By Damian Proctor, Redweb
The journey to becoming a digital-first organisation requires a shift in business focus outwards, towards the customer. Due to low risk and greater flexibility, digital has become a key enabler and the best medium for evolving an engaging relationship with customers, investors and other interested parties.
The phrase ‘digital transformation’ has become popular because it indicates a fundamental change taking place. Much like a butterfly emerging from the chrysalis, the marker for a transformed business is digital evolution to a point of no return.
While this definition has value as a desired future state, it does little to explain the process – from the steps you need to take today, to where the real work happens in the future. However, if you shift your thinking from a focus on transformation to a focus on maturity, as a digital champion you will find it easier to engage and empower your colleagues during the early stages, rather than appearing to evangelise an unattainable utopia.
Digital maturity is a gradual process that unfolds across an organisation over time. Just as a child takes time to grow up, a business needs time to mature. Just as there are different developmental stages throughout an individual’s life, your business can continue to grow and adapt no matter what stage it’s at in order to become more digitally mature.
Maturation is a natural affair, so it does not happen automatically. Digital maturity is the process of learning how to respond to the emerging competitive digital environment through a better understanding of your audience – adapting your culture and operations to meet their needs, supported by just enough technology to deliver against your strategy. Yet, this is not something that your business, leaders, and employees will instinctually know how to do. Digital champions must develop a working knowledge of the steps required throughout the journey to be prepared for the challenges ahead.
At Redweb we partner with ambitious brands to empower long-term success, by defining transformational digital strategy. We’ve utilised two decades of experience, working with heritage brands like UEFA, Guide Dogs and Organix, to curate a break-through digital series that will guide you through the key challenges at each stage of your journey to becoming a digital-first organisation.
DMB readers have the chance to start the new year with a competitive digital advantage by signing up for early access to our maturity model today.