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A Model for Driving Organizational Transformation in Today’s Business Landscape

It’s time to look deeper into your organization’s DNA, mind, body and soul.

Everyone acknowledges that orchestrating organizational change is a crucial component of successful business transformations, so why is it always the Achilles heel?

Business Transformation

Many organizations have struggled to meet the challenges of the modern business landscape, where stakeholder and customer needs and demands continue to change dramatically and new market entrants threaten disruption. Companies need to ask themselves the following:

  • “What would our organization look like if it had been designed in the last 10 or 20 years?”
  • “In what different ways might an organization like that create value?”
  • “What customers would it serve and how?”
  • “How might you work backwards from that vision to build a roadmap for bringing your digitally transformed organization to life, properly leveraging the assets and value they already have in hand?”

Customer-led Transformation

No matter how digital organizations become, it will still be humans who ultimately run the organization. Many organizations – some digitally native and some not – understand and treat their humans well. But we’ve also observed that some of those companies have lost track of some equally important humans outside of their organization: their customers! The products, services and experiences they are offering are frustrating the very people who will ultimately determine the survival of the business.

These organizations need to change dramatically to continue to have relevance in the marketplace. They need to inculcate a customer-centric mindset and identify if skills gaps are preventing them from creating more relevant products and experiences. They need to understand where and how their operating model might need to change to support the kinds of pivots and adaptations needed to reconnect with customers and other important stakeholders.

Prophet’s Human-Centered Transformation Model

We view all organizations as a macrocosm of the individual: having a collective DNA, Body, Mind and a Soul. An organization’s culture needs to be understood as a holistic ecosystem and successful transformation today requires leaders to think about every aspect of this ecosystem.

DNA

The DNA is comprised of things that provide direction and tend to change infrequently. The elements that define the destination and direction of travel such as the corporate purpose, values, brand, strategy and employee value proposition.

Soul

It is the elements of the Soul which motivate employees to believe in the DNA. Those are the mindsets and the daily behaviors and ways of working those mindsets motivate; and it’s the stories and symbols that are used to signpost what an organization will and will not embrace.

Mind

The skills and capabilities of an organization’s talent are the Mind of the organization and when properly cared for and nurtured, enable goals to be achieved.

Body

The Body is how collective efforts can be directed. It’s the operating model and organizational design, and the governance, processes, systems, and tools which enable it to cohere.

“An organization’s culture needs to be understood as a holistic ecosystem and successful transformation today requires leaders to think about every aspect of this ecosystem.”

Why We Use the Model

Transformations frequently stumble on cultural roadblocks, which is best expressed in the time-honored truism attributed to legendary business theorist Peter Drucker: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

We apply our Human-Centered Transformation Model as a lens for unpacking and refocusing the complexities of organizational and cultural dynamics into specific components that can be more easily digested, explored and understood.

We believe that our model’s holistic nature enables us to look clearly at all the interrelated elements that ultimately manifest in the experience of an organization’s culture. It ensures that our understanding is appropriately layered, helping us to make connections between the explicit and implicit elements that sometimes go undiscussed. Most importantly, it supports nuanced diagnoses of organizational challenges and helps us to design a clear roadmap for change, against which progress can be measured.

If you’d like to discuss taking a human-centred approach to your transformation, then our expert team can help. Contact us today


FINAL THOUGHTS

The Human-Centered Transformation Model helps us think comprehensively about the vision for a digitally transformed organization, the skills and competencies it requires and how to design an operating model that will bring it to life. It helps us think comprehensively about increasing customer centricity, identifying the capabilities needed to create more relevant products and services and how to design an operating model that will enable increased focus on the marketplace. And our experience is that by failing to address the elements of the model holistically, the transformation will not be sustained, nor deliver the value anticipated.

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What Amazon Pharmacy Means for Organizations Looking for Post-COVID Growth Moves

This latest disruption is potentially enormous. It also exposes plenty of behavioral white spaces.

Amazon just announced its online pharmacy, news the healthcare world has long expected. And while much will be said about what Amazon Pharmacy means for the $1.2 trillion prescription drug business, we believe there’s something even bigger going on here. And it offers lessons to every company seeking growth in the post-COVID-19 world.

