6 Lessons from Digital Transformation Experts

Digital transformation broadly encompasses how digital technology is integrated across a business, impacting how goods and services are developed, delivered, and received. The larger the company, the more individuals and teams take on shared ownership of digital transformation goals. As a business concept, we’ve talked about digital transformation for the better part of a decade. But in 2020, digital transformation as we know it barreled ahead at a dizzying pace—causing product and marketing teams to make fast, learn-as-you-go decisions impacting billions of dollars.

Due to stay-at-home orders enacted across the globe in response to COVID-19, the mobile channel has seen particularly extreme changes in how companies leverage it to support their broader business goals. Consumers are accelerating adoption of digital channels, and consumption patterns are unlikely to return to pre-COVID levels quickly, if ever (McKinsey 2020). Businesses are re-shifting their focuses to center on the needs of changing consumer expectations, and the mobile channel has taken center stage.

To explore what’s changed and what’s next for the future of digital transformation, with an emphasis on the mobile channel, we talked with some of the best minds in digital product and marketing, and share their best tips in our new guide, 6 Lessons from Digital Transformation Experts.

We spent time with each of these expert product and marketing leaders to bring you a fresh perspective on six key lessons in digital transformation. We’re excited to share their thoughts on what’s top-of-mind, how to overcome obstacles, where the marketplace is going, and tips for success.

Here’s a sneak-peek into what’s covered.

Q. What does digital transformation mean for today’s business leaders?

“2020 has become an extraordinary year for digital transformation as many companies that thought that they had years to roll out a digital strategy were forced to change their business models and processes very quickly. In 2020, digital transformation changed from a feature on the roadmap to a means of survival.

For example, for retail and dining, digital transformation’s new role became evident when people sheltered at home. Suddenly, customers wanted to limit their time in stores and cash became perceived as dirty. In order to survive, stores and restaurants with limited online presence were forced to create e-commerce storefronts within days, transitioning to Buy Online, Pickup In-Store (BOPIS) models or leveraging mobile app-enabled delivery.” Liz Jensen, Senior Product Manager, Visa

“Digital transformation means focusing the needs of consumers that aren’t being met by what exists, and then using the capabilities that digital technology offers us to solve them significantly better. The best digital transformation strategies advocate for the consumer and what they want. Look at how a company like Amazon used modern techniques for warehousing, shipping, recommending and reviewing physical goods in a way that was so much better for customers that they were able to overtake a juggernaut like Walmart in a relatively short period of time.” Josh Fischer, Product Lead, Spotify

“There are many different ways to define digital transformation. To me, it simply means that employees or customers can get what they need to get done online. If you want to buy something, you can transact online, rather than having to physically go in-person. If you need to work from home, you can complete your job functions remotely. Right now, there’s a lot of pressure for every kind of business to digitally transform because of the pandemic forcing us all to stay home.” Lauren Chan Lee, Product Management Leader, formerly Care.com

“Digital transformation means being available where your users are. And for business leaders, especially those who run businesses that aren’t digital in the first place, this means to adapt to new technologies and channels, and do it fast. For brands, this means to be available on all types of platforms, often with all of the capabilities the business offers, all features, full support etc. Being on social media, doesn’t only mean to have a profile, but staying active, fresh, and relevant. On all platforms that are used by the relevant audience.

Mobile first is a great example for a term that quickly turned from just being a fun recommendation to an actual fact. A goal that businesses must push to. People turn to their phones for everything now, and are transitioning from their home computers or laptops for most online tasks or activities.” Igal Stolpner, Growth Advisor, Investing.com

Q. What are the barriers that usually block the path to transformation?

“Even if business leaders have the desire to digitize, they must weigh costs versus resources versus necessity. When persuading decision-makers to adopt a digital solution, you must ask, is my solution a pain killer or a vitamin? Meaning, is this solution a need-to-have or a nice-to-have?

In my entrepreneurial days, I was building a connected car API and scoping out the needs of organizations who could benefit from data coming from cars. My thesis was that developers would be building connected car apps. I was talking to insurance companies and telecoms to understand how they could leverage the car data to create efficiencies and excellent customer experience. While they thought that my offering was forward-thinking, their main priority was selling their existing products rather than a new venture to monetize car data. My solution was a difficult sell because, at the time, it was seen as a vitamin and not a painkiller.” Liz Jensen, Senior Product Manager, Visa

“There is a natural tendency to stick with the status quo. It’s scary for senior people to realize that they know—which has worked in the past—might not work in the future. While digital transformation strategies need to figure out how to serve the future digital needs of consumers and not get antiquated, product leaders need to be sensitive to changing the way people do things. Recognize you’re asking people to take a big risk, on something they don’t really understand and may well not work. You’re not the first one to claim to know about the next big thing. But if your business doesn’t innovate, someone will. 10 years from now someone will be doing your business in a better way, so you need to make a convincing argument that that someone should be you. It’s a hard argument to make because it’s hard to change legacy mindset, but you have to drive it home.” Josh Fischer, Product Lead, Spotify

“Sometimes there are barriers that you can’t control. For example, when I was at StubHub, we sold both paper and digital tickets. Our buyers loved digital tickets because they could receive their tickets immediately after placing the order. As much as we would like to have influenced sellers to list more digital tickets, the decision on what formats a ticket was available in for a given event was usually made upstream by the team, artist, or league. So even if we wanted the marketplace to have 100% digital tickets, it wasn’t in our control.” Lauren Chan Lee, Product Management Leader, formerly Care.com

“Often, the barriers aren’t budget related. They might have to do with the fact that businesses simply have a hard time transitioning—especially brick and mortar businesses, or older firms with no relevant know-how. That continues to outdated technology, with no proper data infrastructure. For example, I’ve heard for the past five years that many financial firms prefer to buy advertising on desktop and not mobile web or apps, because their systems cannot track users on mobile as well as on desktop. Yes, even in 2020.” Igal Stolpner, Growth Advisor, Investing.com

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If you’re wondering how you can take what you learn and apply it to your plan, we’re here to help! Learn how Apptentive can help you deliver exceptional mobile customer experiences—powered by emotion. Measure shifts in customer emotion and gather actionable feedback across your mobile customer journey by requesting a demo.