Why is digitisation a must for your organisation

"Embrace technology and digitise your business. Otherwise, start-ups will take over your business." That was the message of John Chambers, departing CEO of networking specialist Cisco. Digitising your business is not something you solve just by investing in a responsive website or a mobile app, because it goes to the heart of your business and how your organisation works.

It is very important that you think carefully in advance about what the problem is and how you can solve it. But what exactly makes a "digital" company interesting?

Digitalisation ensures that you have everything in hand to guarantee an optimal customer experience. Today and tomorrow.

What term you want to give to that transformation is actually not important. It is about the mindset that must permeate your entire company and about targeted adjustments in your business operations.

1. Information becomes more accessible

First of all, you will find that your information is much quicker and easier to access. Research is much easier, sharing large amounts of information is much faster and backing up your work is very simple. No need to start over or redo work because you lost documents or other data.

Moreover, a digitalisation project often starts from the marketing department of an organisation. This is one of the fastest evolving branches in terms of transformation.

A website that once began as an online business card is now often the core of an entire marketing ecosystem.

A concrete example: trade fairs. The corona crisis has caused them to disappear, a perfect moment to reconsider that often hefty budget. At a trade fair, you invest several tens of thousands of euros (or more) to get in touch with at most a few thousand potentially interested customers in just a few days, at one particular location. You can barely write down a few hundred contact details, and a few dozen metres down the road, they will be addressed by the competition.

You can also invest that amount to connect with a multitude of those potentially interested, spread out over an entire year and in the global regions that matter to your business. You can feed each of those contacts with useful information and constructively build a relationship with them thanks to remarketing.

Trade shows have not necessarily lost their usefulness, but it is about choosing between a one-shot and an always-on strategy. Investing in a solid online presence with extensive product information, an extreme user experience and a state-of-the-art marketing technology setup is never a bad choice.

2. Get in touch with Generation Y

Generation Y stands for everyone born between 1982 and 2001. Characteristic for this generation is that they are active on the internet early on, both on desktop and mobile. A logical consequence is that they communicate much more 'digitally'. If your target group belongs to Generation Y, it is important that you focus on the digital channels they use. Thanks to the technological advances of recent years, they also feel more comfortable being addressed online.

The standards of this generation are also much higher with this target group.

They no longer accept that a public transport company's website is temporarily unavailable or that the app gives an incorrect train, tram or bus schedule. They no longer accept that companies and shops do not have their offerings online, and also want to see the stock status immediately. They no longer accept that they cannot follow their online order to the door with track&trace.

But in B2B, too, digital zero tolerance has become a major challenge. B2B customers are

B2C users in the evening and extend their expectations into their professional lives. They want online self-service portals to place (re)orders and download invoices, and they expect access to a database where they can find technical data sheets, 3D drawings and commercial imagery when they need it.

Whether B2B or B2C, customers want to be able to complete their customer journey smoothly and without obstacles. Digitisation helps make that possible in a manageable way.

3. Analysis, interpretation and automation

Another advantage is that you can analyse processes and results much faster. Not only faster, but also more specific, because with today's digital technology it is possible to carry out very specific analyses... and in a shorter period of time!

Specific analyses lead to better and more concise interpretations and conclusions, which can only benefit your research. Consequently, your company will be able to learn much more from it, allowing you to react and evolve faster in our ever-changing society.

As a customer, you will also feel these advantages immediately. The obvious digital examples are again numerous.

• The self-service environment of your energy supplier, where you can not only download your invoices, but also pay your monthly advance yourself.
• Checking online the available stock of a certain product in different branches of a shop.
• Detailed tracking of your online order, including live tracking from the parcel service until the package reaches your door.
• The presence of a live chat or online customer support that can really help you.

B2B platforms and digital order fulfilment as a solution?

We have already mentioned it here and are also strong advocates of digitising an order process. The possibilities of creating a platform that your customers experience as a pleasant, recognisable web shop are countless.

Many B2B companies strive for a 100% digital order intake. Not by

offer all kinds of incentives and discounts for those who order online, but by the

platform so simple and user-friendly that customers no longer want to order in any other way. To achieve this goal, as mentioned earlier, the experience plays a decisive role.

All in all, striving for a 100% digital order intake has only advantages:

• Customer service and sales staff are relieved of repetitive tasks and can free up time for truly valuable customer relations and assistance;
• Efficiency gains in various areas, and thus ultimately more profit;
• Self-service gives the customer more freedom;
• Fewer incorrect orders (incorrect manual entries by employees);
• Speed gains (order processing time, administration processing...);
• Automation of the production and logistics process;
• ...

4. Dare to innovate.

An organisation must constantly make the balance between being as entrepreneurial as possible and as managerial as possible. For example, there are companies that want to bring new concepts and products to the market, but this is preceded by an intensive process of validation, interpretation and possibly pivoting in order to gain traction. Besides, is there a product and a market? Many companies, on the other hand, find themselves in the management mode where managing and controlling processes is central. Here, too little attention is paid to innovation, new product development or new business models. Or they do think about it, but do not elaborate these ideas sufficiently.

Therefore, as a self-employed person, dare to invest and seek help from specialised companies. Especially in the field of development, this can be of great added value. This cooperation results in a prototype, MVP or proof of concept. This can then be validated on the market and adjusted where necessary.

Working with the right partners

Are you convinced that your own company could use a digital transformation, but you don't know how to start? No problem, find the right partners who do and stay up-to-date!

At Lemon, we want to make all our clients partners and support them in their digital journey. This goes beyond just receiving an order and executing it to the best of our ability. We sit down together to discuss how to proceed. This is where we bring all our multidisciplinary knowledge to the table. Are you interested in a free and non-binding exploratory meeting, in which we look at what is good and what could be better? Then don't hesitate and contact sales@lemon.be!