneed.
TheTakeaway
Digitaltransformationhasbecomeincreasinglyimportantasweseehowtechnologyisgivingcompaniesamuch-neededboostinthemidst oftheongoingpandemic.Withoutbeingproperlyinformedandpreparedfortheundertaking,however,manycompaniesfindthattheir projectsfailwhichsetsthembackgreatly.Oneofthebestwaystogiveyourcompanyafightingchanceistopartnerwithateamthathasthe experiencetoguideyourprojecttosuccessandthat’swhatourteamcanofferyou.Let’stalkabouthowwecanhelp!
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HeadofCorporateCommunications-Caribbean
Sihasdemonstratedthecapacitytomanageandexecutedigitalandmediaprojectsata globalstandard.
