Digital transformation and the modern customer experience

The rapidly evolving enterprise landscape is leading more organizations to implement digital transformation initiatives as a way to keep up with the pace of innovation, take advantage of emerging trends and achieve their most valuable business goals.

In fact, according to the Connectivity benchmark report 2018, 74% of IT decision makers are currently championing digital transformation initiatives for their organizations, with an additional 23% planning to do so over the next three years. As today’s consumers become more informed and more connected, 71% of these decision makers cite improving the modern customer experience as a desired outcome of their digital transformation initiatives.

Advances in technology have ushered in a new generation of empowered customers that continue to place pressure on organizations to provide consistent and relevant customer experiences. These customers are active across an increasing number of digital communication channels, aware of the myriad of choices available to them and relentless in their pursuit of the most rewarding experiences. In the age of the customer, companies that can provide seamless shopping experiences across their physical stores, websites and mobile platforms improve revenue and radically improve their chances of retaining customers. One Harvard study, for example, found that omnichannel customers spent an average of 4% more in stores and 10% more online than single channel customers. Additionally, 80% of business buyers already expect companies to interact with them in real-time.

In order to deliver on these expectations and improve experiences across all customer touchpoints, IT decision makers are deploying a number of digital transformation initiatives. According to the Connectivity benchmark report 2018, the three most common initiatives are:

1. Modernizing legacy systems

Organizations operating with legacy infrastructure and systems may not be able to support modern technologies as well as the on-demand, real-time experiences that customers have come to expect. Replacing outdated solutions and on-premises systems with newer technologies like cloud computing, or integrating them with more modern systems through APIs, can help companies take advantage of the latest customer-centric trends and deliver on growing IT demands.

2. Integrating SaaS applications

In the era of the customer, providing consistent online and offline experiences is critical, but that becomes more difficult to accomplish as the number of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications grows within an organization. It’s nearly impossible if these applications remain siloed. Integrating these applications with each other and with on-premises systems can help companies gain valuable insights from customer data and ensure relevant information is exchanged in real-time. Right now, IT decision makers view integrating SaaS applications as the second most important initiative for helping them achieve their business goals.

3. Investing in mobile applications

In the United States, a recent Pew Research Center survey reveals that 77% of cellphone users now own smartphones. The number of worldwide smartphone users is expected to reach 2.5 billion by 2019. Extending desktop experiences to mobile devices can help organizations engage customers on their preferred channels and consistently deliver personalized messages. An example of this is using data from past mobile purchases to tailor products or services recommendations to each individual customer.

For more information on what digital transformation initiatives organizations are currently undertaking to improve the modern customer experience, download the Connectivity benchmark report 2018 today.