Disruption: the train does not stop

More and more companies, whether in B2C or B2B, are facing the challenges of digitization. At the heart of this is the question of how they can profitably exploit the countless opportunities that digital technologies open up.

The goal should be to leave a digital footprint that is necessary for growth, competitiveness and the enthusiasm of the company's own employees and users.

Determine the digital maturity level

Modern organizations rely on a trial and error approach, as there is no one-fits-all solution: Each company must develop its own individual roadmap. To do this, the first step should be to conduct an external and internal positioning exercise in order to derive the strategic cornerstones and develop a digital roadmap.

Companies can determine their level of digital maturity with the help of classic models such as the Swot analysis or the Digital Maturity Model (DM3). Extensive questionnaires and interviews with executives and specialists in the company enable the functional areas of strategy, marketing, sales, service, product, innovation management, IT and HR to be comprehensively examined. Companies should ask themselves the following questions as part of the digital site assessment:

Do I have the necessary know-how to react flexibly to customers?

Companies are working to concretize their target group definitions. This allows them to provide exactly the right digital topics for their personas. They are also willing to experiment and take risks in implementing new ideas to generate added value for customers.

Rigid organizational and project structures represent a potential risk here. What is needed instead is flexibility and an unconditional understanding of new, alternative and even uncomfortable ways of behaving. Companies have banished the statement "We've always done it this way" from their own vernacular.

In addition, they are aware of the influence of digitization, which is why the management has this topic on the agenda - which not least leads to the company offering prospects and customers a consistent, personalized customer experience. In addition, training and further education are just as important as an internal exchange of knowledge.

Have I implemented the necessary processes?

The processes are not only digitally supported, but also planned and coordinated across departments. To measure success, companies have defined relevant KPIs and established metrics so that they can implement improvements in the short term.

Are my technologies suitable for my digitization strategy?

The technologies used optimally support digital business models and end-to-end business processes without media breaks for the stakeholders involved. This enables extensive analysis of customer data and behavior. The results of the analyses are directly available to all relevant company departments and can influence business-critical decisions.

Can I stream my content across all channels?

Open Data Spaces give all employees access to corporate data (e.g., product data) so that new innovations can be implemented without delay. The company's range of products and services can be found not only via traditional sales channels, but also online. In addition, the process around the creation, enrichment and management of information is software-supported and firmly defined.