How to Digitally Transform Your Business

Digital transformation refers to the process of using digital technology to increase business performance and reduce costs. Digital transformation is more than just updating your IT systems, it is essentially a business transformation in which the ways and means of operating and doing business are modified or replaced.

Central to the digital transformation of a business is the shift towards data-driven decision-making, seamless collaboration across all areas of the business, improving customer experiences, and innovating products, services, and processes.

This is possible through the integration and leveraging of digital technology, such as cloud-based tools, artificial intelligence (AI), big data, analytics, and the Internet of things (IoT). It is crucial to ensure that all systems that are deployed are scalable and can be integrated to streamline and simplify operations.

15 Steps for Digitally Transforming Your Business:

Digitally transforming a business must be planned carefully, with your business goals and objectives in mind. Don’t forget to involve your employees and business partners in the process. Begin by evaluating all areas of your business and identifying problems and weaknesses, as well as opportunities for innovation. Following this guide, you will have a good idea of the tools and solutions you need.

1. Revise HR processes to increase efficiency and cut costs.

A successful digital transformation depends heavily on the people in the organization, placing the HR department at the heart of the process.

Starting with human resources gives you the opportunity to introduce all of your employees to a new way of doing things. Human resources management systems make it easier to manage and process employee information, can drastically reduce time-consuming manual tasks, and increase the overall efficiency of HR processes.

Benefits of Digital HR Management:

• Cloud-based employee information databases reduce the need for hardcopy files and make it easier to find, manage, and update employee records.
• Most HR solutions offer tools to simplify recruitment activities.
• Employee self-service portals save the HR department time and empower employees to manage their personal information and provide easy access to company information, news, internal job postings, and training materials.
• Most platforms allow you to integrate employee data, including attendance records and benefits, with payroll software, which increases the efficiency of payroll processes and reduces the margin for errors.
• Look for features and tools that enable you to manage and track employee performance, and sync reports with employee records.

2. Simplify payroll processing, ensure accuracy, and maintain compliance.

Changing your payroll processes from a mainly manual model to a digital and strongly automated format can save considerable amounts of time and reduce human error.

Many software providers make this process easier than one might think by offering user-friendly interfaces, strong customer support, powerful security features, and a multitude of useful tools and automation features that assist in maintaining compliance, accurately calculating wages, and paying employees on time.

Benefits of Digital Payroll Processing:

• Switch to direct deposit to save the time otherwise spent printing and distributing paychecks.
• Tax-related features, such as automatic tax calculations, income tax filing preparation, and the creation of tax documents, save time and labor and reduces the chance of miscalculations.
• Robust payroll systems offer a multitude of useful, time-saving features, such as the ability to handle worker's compensation, bonuses, expense integration, and FICA Tip Credit claims.
• Most platforms offer a high degree of security to protect sensitive employee and company information. Be sure to look for features like 256-bit SSL encryption.

3. Save time and maintain high accuracy in all accounting functions.

A key benefit of accounting software is the ability to automate processes that are incredibly time-consuming and prone to human error due to their often very monotonous nature, like data entry.

Moving your accounting processes onto a cloud-based platform offers you more flexibility in terms of access and scalability, and allows for better organizational control.

Benefits of Digital Accounting Solutions:

• Save time and reduce the potential for human error by automating tasks, such as data entry, invoicing, and record-keeping.
• Have all your documents and transaction records in a secure and centralized location.
• Use planning, forecasting, and tracking tools to easily monitor and manage cash flow.
• Tax-related features simplify tax calculations and preparations and help you maintain tax compliance.
• Many platforms allow you to integrate accounting with other business functions, such as procurement, to create more efficient workflows.
• Most systems require a small learning curve. Evaluate the overall user-friendliness of the program, as well as the degree of customer support and training provided by the vendor.

4. Simplify customer relationship management and enhance customer satisfaction.

One of the most important functions of the customer service, sales, and marketing departments is customer relationship management (CRM).

Investing in a robust CRM platform that integrates well across different departments can help you improve all aspects of customer engagement.

Benefits of Digital CRM:

• Having all customer information and records of every customer interaction instantly available in one, secure location improves efficiency and reduces potential oversight.
• Most platforms offer powerful analytics tools that can identify activity patterns and provide in-depth, actionable insights.
• Most platforms offer tools to personalize marketing messages and promotions based on individual preferences.
• Offering customers a more efficient, personalized service directly impacts customer satisfaction and retention levels.

5. Cut marketing costs and attract more customers.

The primary purpose of digitally transforming marketing activities and processes is to attract and engage more customers while spending less time and money.

