We have all heard the buzzword digital transformation, but there is so much more to it than a catchy phrase used by marketing and salespeople.  It sums up how the business world will continue to thrive; as technology advances, the way we do business has to evolve too.  Each department in an organization will experience digital transformations differently.  Business leaders today will need to re-evaluate their current process and implement a modernized approach for HR, marketing, sales, client relations, development and more.

Here are four ways digital innovations have forever changed how we operate.

People Management

As a result of the pandemic, many businesses had to embrace remote or hybrid workplaces, resulting in most staff being out of the office.  Now we are seeing a shift to more open offices with staff who can come in but still work predominately from home.  A fundamental shift in how we communicate and collaborate had to transform during the pandemic. We all saw an increase in the adoption of cloud tools for data storage and collaborative software.

Remote work has also expanded the need for increased cybersecurity.  Companies have been forced to consider new vulnerabilities and strategies due to employees using various devices, many of which are personal devices, and working from home using wireless connections. Watch our on-demand webinar about Cybersecurity in the Remote Work Era.

Sales Transformation

The seamless integration of modern digital technologies into B2B interactions is another factor driving the digital transformation of business-to-business (B2B) interactions. Consider the typical business-to-business sales. They were distinguished by a strategy that placed a high value on cultivating close, professional relationships and on providing for customers in a manner that rewarded them for their commitment over the long term. It was common practice for sales reps to have an intimate familiarity with the customers they served and to make every effort to cater to their requirements. This is being accomplished in a manner that is more powerful, convenient, intuitive, and cost-effective thanks to the rise of digital technology.

The use of digital sales rooms makes it possible for sales teams to provide customers with information, respond to questions, and provide assistance in a manner that is both protected and user-friendly. Enhanced analytics are helping to refine content delivery, personalization tools power tailored product recommendations, and omnichannel customer support ensures maximum convenience. It is almost as if this latest generation of digital tools was developed with business-to-business marketing in mind from the beginning.

Hiring and Training

The global pandemic has ushered in a number of significant and far-reaching cultural shifts, one of the most important and all-encompassing being the rise of virtual work. Businesses were put in a position where they needed to make adjustments to how they recruit, conduct interviews, hire, and onboard new employees.

One factor that played a significant role in the shift was the increased reliance of businesses on virtual hiring and the ability to interview and recruit candidates from all over the world. Companies are now able to build more diverse workforces, tap into a larger talent pool, and consider the best available candidates thanks to the advent of virtual recruitment, which allows them to look beyond candidates in their immediate geographic area. In the same way that working remotely has increased the available pool of talent, digital transformation and the innovations it brings have increased both the demand for and the level of competition for developers, data scientists, and other tech talents.

Because companies now have a better ability to assess the skills of candidates, the hiring process has also evolved over the years. Even though platforms for virtual assessments had been around before the pandemic, many of the companies that now provide these tools have improved their technologies and developed new software in order to provide candidates and employers with the most positive experience that is humanly possible. The practice of conducting skill evaluations virtually all throughout the hiring process is becoming increasingly common.

Evolving from Legacy Processes

As a result of digital transformation, business procedures and workflows have undergone significant evolution over the course of the past few years. Legacy processes that were once completed using pen and paper or a spreadsheet are currently undergoing a complete replacement with digital tools that are utilized by everyone from large manufacturers to sole proprietorships.

Software with a low or no coding requirement makes it simple for employees with less technical expertise to build and personalize digital workflows from scratch. The automation of workflow processes has helped remove barriers, which has improved communication between the marketing and IT teams. As more businesses adopt digital workflows, they will be able to offer improved experiences to their customers, which will, in turn, increase both customer loyalty and customer lifetime value.

You might be interested in our on-demand webinar Employee Time Off Manager for Acumatica, which covers the benefits of having an integrated employee time off module in your Acumatica ERP. 

In Closing

Companies that do not embrace digital transformation will fall behind their competitors and risk losing customers. Digital transformation enables changes that play a crucial role in the success of businesses. The benefits of digital transformation will continue to develop as new technologies become more widely available on the market and alter the ways in which businesses operate in today’s on-demand economy. These benefits include enhancing the customer experience, increasing the level of employee engagement, and making internal processes more efficient. We would be happy to walk you through your current business practices and help you plan out the next steps in your digital transformation. Connect with us today.