DIGITAL DISRUPTION AS AN OPPORTUNITY
Today’s digital technologies are causing massive upheaval in every industry. Businesses from banking to education to retail are experiencing some sought of digital disruption and those who have taken advantage of it have achieved sustained relevance and are guaranteed success in the future.
Let’s talk about how to use digital strategy to transform your core company. We’ll look at how to digitise your products and services, key points on why digital disruption matters, and all other aspects of the value chain.
COMPONENTS OF DIGITAL DISRUPTION
Disruption is a critical element of the evolution of technology. Each of the four elements of digital disruption has the potential to change the way businesses’ function.
- Technology: Includes things like invention, usage, design, etc.
- Business: Covers marketing, development, delivery pricing, etc.
- Industry: Involves customers, methods, processes, standards, etc.
- Society: Encompasses movements, culture, habits, and so on.
“DIGITAL LIPSTICK” SYNDROME
Every industry is being disrupted by digital disruption at a much quicker rate than any previous technology in the past, be it the steam engine, electricity, telephone, computers, or even the Internet. It seems incredible, yet it’s nearly probably true. The disruption is significant in two respects. One, it is comprehensive, affecting every aspect of the business model, including what you make, how you make it, how you buy, how you sell, your relationships with customers, suppliers, and other partners, and how you manage the firm internally. Two, everything is moving at a dizzying speed. Either you ride a tiger, or you are crushed by one. Given the magnitude and speed of this disruption, business leaders must beware of the digital lipstick syndrome.
DISRUPTION AND THE FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN: NO LONGER ACCEPTABLE EXCUSES IN BUSINESS ANYMORE
The answer to two key questions is business strategy. First and foremost, what game do you wish to play? That is, the potential space in which the organisation sees itself. Second, how do you intend to play that game? That is, how the business expects to compete in this market. Answers to both issues are upended by digital disruption.
Take a five-year look back at your industry. How will the industry’s structure and dynamics evolve from those of today? What will the major characteristics of the rising winners’ tactics be five years from now?
CONSIDER DIGITAL DISRUPTION AS A GIFT
When companies see disruptive technologies as a threat rather than an opportunity, they get into problems. Those who choose to ride the tiger have a much greater chance than those who do not. When companies see it as a gift rather than a problem, they have a much higher chance of surviving and succeeding.
Only a decade ago, the car industry was dominated by companies like GM, Ford, and Toyota. These companies now compete with entrants like Uber, Bolt, and Lyft, who provide transportation services – rather than cars. Retail, finance, education, and even construction are all seeing similar trends. Digital disruption makes things happen, especially in agile businesses. As a company expands, both the internal and external workings of the organisation might get more complicated, and the demands and requirements that keep the whole thing running alter as well. The digitisation of business processes – which is a component of digital disruption – is critical for making a company more efficient, cost-effective, productive, and customer-friendly.
What will divide the winners from the losers in your sector as a result of digital disruption?
BUILDING PURELY DIGITAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Dropbox is an excellent example of a highly successful digital-only product and service. Let’s examine this situation through the prism of three obstacles that each founding team must overcome in order to prosper. Identifying a client need, implementing a technical solution, and formulating a business strategy are all steps in the process. Dropbox was developed by Drew Houston, an MIT alumnus, one year after he graduated from college. Drew was hell-bent on making Dropbox as easy, dependable, and smooth as possible. Users that were overjoyed were eager to assist spread the information virally. The firm has several million users within two years. By 2016, the figure had risen to 500 million. The takeaway? The better your idea, the larger the herd of copycats. Survival and success demand that you must figure out how to create and sustain a competitive advantage.
CREATES HAPPIER, MORE SATISFIED CUSTOMERS
Customers nowadays are a very different crop than customers in the past. They are more knowledgeable and discriminating, and they know what they want. Many clients have minimal brand loyalty and choose to shop with the company that best suits their needs. Brands that can foresee trends and client behaviour, as well as provide excellent pre- and post-sale customer service, are having a lot of success. Advanced analytics and big data enable a deeper knowledge of consumers by providing previously unavailable insights into customer behaviour and other patterns. This is why, despite having no physical stores (save for Whole Foods), companies like Amazon have witnessed exponential growth over the years.
DIGITISING EXISTING PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Take a look at some examples from today’s reality. Rear-facing cameras, satellite navigation, and Bluetooth connectivity are all likely features in your vehicle. Do you have a cheque to deposit? Simply open your bank’s app on your phone and take a picture of it. Are you planning on staying in a hotel? Check in with your phone, which may also serve as your electronic key. Today, no sector can avoid the need to begin digitising every product and service. I’ve come up with five recommendations for doing so within your own organisation.
First and foremost, digitalization should never be pursued for its own sake. Instead, concentrate on the value of the consumer. Second, move backwards from user behaviour to rethink products and services. Third, experiment, experiment, and experiment. This is especially crucial if you wish to be the first mover in digital innovations. The hope for customer value may turn out to be elusive, or the technology may end up being full of bugs and not yet ready for primetime. Consider digitization to be a never-ending adventure. Fourth, basic technologies such as artificial intelligence, block chains, quantum computing, 5G, and others are rapidly advancing. New possibilities will continue to emerge. Finally, learn how to work together. Working with a partner that has deep-rooted experience can help your team deliver the right disruption, faster and more seamlessly than going it alone. This ensures that the right actions are in place to make your innovation successful and add value to your users. The collaboration can occur in many ways
THE EVOLUTION AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE WORKPLACE
One of the keys to a successful business operation is the ability to have a harmonious team and workplace that runs like a well-oiled machine. Using the most up-to-date workflow management systems, for example, allows teams and leaders to make better use of time and resources, resulting in increased efficiency.
THE KEY TAKEAWAYS
Digital technologies are like a cyclone, destroying the structure and dynamics of every business, from automobiles to finance to education to retail. Here are a few crucial points to remember.
- Consider digital disruption a gift rather than a problem.
- Keep an eye out for the digital lipstick syndrome. Rather of cautiously and half-heartedly embracing digitalisation, embrace it wholeheartedly.
- Customers nowadays are a very different breed than customers in the past. They are more knowledgeable and discriminating, and they know what they want.
- Make customer focus and increase customer value the most important guiding principles for your digital strategy creation.
- Look for opportunities to expand the digital content of your products and services, create new, purely digital products and services, and digitise every activity in your company’s value chain.
- Leverage the wisdom of crowds to speed up the pace of innovation.
- Continually improve the organisation’s agility. Move quickly while making the most smart decisions.
- Experiment, experiment, experiment. If the idea fails, figure out why and try a diverse approach. If it works, figure out why and scale up.
Good luck 👍
Faheem Ali,
Expert Financial Inclusion, FinTech and Digital Transformations
Faheem has a strong management background in the Inclusive Finance and Banking domain with insightful understanding of the financial sector in various markets in Central Asia, Asia Pacific, and Africa.
He has extensive experience in financial digital product development, Process Automation to accelerate every business function, corporate and product marketing strategies formulation, digital transformations, data analytics, DevOps, cybersecurity, and FinTech / FinServ operations.
He also delivers workshops, training, consulting and executive coaching services to support this work including to support a culture (change agent) that encourages people to think differently, take action, and focus on the customer to drive the business growth. He is an international speaker and trained more than 35,000+ delegates across the globe.
