Why you should reshape your business to meet demands of the digital age

New technologies have completely changed how businesses work. Most companies only need to send an email to manage orders online, and even employees have access to their jobs tasks and bank accounts through an online application.

 Thus, the adoption of new digital technologies is crucial for all businesses, including yours to meet demands of the digital age.

 It is becoming more necessary to reshape your business to become more successful and suit both your and your customers’ needs in this fast-changing digital world. 

If you decide to do some research about how innovations and new technologies affect the everyday life of businesses and how companies deal with the changes, there is one term you will certainly encounter many times: digital transformation.

This term covers the integration of modern digital technologies into every area of a business. When businesses adopt technologies such as Artificial Intelligence for automation, they transform their processes, which keeps them up with the digital age and continue to fulfill every need of their customers.

 With the new developments, the needs are constantly changing as well. But what makes digital transformation so essential for businesses?

 Actually, there are many reasons but two stand out. First, if a business wants to achieve better results and succeed, it needs to focus on being more productive, delivering value to the customers, and also continue working on improving customer experience. The adoption of digital technologies can help businesses do just that.

 Secondly, for many companies, the transformation is simply inevitable. This is because without implementing a digital strategy they would not be able to survive in this technology-driven world.

Perhaps it is a significant and costly change. But without them, chances are that after a while they would be forced to close their business as they would not thrive anymore.

When it comes to the response of companies to the technological changes, many businesses, like this one, managed to accommodate the new virtual realities overtaking the globe.

 Industries have gone through the most dramatic changes in the last few decades and I will focus on a number of sub-sectors. 

In the grocery sub-sector, many changes have emerged. While several years ago people had to go physically to the grocery store to do their shopping, nowadays, people don’t even have to leave their home to do it.

Shoppers can use various mobile applications and services to make the process more convenient for them.

For example, they can order what they need online from their smartphones and then ask for a delivery right to their home. Or they can also choose to pick up their order at the store. Either way, one thing is certain: people can save a lot of time by shopping online. 

If we go back in time, most banking services required the presence of the bank account holder. Fortunately, things are much different now. 

Due to the technological advancements in the industry (see online and mobile banking), people can open new bank accounts, transfer money, or use other banking services online. 

In the automotive industry, the biggest car manufacturers and dealerships have already realised that they should embrace new technologies if they want to meet the digital age.

By introducing new online services to potential buyers, dealers have significantly increased their sales over the years.

One of the most popular online services concerning the automobile industry is the possibility to configure a car’s features online and then get the car delivered to the buyer’s home. It is so much easier this way, isn’t it?

 So how can you digitally transform your business? As you can also see from the above-mentioned examples, technological advancements are completely reshaping the operation of businesses all over the world.

Even if you think now that you can resist the change, most likely, at one point you will give up and start to do things differently in order to keep up with the competitors in your niche.

However, since all businesses are different, it may be better to get started with universally applicable tips on digitally reshaping your business.

 I will give you some tips which can be applied regardless of the size of your company and the industry it is operating in.

First, be open-minded when it comes to new technologies. Many leaders tend to hold on to things that may have worked well in the past and helped the company achieve incredible results, but by now they have become outdated. This is a huge mistake!

Very often, you need to let go of the obsolete technologies and ways of working and make room for development. Don’t be afraid of trying new methods, technologies, and taking the opportunities that the digital era brings to you.

Observe how digitally native companies work and learn from them. There are some companies that have been created in the digital world and primarily or entirely exist online, such as Fashion Nova, Naadam, and Allbirds.

 I all them digitally native companies or simply digital natives. If you want to begin your digital transformation, it may be a great idea to observe first how these businesses work.

Thanks to their built-in digital DNA, digital natives are capable of transforming over and over again to adapt to every situation.

If your company was established before the digital era, you can still learn how to reshape it, just probably it will take more time and effort than for those businesses that are operating right from the start in the technology-driven space.

Reach a consensus when setting objectives. Regardless of whether you want to reshape your existing business model or you would like to rather start from zero, ultimately all leaders in your company must reach a consensus concerning which path to choose in digital transformation.

You will see that with clear objectives, you will have much better chances of reaching your goals and achieving great success.

Encourage risk-taking. Businesses must react fast in order to thrive in the digital era. This means that decisions have to be made in a much shorter time than a few decades ago.

Thus, encourage risk-taking in your company and enable your employees to make those decisions that don’t require a leader’s approval.

 This way, the company will be more productive, and employees will have the opportunity to learn how to be more responsible.

Focus on developing the capabilities of your business. Digital transformation doesn’t happen overnight. It is a never-ending process that requires a great set of capabilities.

Hence, focus on developing your business capabilities. So you will be able to find newer and newer opportunities in the future that can help you create better products or provide better service for your customers in a rapidly changing market. 

The importance of digital transformation is undeniable for businesses in the digital era. Examples from the past also confirm that businesses are more successful when acting fast and accommodating themselves to the newest technological changes.

Therefore, consider investing some time in learning more about digitally reshaping your business.

Keeping in mind these tips can be a good starting point for your business. I wish you good luck on your journey towards your digital transformation and hope that all your efforts will pay off in the long run.