The way in which we do business is always changing. Over the past few decades, with the rise of the internet and a more global business environment, more than 80% of Fortune 500 companies that existed 20 years ago have failed to transform and went out of business.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw the rate of change in how we do business necessarily accelerate. Whereas a few years ago most analysts expected about 50% of the global GDP to be digitized by 2025, we now know that 65% of Global DPG will be digitalized in 2022. Like the 80% of Fortune 500 companies that went out of business for failing to transform, companies that fail to properly digitally transform will fail.
Now, we have to share a bit more of the bad news. 70% of businesses that attempt to digitally transform will fail. Even worse, Out of the $1.3 Trillion total spend on Digital Transformation in Business, $900B was estimated to go to waste for the following reasons. You can take an online assessment to see if your business might be one that fails. But, the bottom line is that businesses need to prioritize digital transformation. Furthermore, they need to accelerate that change and do it the right way.
What Does It Mean To Digitally Transform?
“Digital Transformation” is a bit of a buzz term that you’ve likely come across online, especially if you’re in the marketing or sales industry. If you google it, you’ll often find elaborate definitions, geared towards trying to sell you something. Defining it does not have to be that difficult. Wikipedia defined it as, “the adoption of digital technology by a company.”
Specifically, the implications of what digital transformation means to a business can vary depending on their industry. But, at the fundamental level, it means the integration of digital technology into ALL AREAS of a business. We put “all areas” in bold and all caps for a reason. Digital transformation is not just for the marketing department, adapting to social media, leveraging cloud or SaaS, automation, or having a modernized website (though all those things can play into it).
A proper digital transformation happens at the core level of a business, and in all areas of a business. The key to a successful digital transformation is changing the culture of the organization’s workforce to think and work digitally.
Why You Need To Digitally Transform
We can dive deep into the well of all the reasons why your business must digitally transform, however, the main reason is that you will go out of business if you don’t. It is that simple; transform digitally, or go out of business. The choice is yours. 
We shared the statistic above that 80% of the best run most successful businesses in the world have gone out of business over the last few decades. We told you that those who don’t digitally transform will go out of business, eventually. And, that 70% of those who try to digitally transform, fail.
So, what happens to those who don’t even try to transform? You’ve caught on to the theme by now, you know the answer is, “they go out of business.”
Digitally transforming is not always comfortable. Change can be uncomfortable, especially if it is at the core level. Many people resist changes, and a third will stop changing if they don’t see immediate results. For this reason, how you go about the change is almost as important as recognizing the need and the “why” to make a digital transition
How To Digitally Transform.
How you transform your organization to meet the needs of your customers in a digital world is very important. As the CEO and Founder of Accelery, Lenwood Ross, says, “digital transformation is not about tools, it is about people.” You’ve seen us use the phrase, “at the core level,” a few times already in this blog. That speaks to the changing needed to be within the core of all you do, and that starts with the core people of your organization.
Every person within an organization must be involved in a digital transformation. That means that the executive leadership in an organization can’t delegate all the change. The C-level executives need to be hands-on with digital transformation. Just as importantly, though change starts with the leaders of an organization, everyone from the CEO down to part-time entry-level workers or interns needs to be on board with the change.
Where To Begin To Digitally Transform
You’re probably going to need some outside help. Let’s face it, if you had all the information and the action plan to digitally transform on your own, you probably wouldn’t have ventured to our website or clicked to read this blog post. Not only is knowing how to digitally transform important, but also knowing the right process to follow is essential.
The first step in the digital transformation process is to assess where your organization currently is in the digital landscape. You need to know exactly where you’re at before you can decide the best way to get to where your organization needs to go. Accelery offers a free assessment that gives your company a “digital score.” Once you’ve analyzed where your company is at, you can begin to develop a strategic plan and execute that plan.
We are able to work with you every step of the digital transformation and make your digital transformation successful. If you could use our help, let’s talk. But, whether it is worthing with us, someone else, or trying it on your own, we encourage you to make transforming digitally a priority.
