15+ Years’ Experience in FinTech, Telco and Data Driven Marketing Ventures

“We need to ensure digital transformation for our company. Let’s make an App & Web application for our internal and external stakeholders. Let’s make website and chatbot for our digital customer experience. Let’s do metaverse for digital customer experience, let’s do AR/VR etc.”

Most companies are jumping directly into digital ecosystem development as part of their digital transformation initiatives. The transformation starts with an Integrated Business Strategy driven by digital. However, we always forget to put our customers at the Core. Rather, we develop the Service Design as per the Customer’s Need Gap for Digital Transformation without any Broken Consumer Experience (CX).

Only 35% of Companies delivered successful digital transformation as per the cumulative survey published by BCG for 2021. 13% of companies were in Woe Zone means limited value created (less than 50% of target) and no sustainable change. 52% of companies were in a Worry Zone, meaning value was created, but total targets were not met and limited long-term change. 35% of companies were in Win Zone means the target value was met or exceeded, and sustainable change was created.

The pandemic has been a real test of digital capabilities for many companies, and it has brought the future forward. As a result, digital transformations have become the number one strategic imperative for most organisations. However, BCG research shows only 35% of digital transformations succeed in achieving their outcomes and creating sustainable change. So, the most important question for executive teams is how to assure success. BCG has studied over 70 digital transformations that they have done with their clients. This proprietary empirical data has allowed them to determine what drives success. Six factors, if properly addressed, can flip the odds of success from 35% to 80%.

1. An integrated strategy brings together an overarching vision, strategic initiatives, and quantified business outcomes.
2. A commitment to the transformation, not just by top management but also by the middle management
3. Deployment and management of high-caliber talents, including digital skills as well as change management skills like resilience, perseverance, and influencing skills
4. An Agile governance which drives agile mission-oriented ways of working in the organisation
5. Effective monitoring of progress with clear metrics and clear accountability for delivery
6. Deployment of modular cloud-based technology and data platforms inspection and built in line with business needs

There are three observations worth noting. Firstly, you have the maximum chance of succeeding only when you address all six factors adequately. Secondly, these six success factors are industry agnostic and hold up across all the regions of the world. Thirdly, the success factors are not influenced by either the breadth or the scope of digital transformations. The six factors are empirically derived recipes for success in getting your company from its current state to a digital end state which is called a bionic company combining human and technological capabilities for self-sustaining bionic outcomes.

Almost all companies have a dedicated strategy planning phase. However, only two out of five truly clear the bar in terms of what is needed for success. Those who do are 81% more likely to succeed in digital transformation efforts than those who don’t. So, what do we mean by an integrated strategy? BCG analysed 25 specific actions and quantified their relative contribution to the program’s success. The six distinctive actions across elements that are critical to success are –

1. Define the overarching vision or purpose
2. Embed digital in overall business strategy
3. Anchor around discrete business use cases
4. Ensure a clear tech and data strategy
5. Align leadership and create change agenda
6. Develop a roadmap with prioritised initiatives

In line with these actions, we devised six defining yes/no questions for you to ask yourself as you plan and execute a digital transformation –

1. Do you have a clear aspiration for digital, which links to competitive advantage and value creation?
2. Is the success of the digital transformation critical to achieving your overall business goals?
3. Are you focused on a small number of discrete prioritised business cases with clear outcomes and committed, accountable business owners?
4. Have the tech and data platform requirements been scoped based on the specifics of the strategy and business needs?
5. Has the leadership aligned with what it will take to drive the change required in behaviours and skills across the organisation?
6. Does the roadmap create transparency around prioritised activities, deliverables, timelines, and financial and people resources, and a dynamic process to govern?

One of the client’s feedback was – “The starting point must be a clear vision, focused on and motivated by customers. To deliver, you need a specific business case, led by senior executives, who are committed to working together.”

Lastly, there are a few additional findings from the research.

1. Be bold in setting your aspirations for digitalisation. Being on offence has empirically proved to be more beneficial compared to being on defence.
2. Tightly link digital and enterprise strategies to ensure value creation
3. Create a multi-year funding plan to stay committed to the course
4. Embed data in your digital and business strategy, as data is fundamentally shifting the source of competitive advantage
5. Value realisation in the first year, as it helps build early confidence and funds long-term transformations

The cost of failure is high; the rewards of success are great. There is limited time for incremental outcomes. Having an integrated strategy is one of the six key success factors to make all the difference in your digital transformation.

Growth Marketing initiatives are completely connected with your digital transformation initiatives as it’s actually driven by the transformation actions. For example, we need to follow three steps which are:

There has always been the requirement of having clear data and tech strategies. For growth marketing, using 1st Party Data is one of the key elements of success; where we can follow the below module, which can be customised based on different industry needs:

Finally, Growth Marketing success depends on Full Funnel Marketing, Cross-Functional Teams including Technology, Data Science, etc., Agile Processes for Quick Decision Making, and, finally, commonly shared KPIs. Digital Transformation for Growth Marketing is not a one-off project or initiative; rather, it’s a practice which needs to have a long-term learn, unlearn and relearn approach for sustainable growth. Feel free to reach out for any more queries.

Author

Sanjid Hossain

Digital Transformation & Growth Marketing Consultant