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Big-Picture Digital: Firms Are Digitizing All Their Processes, Not Just Marketing

Most brands have digitized their business processes.

A full 78.6% have replaced manual, disconnected, and paper-based procedures by integrating digital information, and 18.4% may soon follow, according to Digital Business Knowledge, a study released Monday by GoodFirms. 

Why go to the trouble? Marketing is far from the main driver (and email marketing is presumably less so). But many digital processes feed marketing. The reasons for digitizing are:

  • Lower operational costs — 72.8% 
  • Improve customer satisfaction — 70% 
  • Quality and sustainability — 64.2%
  • Enhance productivity — 59.6%
  • Better decision making — 53% 
  • Increased transparency and visibility — 50.1% 
  • Overcome manual errors — 47.4% 
  • Eliminate geo-location limits — 44.5% 
  • Save time — 39.3% 
  • Reliability — 36.8% 
  • Easier compliance — 32.5% 
  • More marketing options — 25%

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Yes, marketing is last. But it shouldn’t be overlooked when digitizing a company.  

“Many customers today expect to be able to communicate with businesses online, whether that be through websites, social media, email, or other electronic means,” the study states. “Businesses can more easily build and maintain online presences and use digital marketing tools to reach and engage with customers by digitizing their operations and business processes.” 

Those that have digitized have seen many positive results, including:

  • Improved customer experience — 72.8%
  • Improved business growth — 69% 
  • Less operating costs — 54.2% 
  • Employee improvement — 48.4%
  • Automation — 41.6% 
  • Improved reach — 35.7% 
  • Systematic data capturing and securing — 30.1%
  • Agility — 27.3% 

But it is not easy. Businesses face these obstacles in trying to digitize: 

  • Lack of budget — 52.7% 
  • Lack of executive support — 49.3%
  • Lack of resources — 48.7% 
  • Lack of digital business skills — 38.4% 
  • Lack of customer focus — 31.5%
  • Lack of IT engagement — 25.1% 
  • Lack of BPM skills — 20% 
  • Week business case — 16.9% 
  • Tools were too challenging to use — 10.1%

Overall, the respondents describe their digital organizations as follows:

  • Able to respond quickly to threats or opportunities compared to our competitors — 38.5% 
  • Innovative compared to our competitors — 31.4% 
  • Collaborative compared to our competitors — 27.5%
  • All of the above — 32.6%

How aware are business leaders of digital technologies? They claim to know about: 

  • Machine Learning — 72.5%
  • Artificial Intelligence — 67.3%
  • Virtual and Augmented Reality (AR/VR) — 58.7% 
  • Robotic process Automation (RPA) — 46.4%
  • The Internet of Things (IoT) — 38.7%
  • Blockchain — 33.2%
  • 5G — 26% 
  • Edge Computing — 19.1%
  • Quantum Computing — 13% 

GoodFirms surveyed 520 businesses, executives and professionals.

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