“Digital transformation is human. It’s human-centered,” said Brian Solis, principal analyst at Altimeter during his keynote address at the 2017 Digicon DX: The Culture of Transformation held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) last October 11, 2017.
Technology, marketing, design all boil down to consumer experience. Solis stressed that today, consumers’ concept of brands are not the same as it was many years ago. Consumers look for the whole experience — from the product itself to all and every touchpoint with the brand. “Welcome to a new era of business where your brand is defined by those who experience it,” he said.
Yet, Solis said, brands and companies just add the word “experience” to their marketing efforts and lead consumers through the same journey. He cited the Cluster Funnel which shows the gap between marketing, customer service, and user experience. If marketing is great but customer service is bad, the brand failed to deliver optimum user experience. “Just because one part is great and the other part sucked means there’s a part of your brand that’s failing,” he stressed.
On one hand, digital transformation is to open up the company to innovation. On the other, it is to make use of technology and innovation to answer customer needs and to provide great customer experience. Solis reminded marketers to put the consumer at the heart of the transformation. “Until we understand what is at the heart of another human being and how they want to engage, what they value and why, all the data, all the artificial intelligence in the world isn’t going to put us in the right track.”
Solis also mentioned how start-ups have gained such an advantage over more traditional brands and companies. These smaller outfits have given consumers what they want and what they need with good experience. “When someone tastes that experience and they like it, they don’t go back. They don’t like to compromise. And now they’ve learned they don’t have to compromise. That is a huge sense of urgency and that’s what you’re designing for this is where most companies fail,” he shared.
All of these add up to a need for a transformation. To start this process, Solis stressed the need for executive level support and leadership. To do this, there must be a big change in mindset. He advised to show the changes happening in the world and show evidence via decreasing market shares and the opportunities to be had by investing in technology and the process.
During the media roundtable, he said “you need to realize that there is a need to change because something is broken or there is an opportunity to do something better and new. Everything is always personal. Start with someone who will say, ‘hey, what am I missing today?’. That’s already a big step”.
“Once an employee or customer tastes something new, they don’t go backwards.
Same with someone who tastes change and innovation. If they have a success, they want more or they should want more of it,” he added.