Cloud-based marketing tools help businesses improve the cost-efficiency of their marketing operations and achieve better results through data-driven multi-channel campaigns. While some marketing platforms also offer CRM tools, you also have the option of integrating different marketing tools with your existing CRM platform.

Benefits of Digitally Transforming Marketing:

• Using marketing automation software to automate tasks, such as compiling customer information, email marketing, and social media posting, saves time and reduces the workload.
• Using digital communication channels to engage with consumers is more cost-effective than traditional media and allows for highly targeted messaging.
• Marketing software lets you coordinate and monitor marketing activities and campaigns across multiple channels in one, easy-to-use platform.
• Advanced analytics and reporting tools can help you to make data-driven decisions and improve campaign effectiveness.
• Event management software simplifies event planning activities, from supplier coordination to promotion, and ticketing.

6. Deliver excellent customer service in record time.

Cloud-based customer service tools help businesses engage with their customers via multiple channels and provide fast and efficient support.

As consumers have become increasingly active online, the expectation that businesses engage with them and provide fast and efficient support via the channel of their choice, be it live chat, email, social media, or via telephone, is growing. This is where cloud-based customer service tools, including help desk software and live chat software, help businesses meet and exceed their customers' expectations.

Benefits of Digital Customer Service:

• Simplify the way customer requests are processed with tools for ticketing, routing requests, tracking, and recording all customer interactions.
• Having your customer information and interaction history easily and quickly accessible on one platform enables support agents to provide faster service and increases productivity.
• Since not every request can be solved immediately, setting up automated responses to acknowledge customer requests and manage customer expectations will keep your customers from feeling ignored.
• Self-service portals enable customers to solve their queries before contacting a support agent. This can lower staffing costs.

7. Reduce expenses with e-commerce and enhance in-store operations and shopping experiences.

The rise of eCommerce has redefined the shopping experience. There has been a steep increase in purely online stores. While brick and mortar are not obsolete, a digital transformation is essential for these businesses to remain relevant.

How can you do this? Look at adding e-commerce to the way you are doing business, as well as upgrading and modifying how things are done in-store. In-store solutions include smart POS systems and analytics solutions that help you optimize operations, store layout, displays, promotions, and more.

Benefits of Digitally Transforming Retail:

• eCommerce platforms are a major cost-saver as there is no need to rent or buy commercial properties with high visibility and foot traffic or to invest in in-store promotional materials.
• eCommerce platforms are a great option for serving niche markets and allow you to create more personalized shopping experiences, for example by generating recommendations based on past purchases.
• If you have a physical store that you've extended onto a digital platform, you can drive customers in-store with initiatives like in-store only deals or free in-store pick-up for online orders.
• Moving from a basic cash register to a point of sale system increases processing efficiency.
• Investing in an in-store analytics program can help you better understand your customers' shopping behavior, reveal which displays and floor layouts work best, provide insights about store traffic, and optimize staff schedules.

8. Gain a competitive advantage by digitizing order fulfillment processes.

After setting up your e-commerce site, you will be looking for the best way to manage, process, and deliver online orders.

There are a variety of software solutions that can help you streamline this process for maximum efficiency, including cost-efficiency. Shipping software, order management systems, and order fulfillment software are very alike in the function they fulfill. The majority of providers will have a very similar solutions profile, designed to simplify the ordering process, provide real-time visibility of the order process, and ensure efficient order delivery.

Benefits of Digital Order Fulfillment:

• Use one centralized platform to manage the complete order fulfillment process for all of your e-commerce sites.
• If you ship across borders, ensure that the platform you select offers features and tools to handle international shipping, such as the ability to handle customs forms and integrations with international shipping carriers.
• Allowing customers to see the real-time status of orders contributes to better customer experiences.
• Most platforms allow you to easily access, maintain, and manage customer records, order and payment history, as well as returns and refunds.

9. Simplify operations management and improve operational efficiency.

Maintaining a complete overview of your operations can be a challenge, especially when you already have different systems in place for each business area.

This is where a robust enterprise resource planning (ERP) software is a valuable asset. ERP software allows you to manage and automate most of your business processes from one centralized platform and helps you improve the efficiency of day-to-day operations as well as long-term planning.

Benefits of Digital Operations Management:

• ERP systems can manage and automate processes across multiple business functions, including human resources, finance and accounting, supply chain management, and customer relationship management.
• Centralizing all your data allows for better collaboration between different departments.
• Automating repetitive processes, especially data entry processes, improves efficiency, saves time, and increases accuracy levels.
• Most ERP systems allow for a range of integrations, meaning that you can easily integrate existing systems from different departments, such as CRM or accounting programs, to maintain complete visibility and control of all operational processes.
• As the central platform for all data and processes, ERP systems are an excellent source for comprehensive reports and analytics, allowing you to identify and address issues as they arise.

