The digital transformation journey is complex and you can easily lose yourself looking for alternatives and going back and forth without results.

What is what we call “digital”?

Let’s start first on what is what everybody calls digital. The business is business and this has not changed, what has changed is the context, and by that reason we have to look at it continuously.

The consumers have the control, they can change of product, brand or service as soon as they can. So to become “digital” means that you put this as first priority on the whole cycle.

How can we do that? Well the answer is complex, but one of the elements you have to take clear is the fact that you need an ecosystem or platform that enables you to:

• absorb and analyze all context data.
• change your operations based on tactic decisions that you have taken based on the analysis.

So, user is under control and to have a platform that enables you to learn and react to it are, simplifying a lot, the two key things.

What is becoming the standard steps for digital transformation

These steps are the typical steps the companies are doing, for sure in different ways and with different styles. The culture is an important component and the organizations with an innovative mindset are crossing the river to digital easily.

Step 1.- Understand the digital dynamics:

• What are the new consumer habits?
• What are the consumer value more?
• How they consume? what is the decision making process?
• When are they consuming?

Step 2.- Define the new digital business context

• Who are the industry competitors?
• Who are the new competitors that do not belong to the given industry?

Step 3.- Determine the cultural and capability readiness and gaps.

• Is the organization able to adapt to these changes?
• How can we convince the organization that we have to accelerate these changes?
• How can we do all this without losing the identity?

Step 4.- Map the value chains and identify the economic value added

• What is the current situation where we are?
• What are the main user capabilities that they are demanding?
• How can we offer them these capabilities quickly, in an intuitive way, and aligned with their experience expectation?
• What are the operational capabilities we have to improve/change to enable this customer experience?

Step 5.- Build the digital transformation road-map

For all these changes we have defined:

• What are the initiatives / projects we have to launch?
• When can be released?
• What are the priorities?

Step 6.- Create the flight plans for the digital transformation initiatives

• What are the defined initiatives / projects we have to launch?
• What are the communications plans we have to prepare internally to show the vision, and purpose of these changes?
• How ready is our organization to adopt these changes?

Step 7.- Execute the plans across the digital change life-cycle.

• Just do it, get feedback and achieve these goals you have defined.