Amazon is proving once again that digital transformation isn’t just about technology. It’s about moving at “the speed of digital” and giving customers what they need. The e-commerce giant is merely acting on a template for growth that works in every industry and for every brand: When people begin to start moving through their lives differently, it creates upheaval, revealing new pockets of need. And the space between these changed behaviors offers abundant growth opportunities for every business willing to study them closely and act. We call these pockets of new opportunity behavioral white spaces.

Amazon’s timing offers an important lesson. This move has been brewing for years, even before its acquisition of PillPack in 2018. The company’s value proposition–getting people what they need, fast–made pharmacy an obvious extension. Who wouldn’t like to get routine prescriptions filled online, as quickly and seamlessly as every other Amazon Prime purchase?

But while it had been laying the groundwork for years, COVID-19 changed the way the world views healthcare. Consumers have always been eager for digital solutions to staying healthy and making their lives more convenient. The pandemic is clarifying, crystallizing and augmenting these new preferences, creating the perfect moment for Amazon’s launch.

Assessing the new playing field

Growth strategists should look beyond the inevitable “Amazon set to crush yet another industry” headlines. First, we are not sure it will prove to be true. Secondly, the news is more significant than that, highlighting an equal-opportunity growth moment. While there are multiple moves available, the best choices will differ depending on each company’s purpose and value proposition. Amazon is just following the universal rules of innovation and customer-centricity: What are the new customer needs, and how can we meet them in new and better ways?

There are many ways to win within today’s environment. Other companies have capitalized on the need for home care and the benefits and convenience of home delivery. Take Express Scripts Pharmacy as an example which relaunched its enhanced digital experience and consumer-centric brand earlier this summer. Unlike Amazon or new entrants in the pharmacy space, they’re building upon their deep clinical expertise, legacy in practicing pharmacy, ease and convenience of home delivery, coupled with 24/7 access to specially trained pharmacists.

“The space between these changed behaviors offers abundant growth opportunities for every business willing to study them closely and act.”

Express Scripts Pharmacy used key insights to understand that for many consumers, particularly those with multiple chronic conditions, pharmacist expertise matters more than convenience. And it’s worth pointing out that Americans have enormous trust and respect for their pharmacists, with Gallup reporting they are just behind nurses and doctors.

That’s just two players attacking the space from two different angles. There are certainly many other moves still available.

One way to analyze potential growth moves is to think about three different roles organizations can play as consumers continue to speed through these rapid changes in both needs and expectations. We like to use the “transformers, creators and invaders” framework when thinking about industry disruption. Healthcare provides some stellar examples.

Express Scripts Pharmacy is a transformer. It’s an example of a company reinventing itself and its offerings, using experience-first initiatives to reach its customers in new–and better–ways. Companies, like Teladoc, Oscar and Higi, are creators. And then there are invaders, like Amazon, moving from one category to another.


FINAL THOUGHTS

Whether one’s ambition is to be a transformer, creator or invader, the lesson is the same: For enterprises prepared to meet the moment, dive into these behavioral white spaces and listen to consumers, the opportunities for uncommon growth are there for the taking.

Wondering what behavioral white spaces are opening up for your organization and how to map out the best growth opportunities in the post-pandemic world? Contact us today.

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Digital Transformation in Southeast Asia: Three Key Aspects that Accelerate Growth

Our research shows that optimism, commitment and ambition are powering major regional gains.

With the backdrop of the COVID-19 crisis, there is more pressure for digital transformation to accelerate in many organizations. In our latest global study, Altimeter, a Prophet company surveyed more than 600 key executives, including 100 in Southeast Asia (SEA) across Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam, about how they are pursuing digital transformation and the impact of the pandemic.

Our study reveals interesting differences between digital transformation efforts and sentiment in Southeast Asia versus the rest of the world. (Download the full SEA report here)

There are three distinct aspects that made Southeast Asia companies’ digital transformation journey stand out.

1. Optimism: Accelerating Digital Transformation Amid COVID-19 Crisis

While the rest of the world is becoming more risk-averse amid the crisis, SEA expresses optimism about the future. In fact, a significantly higher number of companies have accelerated their digital transformation initiatives and are focused on growth.

Figure 1: Digital Transformation Initiatives Shifted Amidst COVID-19
“How have your digital transformation initiatives shifted because of the spread of COVID-19”

Similar to the rest of the world, SEA companies have seen or are anticipating drop-offs of revenue as a result of COVID-19; however, the impact is less significant. Thanks to the massive and quick preventive measures enacted by the government at an early stage, Vietnam is suffering the least financially during COVID-19. Specifically, 27 percent of respondents stated that they have seen no impact on revenue or don’t anticipate any future impact, followed by Indonesia (15%) and Singapore (13%)

Figure 2: The Impact of COVID-19 on Financial Performance
“What impact has COVID-19 had on your financial performance?”

