In her latest CMS WiRE column, our CEO and founder, Paula Tompkins talks about the challenges traditional business models pose to brands undertaking digital transformation. Tompkins reflects on industry news and her first-hand experience to tell the C-Suite story.
The article includes highlights on how Samsung, Nestle, Nike, Microsoft and other companies are tooling up to deliver the ultimate customer experience. She also questions whether Chief Digital Officers are the answer. Do companies have the time to evolve to a digital state?
An excerpt of article is below. Read the full story on CMS WiRE.
The C-Suite’s Best Defense Against Digital Disruptors
The buzz that surrounded Unilever’s $1 billion buy of the Dollar Shave Club was telling.
In many ways the purchase symbolizes the inability of large companies to respond quickly to new sales models and consumer behavior. Online businesses like the Dollar Shave Club, Uber, TripAdvisor, Airbnb and Netflix are disrupting industries and threatening any brand based on traditional business models.
The acquisition and other similar partnerships this year offer a window into how some CEOs are accelerating digital transformation within their companies.
Traditional Business Models Weighed Down By Legacy Systems
A recent study by Radius Global Market Research revealed that when it comes to personalization, marketers only hit the mark about 30 percent of the time. Companies must go beyond automating back-end processes. They need to deliver a relevant and convenient buying and servicing experience for their customers.
Weighed down by legacy systems, companies struggle to meet the many demands of the current market. Many organizations approach digital not as a strategy, but as a project or a campaign.
Being digital is more than a campaign with a bunch of projects. It requires an entirely different operating mode, not just another restructuring of the organization. It requires new talents and tools. It requires fast fails and an agile mindset.
While Digital Natives Speed Forward
While some companies struggle to transform, the digital natives are growing up and influencing the marketplace.
The rate of technology adoption is staggering. Companies simply do not have time to evolve into a digital state.
Certainly, as evidenced by a recent Dell study, organizations are making headway. Dell’s State of IT Trends 2016, found that business decision makers’ and IT decision makers’ understanding of current IT trends are becoming aligned. This is critical. Culturally, having alignment within leadership is a requirement to drive change throughout the organization.
2016’s mergers and acquisitions give us insight on the importance of accelerating digital transformation. If a company needs more reasons to accelerate change, it needs look no further than the headline news.
Read the rest of the story on what the industry news’ tea leaves reveal.
