Companies that are investing in digital customer experiences are seeing significant results on the other end, according to Altimeter Group’s report titled, “The 2014 State of Digital Transformation.”
The report, which was written by Brian Solis, with Jaimy Szymanski and Rebecca Lieb, reveals that digital customers differ in behavior from traditional customers, and shows how leading-edge organizations gravitate around digital customer experience (DCX).
“We surveyed digital strategists from top global companies and brands, and uncovered a surprisingly human story: digital transformation is a significant movement where daring business leaders venture into tomorrow’s markets today,” Solis, principal analyst at Altimeter Group, said in a release. “It isn’t an initiative owned by a particular role or department in the organization; instead, it is a cross-enterprise realignment of
resources to unify and enhance the digital customer experience at every touch point in order to be competitive in today’s era of connected markets.”
Respondents cited several potential benefits from digital transformation initiatives, including:
· A lift in customer engagement (75%)
· Improved customer satisfaction (63%)
· Greater digital traffic (53%)
· Increased lead generation and sales (49%)
Despite the aforementioned significant numbers, the report also focuses on numerous challenges to digital transformation, including:
· Company culture (63%),
· The need to think beyond a campaign mentality (59%)
· The need to ensure cross-functional collaboration (56%)
· A lack of resources (56%)
· A lack of understanding of digital customer behavior (53%)
· The need to secure executive support for digital transformation (42%)
Digital transformation is still widely misunderstood, the report says, but corporations and brands are taking it seriously:
· 88% of companies say they are undergoing digital transformation, yet only 25% have mapped out the digital customer journey
· 17% of digital leaders are now in the process of studying the digital customer journey
· 42% of strategists report that while they have not yet researched the customer journey, they are investing in new digital channels
The mandate to lead digital transformation is often driven by the CMO, CEO, and CIO (54%, 42%, and 29%, respectively), according to the report. Digital transformation doesn’t mean digital investment alone, it means thinking “digital first.”
The report also uncovered the most important digital transformation initiatives inside companies today:
· Improving processes that expedite changes to digital properties, such as website updates, new mobile or social platforms, etc. (80%)
· Updating website and ecommerce programs for a mobile world (71%)
· Integrating social, mobile, web, ecommerce, service efforts, and investments to deliver an integrated and frictionless customer experience (70%)
· Updating customer-facing technology systems (66%)
· Further research into customer digital touch points (63%)
· Overhauling customer service to meet the expectations of digital customers (46%)