Vietnam’s commitment to transform digitally had already started before the pandemic with the launch of the National Public Service Portal and Resolution for Industry 4.0. It accelerated during the COVID-19 outbreak when offline economic activities slowed down because of strong government policies. In June 2020, the country launched a National Digital Transformation Roadmap to further advance digital transformation around three key pillars i.e. e-government, e-economy and e-society. The Singapore government also launched similar initiatives offering subsidies and grants to help companies embark or accelerate its digital transformation programs.

“While the rest of the world is becoming more risk-averse amid the crisis, SEA expresses optimism about the future.”

2. Commitment: Focused Executive Sponsorship to Carry out Change

There is stronger executive sponsorship on digital transformation in SEA. Here, digital transformation is primarily driven by the CEO (30% in SEA vs. 25% in rest of the world), and twice as likely to be owned by the CDO (27% in SEA vs. 13% in rest of the world) or Board of Directors (14% in SEA vs. 6% in rest of the world).

Figure 3: Executive Sponsorship for Digital Transformation
“Which executive officially owns or sponsors the digital transformation initiative”

Leaders in SEA not only sponsor digital transformation in spirit, but understand its importance and follow through with frequent and visible support. Seventy-two percent of the executives in SEA see digital transformation as one of their top three business priorities. Thirty-four percent say digital transformation is constantly connected to higher business strategy and a top priority (vs. 23% in the rest of the world).

Figure 4: Nature of Executive Leadership
“Which of these statements best describes the nature of executive leadership in your organization”

With strong leadership, digital transformation is optimistically embraced throughout organizations in SEA. When asked about their sentiment towards digital transformation, SEA companies appear to be more optimistic across multiple aspects — stronger culture, engaged workforce and stronger prospects. Leadership’s confidence in digital transformation is stronger than other global countries, with 90 percent leadership support vs. 76 percent in the rest of the world.

Figure 5: Overall Sentiment Towards Digital Transformation
“Please indicate how much you agree with each of the following statements, from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), T2B%”

3. Ambition: Investing in Technologies to Drive Exponential Growth

Comprising some of the world’s fastest-growing markets, digital transformation in SEA is about efficient market expansion and customer acquisition supported by agile and flexible operations, innovation and technologies.

The SEA market is highly diverse in terms of language, culture and behavior. Digital transformation ensures that the technology and data are in place to better support operations (48% in SEA vs. 32% in rest of the world), and allow agility and flexibility to quickly capture opportunities (36% in SEA vs. 30% in the rest of the world). With a more positive market outlook, SEA companies are less concerned about ‘playing defense’ with initiatives like creating a culture to handle disruption (8% in SEA vs. 15% in the rest of the world).

Figure 6: Top Drivers of Digital Transformation
“What are the key drivers of digital transformation within your organization?”

Thanks to higher proliferation of mobile devices and more affordable networks, internet users in SEA had exceeded 300M by 2019. In order to meet the growing demand of this community, technology investments in SEA are more about connectivity and social & consumer platforms.

E-commerce and ride-hailing are the most promising sectors in SEA, supported by investments from China and U.S. tech giants e.g. Alibaba, Tencent, Didi and Amazon. Relevant technologies are receiving higher attention than the rest of the world. Forty percent of respondents selected IoT as their investment priority (vs. 29% in the rest of the world), 26 percent selected e-commerce platform (vs. 19% in the rest of world), and 21 percent selected AR/VR (vs. 14% in the rest of world).

Figure 7: Prioritized Technology Investments
“What are your top priorities for technology investments in 2020”

While global companies are still at the testing or infancy stage of using AI, it is increasingly implemented on a regular basis and adopted in SEA. The majority of the respondents are leveraging AI extensively in driving new products, business models and customer experiences, much higher than the global (29% in SEA vs. 19% in rest of the world).

Figure 8: Use of Artificial Intelligence Within Organization
“To what extent do you use artificial intelligence (including machine learning, computer vision, natural language process, robotics, or deep learning) within your organization”

One major source of momentum is the booming of fintech and digital banking, the biggest adopters who use AI technology to enable mobile payment and fast lending services.

