6 Amazing Examples of Digital Transformation in Business
Have you observed that most startups and new companies are born digital? What do we mean? We mean that newer companies and young startups are at the forefront of using new technologies and business tools to stay ahead of the curve. While digitalization is a common sight among these companies, how are the bigger and well-established companies coping with digital transformation?
Let’s be honest here! Although a lot of companies are really popular around the world and have a vibrant market presence, they are falling behind on the digital front. Besides, due to the evolving consumer trends, even their impressive brand reputation may not be enough to stay competitive in this digital age.
Digital transformation will continue to steer businesses towards innovation, larger audiences, and eventually increased revenues.
Although digital transformation requires different levels of investment, if carried out strategically, it can go a long way in increasing the stock value of a company.
The transition from traditional to digital is not an overnight process, but it is an effective strategy that has enabled a lot of popular companies to do well.
Let’s take a look at some of the top companies that turned to digital transformation to scale new heights.
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Companies that Turned to Digital Transformation for Good
1. Best Buy
Before Best Buy took the digital route, the company observed that its market share in the consumer electronics sector was gradually declining. The company’s CEO identified this bottleneck and swiftly acted upon it by introducing a fresh digital perspective.
Although the digital transformation took around 7 years, it allowed Best Buy to turn into a company that uses technology to enrich their customer’s lives.
It leveraged digital technologies to enhance delivery times and also started advising customers on how they can make the most of their digital devices.
Snail Mail to Digital Marketing
Best Buy replaced snail mail and took to digital marketing to provide tailored customer support and recommendations. They managed to achieve this by collecting data via online business tools such as customer relationship management (CRM) systems.
Due to their switch from traditional marketing mediums to digital, their stock price increased $23.70 in 2012 to around $108$ today.
2. Target
Target is another popular brand that has significantly improved its digital presence in recent years. Target has implemented new technologies in its stores, introduced e-commerce, and boosted its online and social media presence.
The revamped business model, store design, an increased focus on direct-to-customer sales has simplified how customers discover products. Today, customers have easy access to products from leading brands and can also order them directly via social media.
Another factor why Target’s digital transformation is worth talking about is because the company focused on deeper personalization.
Eight Years of Digital Transformation
Target kickstarted its retail digital transformation somewhere around 2006. Since then its stock value has continued to move in the upward direction. Besides, the company’s revenue also increased by more than $6 billion between 2006 and 2014 [1].
Today, Target’s stock value is $233 i.e. four times what it was in 2006 ($53).
3. Home Depot
Despite its impressive successful journey, The Home Depot decided to adopt a digital transformation strategy in 2017. What was the goal?
The Home Depot aimed to improve the overall online shopping experience and offer customers the best resources and products via an organized process across different channels. The company is set to invest around $11 billion over a period of three years to improve the online as well as in-store shopping experience.
Customer is King!
In its bid to stay competitive, the company hired nearly 1,000 professionals who have expertise in information technology. There’s more! With the help of these experts, the company has successfully developed its back-end and distribution channels. Besides, it has also built a robust IT department that collects and makes better use of customer data.
The company has also invested in enterprise resource planning (ERP) tools to improve inventory management and other business software platforms to track local trends.
As a result, the stock value has increased from $155 in 2017 to around $307 today [2].
4. Nike
When even leading brands such as Nike start feeling that they are using outdated and stale growth strategies, it just shows how important digital transformation is. Nike’s leadership wasted no time transforming how they operate by bringing in digital transformation to the company’s supply chain and overall mindset.
With digital business tools and solutions, Nike was able to connect better with its customers. In addition, the leading sports clothing and footwear brand also turned its focus on robust data analytics to increase sales.
Besides, the company curated engaging digital content and also increased its direct-to-customer sales.
All in all, digital transformation enabled Nike to make better use of customer data, provide more memberships, and create a seamless online experience for its customers.
An Incredible Two-year Transformation
When Nike introduced new and fresh digital strategies, it meant stronger digital marketing, increasing usage of data analytics, and increased focus on direct-to-customer sales. All of that along with a new e-commerce strategy led to a swift transformation.
5. Honeywell
Yes! Even Honeywell required digital transformation at some point. Honeywell, a company that has assisted an array of companies to enhance its digital presence, realized that it had to transform digitally. The focus was on quality over quantity.
In their efforts, the company cut down on its industrial end markets from eight to six. In addition, it also started seeking new ways to leverage its digital solutions. Honeywell has enabled the digital growth of several companies via data analytics. However, around 2016, it embarked on a digital transformation journey by implementing new technologies such as the internet of things, big data, and more.
Data is the new Oil
Data is the new oil and rightly so! Honeywell started to organize its core internal processes and develop high-quality products using digital tools and solutions. Today, the company provides cutting-edge technology solutions and also reinvented industrial process control.
6. Microsoft
When Microsoft launched Windows, Office Suite, and other incredible products, it faced little competition. However, the competitive landscape changed quickly and Microsoft faced stiff competition from heavyweights such as Amazon, Apple, and more. This is when Microsoft decided to re-evaluate its digital strategy. How did it move forward? Microsoft began working on a cloud networking system business in 2014.
It gradually shifted from its conventional software to a cloud-based system that is ideal for enterprise as well as personal use.
What is Digital Transformation?
In simple terms, digital transformation means the integration of digital and business tools into all core business processes. In 2019, digital transformation investments were projected to grow at a CAGR of around 18% from 2020 to 2023 [3].
When a company implements a digital transformation strategy, it leads to noteworthy changes in how it operates. Besides, it also has a direct impact on product quality and customer satisfaction.
Digital transformation is paving the way for new and innovative products and services.
The influence of digital transformation can be observed at multiple levels of how an organization functions. Some of these include the way employees work, how business processes are designed, how data is collected and used.
To gain a better understanding of digital transformation, it is important to note that it does not mean the digitization of information. Digitization of data is just one of the key elements of digital transformation. Although digital transformation involves huge amounts of data, the transformation only begins when it is used effectively.
A lot of companies are skeptical about undergoing a transformation as they are required to make radical changes. Besides, the fear of failure is always a major reason why companies shy away from digital transformation.
Companies need to understand that their customers are aware of digitalization. Most customers make use of technology on a daily basis. This is why companies who have lagged behind on the digital front have rightly become outdated.
It is important to gain inspiration from successful digital transformation examples and move forward. Are you looking to transform your business? Purchasing an online tool is a good start!
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Feature Image Source: Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Image 1 Source: Target
Image 2 Source: Home Depot
Image 3 Source: Nike
Sources:
[1] (2016) “7 Examples Of Successful Digital Transformation In Business” Game Learn [online] Available from: https://www.game-learn.com/7-examples-of-successful-digital-transformation-in-business/ [accessed June 2021]
[2] (2021) “Home Depot – 40 Year Stock Price History | HD” Macro Trends [online] Available from: https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/HD/home-depot/stock-price-history [accessed June 2021]
[3] Dilmegani. C (2021) “85+ Digital Transformation Stats from reputable sources [2021]” AI Multiple [online] Available from: https://research.aimultiple.com/digital-transformation-stats/ [accessed June 2021]
