Adapt or Die Ryan Mack Says at San Diego Conference: Digitization Must Fulfill Expectations of Customers
It’s not enough that companies should enhance their IT department but the strategy should be geared toward meeting the rising expectations of customers who speak the language.
Those who are not quick enough to adapt will be playing catch-up with their most successful competitors, said Ryan Mack, marketing executive of RM Marketing Group.
“Call it digital disruption or digitization, but there’s a lot of opportunity to be made here if companies and entrepreneurs are able to recognize their shortcomings on the digital and technological aspects of their business,” he said.
Digital disruption is a condition where a new business model or technology trigger massive changes in the way the current market functions. Companies in the IT industry, along with the media, telecommunications, and retail services are among the most vulnerable in this phenomenon. Those who have not implemented safety nets in place are at risk of falling behind.
“This is not an abstract concept anymore. It is here and countless companies have closed down because of it,” he said.
But in some industries, they still have time to implement changes because even businesses surveyed in the Microsoft and Harvard report, “Competing in 2020: winners and losers in the digital economy” believe that digital disruption won’t hit them until 2020.
He added, “You might think that digital disruption is the lone domain of the IT department but with the way technology has permeated into every facet of our everyday lives, any strategy to be adopted by the business should extend into the operations, as well.”
Mack explained that if the changes will be constrained in the IT department, the more tech-savvy of the customers won’t be able to be aware of the innovations that are tailor-fitted to address their needs. The only way to do this is to revolutionize not just the business operations but also the services of the company, the products it sells, and ultimately, the customer experience.
“In fact, when you improve customer experience by just 10%, you are looking at massive gains,” he added. “For the most part, customers are easy to please. You cut the transaction time, improve delivery accuracy, and ensure prompt response to complaints if any, and you get a customer for life.”
“The only way to do this is to invest in technology,” Mack said.
Behind the scenes, he said, businesses should also invest in big data because it’s one way to anticipate what the customer wants. Of course, that doesn’t preclude old-fashioned methods of putting complaints boxes in conspicuous places or asking customers to do a quick survey of the products and services.
“The idea is to gather as much information as you can and analyze the voluminous data on your customer base. The results will give you an idea of the gaps and weaknesses in your operations and services that set you back from taking the next step in your business,” he said.
“You can’t place a value on the ability to anticipate the customers’ needs even before they realize they need something in the first place. That’s what digitization does for you.”
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