From a country perspective, Singapore is taking a substantial lead in AI development and adoption, fuelled by investments from the government on both software and physical infrastructure e.g., joint-innovation on intelligent robots, increased data storage capacity, open data and open government platforms, as well as high-speed network and advanced IT security.  Other countries such as the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia are lagging, but gradually catching up.

However, SEA is still catching up on developing more modern tech infrastructure e.g. cloud and cybersecurity (see Figure 7).


FINAL THOUGHTS

Regardless of financial challenges, COVID-19 has in fact presented more opportunities for companies in Southeast Asia to accelerate their digital transformation agendas. As the fourth largest trading and consuming region in the world, with one of the largest young and digitally savvy segments, companies in SEA should keep investing in building new digital capabilities and technologies to stay competitive, while conveying a strong strategic vision and executive leadership. Last but not least, it is important to increase efforts on modernizing IT infrastructure to catch up with other leading markets in the world.

Download the full PDF report, or get in touch to learn more about how to accelerate your digital transformation in SEA to drive uncommon growth.

REPORT

Reclaiming Interest: A Transformation Playbook for the Insurance Industry

Learn to transform your organization from the inside-out, adding the capabilities and talent needed right now.

While insurance companies have made much progress in reinventing themselves for today’s customers, the results are clear: there’s still some way to go. As many turn their attention toward planning and formulating their strategies for the year ahead, this playbook from our Financial Services practice outlines the different levers to pull in order to speed up digital transformation efforts and customer experience initiatives.

In this playbook you will learn:

  • How insurers can transform their organizations from the inside out by effecting culture change and equipping the business with the right talent and capabilities to succeed in 2021.
  • How a customer-centric approach can help your business, how to get started and how to measure you efforts.
  • What the state of transformation is in the industry today and the reasons to hit the gas now.

Download the full report below.

Download Reclaiming Interest: A Transformation Playbook for the Insurance Industry

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Thank you for your interest in Prophet’s research!

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Five Healthcare Shifts: Pandemic Pressure Creates New Possibilities

As patients speed-race through their own digital epiphanies, they’re demanding consumer-centricity in healthcare.

Healthcare organizations have long acknowledged they’re digital slowpokes. Businesses aren’t likely to disrupt themselves until they have to. However, COVID-19 forced–and perhaps freed–them to accelerate change in ways they couldn’t have imagined.

And while much of the progress providers, payers and life-science companies have made in the pandemic’s early months is surprising, it also underscores problems we’ve been talking about for some time. With patients speed-racing through their own digital epiphanies, they’re demanding consumer-centricity in healthcare. And the more digital experiences become normalized–buying groceries online, taking app-based Spanish lessons or dressing up for Zoom weddings–the more they expect from healthcare.

“With patients speed-racing through their own digital epiphanies, they’re demanding consumer-centricity in healthcare.”

In 2019, Scott Davis and I published a book, Making the Healthcare Shift: The Transformation to Consumer-Centricity, and we think it’s more relevant than ever. Based on more than 70 in-depth interviews with healthcare executives at companies like Pfizer, Novartis and Eli Lilly & Company, Mayo Clinic, Anthem and Intermountain Healthcare, followed by a survey of 240 global healthcare leaders, it outlines the five most critical changes organizations need to make to keep pace with demanding consumers.

There are many ways the pandemic has accelerated the shift towards consumer-centricity. Virtual care is perhaps the most obvious example.

“We’ve done 400,000 virtual visits so far in 2020, up from approximately 20,000 visits last fiscal year,” says Nick Patel, M.D., Chief Digital Officer at Prisma Health, in a recent interview with Prophet. “I didn’t expect to hit numbers like that for many years.”

For Prisma, a nonprofit healthcare system in South Carolina, COVID-19 continues to accelerate digital transformation in dizzying ways. Patel says his teams are learning to use data differently, linking virtual visits to chatbot follow-ups, sending devices to patients’ homes and expanding in-office virtual health solutions. “I don’t think I ever thought I’d see that level of adoption in my lifetime.”

All five of these healthcare shifts are intensifying and organizations need to pay attention or risk business disruption from unexpected places:

First shift: From tactical fixes to a holistic experience strategy

Pre-COVID, healthcare organizations often started enhancing consumer experiences with one-off initiatives. But the pandemic has made it clear that experience strategy can’t just be based on location–the idea that treating people well only when they are on the premises falls apart in a virtual universe. Of course, it’s critical to make the physical experiences meaningful. People expect safe and respectful treatment. They want to see COVID-era innovations, like streamlined check-ins, minimal wait times and practical text messaging.

