After covering why digital transformation is valuable for every organization (including the differences between smaller-scale digitalization projects vs. a full-blown transformation), we thought it was time to talk specifics — like how to get started.
The first step? Selling your CEO on a digital transformation strategy.
What We'll Cover:
- The research you need to inform your pitch to key decision-makers.
- Making your case with business value top of mind.
- Managing the message across your organization.
Market Matters: Do Your Homework
Before you book a meeting with your CEO, it’s important to do your research. You’ll pack even more power into your pitch by defining both your internal and external audiences for the digital transformation strategy — including your leadership team.
Arm yourself with everything you can to paint a picture of sustainable success, including:
- Pain points: What problems are you trying to solve with your digital transformation strategy?
- Industry analysis: Where is your industry headed and how will this strategy keep pace or, better yet, set the pace of digitalization within your industry?
- Competitive market research: What are your competitors doing?
- Anticipated investment and ROI: What are the expected costs and how do you propose measuring return on investment?
- Audience insights: Who are you doing this for? Define your target personas, including employees.
“Know where value in your industry is migrating and explain it clearly using data and analytics from your entire industry.” — Daniel Newman, Forbes
Lead with Business Value in Your Digital Transformation Strategy
While more than 75% of executives say they believe digital transformation is critical to company growth, it wasn’t so long ago that 43% of CIOs cited resistance to change as an obstacle.
Even so, there’s a way to bypass the barrier — and, in a post-pandemic world, the time has never been better to make your case.
“There are still leaders who fail to grasp the powerful impact innovation is having on customer experience, competitive viability, and operational efficiency.” — Jeff Pruitt, Inc
The best way you can make it easy for your senior leadership team to say yes to a digital transformation strategy is by illustrating the business value. After conducting your initial research, you should have everything you need to detail the outcomes that will matter most to them. A few examples include:
- Sustainable business growth: According to a 2017 Gartner survey, 56% of CEOs who’ve invested in a “digital-first” approach say their efforts are already improving profits.
- Customer experience: SAP’s Digital Transformation Executive Study found that 70 percent of leaders have seen “significant or transformational value from digital transformation in customer satisfaction and engagement.”
- Operational efficiency: In another recent survey, IT decision makers cited legacy systems as a major barrier for productivity. Meanwhile, in a global study of 6,000 workers from 2019, 80% of employees in highly digital companies said automation boosted productivity.
- Cross-company solutions: In a piece by Gina Mastantuono, CFO of ServiceNow, about how to sell her on digital transformation, she explained the need for any strategy to encompass solutions that meet the needs of multiple departments, ultimately breaking down silos and maximizing the results of all of the above benefits.
“Organizations that have undergone the digital transformation process experience better communication and collaboration among their teams and various departments, as well as customer communications, because everyone is operating from one central source of truth rather than various systems cobbled together.” — Jeff Pruitt, Inc
Manage the Message
You’ve got the decision-makers intrigued, but what else can convince them that this is the right call?
The answer is demonstrating how you plan to manage the internal communication for a digital transformation initiative.
After all, without adoption, the whole thing will never get off the ground — so, be sure to note all of the key communication points in your pitch, from managing initial expectations around rollout to your full implementation roadmap. (And remember, evolution beats revolution.)
“Communicate wins as they happen, and most of all make it fun by using gamification, reward systems, and good old-fashioned competition. After all, technology is fun. Why not use it in the way it was intended.” — Daniel Newman, Forbes
Ready to Transform Your Organization?
If you’re ready to take the next step with your technology and discover what’s possible, let’s start talking strategy. We’ll get to know your organization, your goals, and your existing tech infrastructure before mapping the journey to your moonshot so you can reach your greatest potential.
