Digitization is not witchcraft

The Corona pandemic has further accelerated the need for digital transformation. The process of change is more important than ever because previous business models are reaching the limits of their growth - especially medium-sized companies are strongly affected by this, also states the BSP Business School Berlin in its guideline "Medium-sized companies in transition" . Nevertheless, change is still too slow in many places. The reluctance is sometimes also due to the excessive demands of not knowing where to start and where the journey should actually go - although the same applies here: Every step counts, no matter how small. 

"A quarter of SMEs continue to carry out no digitization activities."

(KfW-Digitalisierungsbericht Mittelstand 2021) 

The digital journey also begins with the first step 

The basic building block of digital transformation is the digitization of core processes within the organization, which plays a key role in optimizing processes and thus making them more efficient. Digitization is primarily driven by the linking of interfaces, the reduction of bureaucracy, and continuous further development. In most companies, there is a process for everything - and often too many of them - which means there is often a lot of bureaucracy and a lot of "manual" processes. 

Employees are often frustrated by this and no longer have any desire to carry out processes at all. In the worst case, they are so busy with the process that there is little time and energy left for substantive work. Yet internal processes should actually provide security and reduce complexity. There are many areas in a company that can be optimized and automated relatively easily. Once the most annoying time wasters have been identified, simple automation solutions often help - and digitization is on its way. Ideally, you should also say goodbye to unnecessary processes and cut out a few old habits.

In some cases, there are already easy-to-implement tools for specific use cases; in others, concrete processes can be digitized for the company in a simple way. Some examples are:

• Communication and collaboration:e.g. use of task managers and project management tools
• Document Management: Digital mapping of formerly paper-based documents, for example travel expense reports, capturing data in a central digital source, and much more.
• Administrative and commercial processes: e.g. automation of the invoice verification
• Marketing: use of CRM systems, online communication channels and marketing automation tools

Simplification through digitization not only helps to become more efficient, it also ensures fewer errors and increases the outcome in terms of input. In this way, employees gain more time for their real tasks and can once again make more of their know-how for the company. A central side effect is that the organization also benefits from simple process digitization and constantly learns new things. This creates a basis that gradually introduces the company to a new way of working. 

"Adopting digital technologies can help increase progress toward business goals such as financial returns, workforce diversity and environmental goals by 22%."

(Deloitte, 2020)

The customer at the center 

A central factor in digital transformation is, of course, interaction with the customer. It makes perfect sense to turn to interaction with the market and customers only after internal processes have already been transformed. After all, when business processes and customer interaction are digitized, ideally an internal structure is already needed that is ready for this and can respond optimally to it. 

Last but not least, the target group with its expectations sets the standard for the development of the organization. The website is particularly important in this context - it is no longer just a shop window and business card, but rather the decisive driver of growth and business. However, it can only fulfill this role with a convincing user experience, well thought-out lead generation, or smooth purchasing processes that are digitally networked with customer and lead management, order processing, after-sales, and so on. 

Better to stay realistic

Realistic goals and feasibility are a critical factor for all digitization efforts. Ultimately, it is not only important to have the target group and the customers in mind, but also to involve the employees from the very beginning, as they are the ones who have to bring the transformation to life and implement and internalize the new processes and ways of working. Cultural aspects play a role in successful digitization and in the digital transformation of a company as a whole that should not be underestimated.

A question of maturity 

When planning the right steps and setting up a digitization roadmap, it helps to determine the digital maturity level of an organization - from digital beginner to expert. In the maturity analysis, the ACTUAL state is defined and compared with the TARGET state, which is determined by the expectations of the target group and market developments. A differentiated view along different dimensions, evaluation criteria and perspectives allows a comprehensive picture of the strengths and weaknesses of an organization. In the process, the picture is usually very heterogeneous, as the individual areas usually differ significantly in terms of their level of maturity. The Big Picture makes it easier to define the next sensible step for each dimension, starting precisely where there is the greatest need to catch up and where the greatest effect can be achieved. 

Ultimately, the whole thing is not witchcraft if you proceed step by step so as not to overburden the organization and what you have learned can flow directly into the next step. How big the respective steps are and what the right and appropriate pace is, is ultimately defined by each company for itself. The main thing is to get started.