But attention to experience must extend far beyond the four walls of the provider’s office. It must encompass virtual-health offerings, accessible patient portals and mobile experiences that are at least as good as other non-healthcare brands.

Our book highlights how Geisinger Healthcare, Piedmont Healthcare and Intermountain Healthcare are making this shift by breaking their business models, writing manifestos and increasing investments.

Second shift: From fragmented care to connected ecosystems

Payers, providers, device and pharma companies had been making limited progress on their ability to collaborate, awkwardly stitching together fragments of the healthcare journey. But COVID’s destruction of the healthcare economy underscores just how inefficient their operating models are. U.S. hospital systems are drowning in losses of $323 billion this year. And provider compensation is under pressure, with 97 percent of medical practices reporting negative financial impact.

My prediction? I believe these losses will continue, illuminating the absurdity of healthcare operating models, with overcrowded hospitals losing more money than ever. And that will make organizations fight harder to transform toward value-based reimbursement.  This healthcare trend will become obvious to all as organizations continue to strike partnerships across the ecosystem that enable the success of these new reimbursement models. And from the current chaos, they will find their way to a business strategy that is more stable and orients financial incentives with the wellbeing of patients.

In our book, we illustrate how companies like MyFitnessPal, Zocdoc and Eli Lilly & Company are developing wrap-around solutions that embrace consumers all the time, not just when they’re in a provider’s office.

Third shift: From population-centric to person-centered

After years of talking about how data would lead to more personalized healthcare, the pandemic is finally bringing that data-driven healthcare trend and promise to life. With the increase in digital interactions, providers are getting closer to integrating personal preferences with primary research, behavioral data and clinical insights, producing a more holistic view of patients.

Increasingly, consumers are driving this healthcare shift. They recognize that it’s smart to give up their data–as long as they get something meaningful in return. An example we love: The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, devoted to finding a cure for cancer of the blood, partnered with Prophet to launch the MMRF “CureCloud.” Based on free at-home genomic testing, the digital dashboard displays personalized treatment options for myeloma patients, democratizing access to clinical insights. Customer research uncovered that the most important benefits to patients in a partner like MMRF is personalized communication and recommendations in exchange for their data–including insights they can bring to their providers for smarter care.

Our book looks at how companies like Medtronic Care Management Services are learning from personalization wizards like Spotify and Netflix, making sure people get content and messages just right for their condition.

Fourth Shift: From incremental improvements to pervasive innovation

We think the most beneficial byproduct of COVID-19 is that it has shown healthcare organizations how fast they can move and that they don’t need to settle for small tests and micro-progress.

As an example, Advocate Healthcare, a large Midwestern health system, used the approach of starting with a minimally viable product, or MVP, when introducing the radical idea of same-day scheduling. With the goal of improving both access and flexibility, it started with just one area–mammograms. “Call Today, Be Seen Today,” tripled the number of appointments made and increased awareness of its breast cancer efforts. More importantly, it showed the entire organization that this shift could be made and that it was well worth the effort.

A team from the Carle Illinois College of Medicine, a partnership between the University of Illinois and Carle Health, developed a prototype for a new ventilator in days, as did the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Gilead got FDA approval for Remdesivir in weeks. And accelerated trials have us holding out hope for effective vaccination in 18 months, not the usual four years.

One pharma exec put it to us this way: “If Dyson can pivot from making vacuum cleaners to ventilators in 10 days, we should be able to get an email campaign approved in less than 80.”

Business models are also flexing. Sales reps have lost physical access to providers, so the digital marketing healthcare trend is intensifying. Companies are stepping up their e-commerce offers, from medical devices to pharmaceuticals, targeting healthcare clients and consumers.

Our book examines the ways executives from companies like Teva Pharmaceuticals, Tonic Health and Boehringer Ingelheim are accelerating the corporate approach to innovation.

Fifth shift: From insights as a department to a culture of consumer obsession

With the world changing rapidly, tracking consumer preferences and expectations matters more than it did six months ago. Organizations are beginning to explore ways to build what we call Insights Operating System (IOS), to help organizations get to the right insights, drive the right decisions at the right time and win with the right consumers.