10. Achieve maximum production efficiency.

Production lines are one component of the entire manufacturing operation that has made strides in digital transformation, mainly through automation.

However, more can be done to increase the overall efficiency of your manufacturing operation. A complete manufacturing software solution can help you eliminate unnecessary downtime and improve manufacturing efficiency, and even increase profit margins.

Benefits of Digitally Transforming Manufacturing:

• Make use of tools for easy and accurate production planning, scheduling, and rescheduling.
• Create cost estimates and quotes fast, communicate these to customers, and record each interaction and quote.
• Easily track and manage inventory and stock movements, purchases, and purchase orders.
• Have a clear overview of your operations, all tasks, and duties, in one system.
• Stay on top of relevant regulations and quality standards.

11. Save costs and ensure uninterrupted operations with computerized maintenance management solutions.

Efficient maintenance management helps businesses avoid poor production quality, risks to employee safety, and ultimately financial loss due to pauses in production.

Computerized maintenance management software (CMMS) helps businesses manage, plan, and implement maintenance activities more efficiently, reduce operational downtime, and control maintenance costs.

Benefits of Digital Maintenance Management:

• Easily plan and schedule regular maintenance activities and set reminders and alerts, effectively reducing the risk of downtime and repair costs.
• Maintain a real-time overview of inventory levels, track assets, and efficiently manage work orders from one single platform.
• Reduce the need for overtime and minimize loss of work time due to compromised employee safety.
• Save time preparing paperwork for compliance audits by generating reports on maintenance activities.
• Most CMMS solutions include tools to plan and manage preventive maintenance activities.

12. Provide your employees with user-friendly, intuitive tools for efficient teamwork.

Employees that receive good training and work well as a team are a key component of a successful business.

Providing your employees with the tools to facilitate seamless and efficient teamwork across organizational departments saves time and increases operational efficiency. Cloud-based collaboration tools, document management, and digital asset management software enable your employees to work together by sharing documents and engaging with each other, even while working remotely.

Benefits of Digital Collaboration:

• Work remotely without compromise.
• Easily track the status and progress of projects and tasks.
• Make it easier for your employees to share files and communicate across departments.
• Improve workflows and save time by having all your files and documents available on one centralized platform.

13. Improve data security and reduce IT costs.

Cloud services eliminate the need to set up and maintain physical data centers on your business premises and offer multiple benefits, including advanced data security and mobile accessibility.

If your current database management system is not compatible with the move to the cloud, you will want to look for a cloud-based solution. Database management systems are a worthy investment and an efficient solution for managing large amounts and different types of data, allowing you to create a more organized working environment.

Benefits of Digital Data Security and Management:

• Cloud services significantly reduce your IT costs because they eliminate the need to purchase and maintain a physical data center.
• Database management systems allow you to integrate your organizational data and have a complete overview of your organization's operations.
• Data is easily shared and accessed from Internet-enabled devices, giving you more flexibility.
• Data can be backed up and recovered automatically.
• Data is protected by encryption and user-based security settings.

14. Secure, monitor, and manage your digital framework.

Moving to new, digitalized ways of doing things also brings new challenges and risks.

With the right set of solutions, you can easily manage and control your networks and mobile devices, as well as ensure the security and confidentiality of information and data that is stored on your computers, in your local network, or the cloud.

Benefits of Digital Network Monitoring and Security:

• Cyber security software guards your computers and systems against viruses, phishing, spyware, and other types of unauthorized access.
• You can use mobile device management (MDM) software to secure, track, and monitor employees' mobile devices.
• You can use MDM software to remotely manage and update the software of devices with varying operating systems.
• Network-monitoring software allows you to track download speeds and other network performance metrics.
• Network monitoring software allows you to quickly diagnose problems so that they can be repaired with minimal interruption to the network.

15. Use data analysis to make great business decisions and gain a competitive advantage.

Business intelligence (BI) tools help companies make sense of their data and gain valuable insights that inform important decisions.

BI software includes data analytics and visualization tools that are used to gather, analyze, and visualize business data. BI software enables businesses to fully understand the state of their operations, build their competitive edge, and maximize returns.

Benefits of Digital Data Analysis:

• Collect data on your KPIs and market trends.
• Advanced analytics tools identify data patterns and provide in-depth insights.
• Generate accurate reports on different data sets, such as staffing, operations processes, and expenses.
• Make data-driven business decisions to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs.
• Visualize information to make data easy to understand, interpret, and present.
• Easily track and manage performance goals.