How Fast is Digital Moving?
- 1.8 billion people will have smartphones by 2018
- In 2011, the world produced 30x the amount of new information than was produced in 2003.
- GE’s IOT (Internet of Things) business hit $1 billion in 3 years, faster than any other GE business
- Mobile shopping grew by 174% in 2014
Why is Digital Transformation Necessary?
When asked, “Why do you rob banks?, Willy Loman answered, “because that is where the money is”. For companies in B2B, B2B2C or B2C worlds, the customers are on digital in force. Here are some examples from a recent Forrester study:
For retailers:
52% of all shoppers are using their mobile phones in store to research products while shopping. 19% of them (or 10% of all shoppers) ultimately bought those products online, not in the store. Lost revenue.
For manufacturers:
66% of value-added-reseller (VAR) and wholesale channel sales are attributed to web activities. In this study, Forrester strongly recommends opening up Direct to Consumer (DTC) channels, not just for the revenue, but for the deeper customer relationships and engagement digital behavior forms.
What is Digital Transformation
Digital Transformation brings the enterprise into the digital world across three key customer facing vectors: branding, lead generation, revenue creation
The digital revolution provides new avenues for companies to market their products, services and values to the world at a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing.
Branding
When an executive hears “digital”, he/she often thinks of the website. It is the open door to the company. We have heard it said, “You don’t have a second chance to make a good first impression.” On average, it takes less than two-tenths of a second for an online visitor to form a first opinion of your brand, according to researchers at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. Its never been more true than with your brand and your digital presence. In the digital world, you have on average
As Forrester and countless other researchers have recently noted, customers begin their purchasing process digitally. Whether its on their mobile phone, or on their desktop, before they pick up a phone, they research your business on the web.
Revenue Creation / Lead Generation
Depending on where your sales funnel stops, customers are increasingly being sourced digitally.
What are some Scenarios of Digital Revenue/Lead Generation?
Manufacturers and Lead Generation
If you sell heavily through wholesale channels, your digital footprint can significantly augment or hurt your channel partners. You must make every effort to turn your trusted source of product information into a lead funnel to your partners.
But it takes as much thought and effort to make that digital passageway to your partners as it did developing your more traditional methods.
Manufacturers and Revenue Creation
Recent research is showing that augmenting your digital presence with selling your product directly to your customers may significantly augment your relationships and revenues with both the customer and partner — neither cannibalized.
Retail and Omnichannel
Retailers have been grappling with the digital world for far longer with far more at risk than manufacturers. With the advent of showrooming via mobile phones and the ubiquity of product via omnichannel, retailers must treat every digital connection as importantly as their retail store presence. If the customer does not make the distinction, why should the retailer?