Traditionally, IT has been the main focus of digital transformation efforts. While this still holds true with nearly two-thirds (62%) of companies having IT as the primary sponsor of digital transformation efforts, a new report [download page] from Altimeter, a Prophet company, shows that firms are increasingly viewing digital transformation as an opportunity to reshape businesses more widely.
Key drivers of digital transformation are reflecting this holistic approach. When asked what were the key drivers of digital transformation within their organization, a leading 51% identified growth opportunities in new markets. By contrast, proactive investment to drive disruption was only listed by half as many respondents. This may represent a shift away from previously angst-driven factors that were seen in separate research a few years ago, such as the need to keep pace with new technology, through to one focused on the opportunities at hand – a point supported by the fact that C-suite execs now believe disruption is more likely to come from the incumbents than digital giants.
That doesn’t mean management is resting on its laurels. Business leaders acknowledge that customers’ needs are changing at a rapid pace and, at the same time, their expectations are increasing, so it is not surprising that the second most widely cited driver of digital transformation is evolving customer behaviors and preferences. Although 46% of respondents chose this as one of their key drivers, it has actually fallen from last year.
Evolving Behavior Makes Customer Journey Mapping More Important
One of the biggest changes in consumer behavior and expectations is that the vast majority now shop across channels – and that those that do so are more valuable customers.
Likely driven by these changes, the study notes that more than half of respondents are integrating all social, mobile, web, commerce, service efforts and investments to deliver an integrated, frictionless, and omnichannel customer experience as either long-term (in next 5-10 years) or short-term (< 3 years) priorities.
With customer experience being a major focus in digital transformation, mapping out the customer journey has become a priority with 59% of survey respondents reporting that they are now researching customer journeys. One-third (35%) of those respondents say they have completely mapped out the customer journey within the last year and have used the data to define and prioritize their digital transformation roadmap.
Seeing the growth in mobile, about one-quarter (24%) of organizations report that, in addition to mapping the customer journey, they are also studying the mobile customer journey and/or designing for real-time ‘micro-moments.’ Encouragingly, only 7% report not having officially researched the digital customer journey but have updated digital touch points using modern technologies and investments.
About the Data: Data for State of Digital Transformation Report is based on a survey of 554 professionals from brands, consulting firms and other organizations with at least 1,000 employees. Geographically, respondents were from North America, Europe and China.