As enterprises pursue this new consumer-centricity healthcare trend, they have to stop relying on occasional research reports to shape their path forward. They must recognize that there are signposts to the future in every patient and customer interaction.

Our book looks at the ways companies like Novant Health and Amgen are striving to become constant listeners, so they can respond faster to emerging needs.


FINAL THOUGHTS

Healthcare organizations should all be shifting toward this consumer-centricity. If you’d like help staying up to date with healthcare trends, building an Insights Operating System, elevating the innovation process or improving personalization efforts, contact Scott or Jeff today.

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How Digital Disruption Is Changing My Industry

Transformation has to challenge customer strategy, product innovation and the enterprise itself.

There is no doubt that “digital disruption” is the newest digital buzzword. Eight or nine years ago, we heard about “digital strategy” and then it shifted to “digital transformation,” but it seemed only a few industries were dipping their toes in the water. Industries like consumer goods, healthcare, media and travel made efforts to become more digital as their customer base became more tech-savvy. And many of these companies realized tangible business benefits by embracing emerging technologies.

Yet, for the most part, companies were slow to act in a significant way toward the development of digital strategies. There was a bit of a waiting game as companies stayed on the sidelines and watched who in their industry would “fail fast” first. Yes, some CIOs, CMOs and other early movers experimented or piloted shifts, but the potential of digital was a novelty in the boardroom – something that perhaps felt inevitable, but still unproven.

“Companies can no longer sit on the sidelines, waiting for the right time to pull the trigger on a digital strategy.”

Today, virtually all industries, including “old economy” ones such as aviation, chemicals, energy, logistics and manufacturing are not only being disrupted by digital, but forced into digital because of COVID-19. Companies can no longer sit on the sidelines, waiting for the right time to pull the trigger on a digital strategy.

The Digital Disruption

Digital disruption has become widespread, affecting every aspect of business from customer behavior and leadership behaviors to supply chains and marketing department organization. Specifically, we see massive, digital-driven breakthroughs happening across four fronts:

1. Consumers and consumer behavior

Organizing customer data, insights and analytics was listed as the third most important initiative for organizations undergoing digital transformation. Consumers across every demographic, geography and psychographic have become more digital, which has shifted both their expectations and behaviors. More and more offline or physical transactions are shifting online, so the available transactional and behavioral data is growing, building an ever-richer view of the customer. Given the shifts away from in-store shopping, it makes sense that “The 2020 State of Digital Transformation” report revealed retailers to be the most focused on increasing profitable growth from existing customers (36%) and better understanding the customer journey (33%).

2. Product and service innovation

Digital technology has made it possible for companies to rewrite the rules around value creation and drive changes in industry models. Clients across categories, including our client MMRF and AXA, have built deeper customer relationships with digital.

Value proposition principles have been redefined. Not only is what we make new, but so is how we make it, the speed at which we make it, and who we make it. As these elements change, so does the value they can create for the enterprise.

3. Major enterprise processes and capabilities

According to “The State of Digital Transformation” report, the overall top driver of digital transformation today, is to “Increase productivity to streamline operations.” Even for traditional “non-digital” businesses, we’re seeing processes across the enterprise — from marketing and manufacturing to human resources and the back office — become enabled, and even reimagined through technology. Automation frees up heads and hands for new tasks, but also requires new skills and culture building.

That said, while COVID-19 has caused the need for digital transformation, nearly half of respondents (41%) felt their organization’s digital transformations were handicapped due to budget cuts resulting from the pandemic. As businesses attempt to navigate the post-COVID market and world ahead, digital transformation should be at the forefront of their strategy. And how companies evolve their culture and capabilities around digital will be the difference between fast-movers and laggards.

How Industries Can Evolve With a Sound Digital Transformation Strategy

Digital transformation has never been more urgent for businesses.. There are higher expectations from customers, employees and the market. Companies today must have a broader set of solutions that will set them on the path to growth.

A successful digital transformation strategy will help a business become what we call an ‘Evolved Enterprise.’ An Evolved Enterprise possesses a wide and deep view of its customer, reframes a broader ambition and then uses digital to transform key pillars of its business – resulting in faster growth, better performance, larger impact and higher valuation.

 A Digital Transformation Strategy Should Focus on These Three Functional Areas:

1. Strategic marketing and customer strategy

Employ digital technologies to enhance the way you build and manage your brand, develop data-driven decision-making and engage your customers.

