Digital transformation is about bringing companies fully and successfully into the 21st Century. When a company becomes “digitally transformed” from a business-winning point of view, it maximizes the results from its advertising, marketing, and sales activities.
Successful Marketing
Many companies employ skilled marketing and sales professionals. The marketers employ effective strategies that show not just the features of the company’s products and services, but also how they can benefit the end user. The marketing campaigns build brand awareness, imply omnipresence, and encourage prospects to want to meet with sales execs. The sales professionals help the prospect move through their purchase decision-making process, see the advantages of using what is being offered, evaluate the benefits, and place orders.
Traditionally, there is little contact, “at ground level,” between the marketing and sales functions. Traditionally, therefore, there is little sharing of:
- What is working and why.
- What is not working and why.
- What could be working better and why.
- How it can all be improved to maximize results.
Digital Transformation Defined
When marketing is supported by a broader digital strategy, things change. Digital transformation is about making the best use of technology – both hardware and software – to impact all or some of the following:
- Existing marketing processes and campaigns.
- Outbound and Inbound marketing strategies.
- Niche and vertical segment marketing.
- Account-based marketing.
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems.
- Sales processes and campaigns.
- After-sales customer support systems.
Digital Transformation Benefits
The net results of introducing a digital marketing strategy are massive. The overall customer experience changes and so does the internal company culture. In addition, changes in the marketplace are responded to more easily. More importantly, because the company has a more detailed and more all-embracing understanding of the market and its segments, changes can be driven and competitors are outflanked and outpaced.
The Difference Between Computerizing and Digitally Transforming
At one time, to use very simple examples, marketing departments ran ad campaigns on TV, radio, and in print. They produced magazines and brochures which they sent to prospects, and they passed leads and inquiries to the sales department for follow-up.
Salespeople made cold calls by telephone and in person, made appointments, worked their territories, and completed order pads and brought in orders. They handwrote their sales reports for their manager to monitor their activity and performance levels.
Using computers to record, monitor and manage just made everything more efficient. The principal was the same. That is computerization. Technology is now all-pervasive. We live in an online, multi-sharing world. Digital transformation is not just about efficiency, it is about introducing a digital strategy that changes the way companies do business.
Digital Marketing Transformed
To take another simple example. Company A uses its technology to share up-to-date information between all interested parties in the company. So the following scenarios become possible:
- Marketing uses territory feedback about what prospects and customers want, need, and how they perceive both Company A and its competitors. This helps marketing campaigns to be created. Sales also provide details about decision-makers and stakeholders in key accounts.
- Marketing uses this information to craft specific account-based marketing campaigns as well as vertical, niche campaigns.
- Campaigns are also divided into outbound and inbound marketing. The flow of current and valuable data from the field, via the CRM, highlights problems, issues, needs, and desires of “the marketplace.” Specific white papers, ebooks, blogs, and trade magazine articles are produced, based on current feedback, to encourage prospective customers to make contact.
- Company A’s website has sections and pages that reflect known needs and wants, exhibits case studies, provides comparison data, etc. so any company at the “top of the buyer journey funnel” can explore and do their own research about Company A’s products, service levels, etc.
- The background software on the website records every visitor and every click-through. The chatbots are in place to begin direct contact if the visitor wants that.
- Depending on which pages the visitor opens, how long they stay, etc. enables the monitoring software to assess the visitor’s level of interest, etc. so decisions can be made about how best to nurture this visitor. How should they be guided through “attracted” to “interested” to “engaged” to “involved” to “converted.”
- Nurturing is enabled and enhanced by offering downloadable material. This captures the visitor’s details for direct follow-up by office-based or territory-based specialists. Arranging the follow-up is done via the CRM system so everyone stays up-to-date on purpose, details, results, and future actions.
- Internal systems then combine marketing, sales, key account management, service, after-sales support, etc. to grow the accounts and lock out competition.
The Takeaway
Digital Transformation is just that: it uses the latest technology to both transform the way marketing is done and to raise its effectiveness to a level never-before-seen. The future is here; grasp it with both hands. For a free consultation about your business and how we can use our expertise to assist you please either call us on (678) 389 3845 or click here.