2. Product and service innovation

Harness digital technologies to develop transformative customer experiences and new products and services (or reimagine existing ones) that will fuel new growth.

3. The enterprise itself

Design new revenue models, create new ecosystems with partners, employ agile and effective processes, and build the culture and capabilities needed to deliver growth in this new era. Transformation on the outside requires evolution on the inside. Altimeter’s 2020 report covers many of these talent and skillset challenges.


FINAL THOUGHTS

These are exciting times. It takes courage and ambition to design a digital transformation strategy with the aim of creating a breakthrough for the customer and your brand. But disruption is not the enemy or the threat. It’s a reality to embrace in order to survive and thrive.

Is it time for your company to get off the sideline and transform digitally? Contact Prophet to learn how we can help your organization develop a successful digital transformation strategy.

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7 Steps to Building a Digital Marketing Strategy

Understanding your target and setting goals are important. So is clarifying what you need to get there.

Digital has become increasingly integrated into who an organization is, what it does and how it grows. As a result, a digital transformation strategy becomes more interwoven in a company’s marketing approach. However, even in these digital times, it would be a mistake to not also plan for digital as its own separate entity.

While all marketing has a digital layer, all-digital encompasses more than just what’s apparent in traditional marketing. For this reason, we’ve put together a complete guide to building a powerful digital marketing strategy in 2020. We’ll cover what digital marketing is, its key elements and how to get started.

What is Digital Marketing Strategy?

Digital marketing strategy defines how a company can achieve its business objectives using digital channels, platforms and thinking. It asserts clear targets, prioritizes audiences, recognizes customer needs and behaviors, and details channel use and platform requirements. Put simply, it sets out how you plan and use digital to remain relentlessly relevant.

“All-digital encompasses more than just what’s apparent in traditional marketing.”

Intersections of digital marketing exist not only within branding and CRM but also in user experience (UX), customer experience (CX) and customer care as well:

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) embed the brand into our product experience.
  • Content strategy includes not only traditional marketing assets, but all content that can be levers for growth.
  • Digital innovation is creating new services, products and experiences – things actually worth marketing.

How to Create an Effective Digital Marketing Strategy

In our work with clients across industries and markets, we’ve identified the seven steps needed to form a modern digital marketing strategy.

1. Determine the Potential

The status quo has changed and digital is imperative to be current, competitive and attractive in the market. On which channels are your customers engaging with you? What are your competitors doing to be transformative in digital? How discoverable is your brand and how many inbound leads have been converted to sales? If you don’t know, you’re probably already behind.

2. Define the Role of Digital Marketing

How does digital marketing contribute to the business? This shouldn’t be a laundry list of marketing objectives, but instead a deliberate vision and series of intentional choices that indicates what digital marketing can and should do for the organization.

Ensure that you recognize the relationship digital marketing has with related elements in your ecosystem, which often include: brand, data, marketing, content, CX, UX, CRM, support/customer care, product innovation and media. By simply writing out what is at stake and which opportunities are available, you can quickly clarify your focus. Based on this assessment, you can then develop key performance indicators (KPIs) that clearly communicate to your executive team how digital is impacting the business.

3. Understand Your Target Audiences

Create robust digital profiles (what they want, how they behave, how to engage with them and with whom else they interact), map the customer journey in detail and identify value exchanges all along with it. These profiles often start with traditional segmentation, but you need to go steps further to recognize behaviors, interactions and content, functionality and experience needs.

With many clients, especially in B2B, digital profiles aren’t necessarily built around precisely who the customers are, but rather which objectives the target audience is trying to solve. Goals versus roles. Doing this early on keeps you cognizant of customer needs and allows you to match your objectives to meet them.

4. Take a Multi-Channel Approach

Create a modern channel strategy by taking advantage of and activating key channels like search, web, social and email. Specific platforms and touchpoints may beg for unique ‘channel charters’, identify how to best use them for the brand and the business, and what’s needed internally to pull it off.

  • View social as a sales driver, not just a media or customer care channel. How can social be used to meet your business objectives?
  • Be clear about search. Can incorporating organic or paid search engine optimization (SEO) help build brand credibility, drive web traffic or fend off competitors?
  • Think fresh about web. Is your website positioned to attract, obtain and convert leads?
  • Do you nurture former, existing or potential clients effectively using email or marketing automation platforms.

5. Identify the Resources Needed

Use all of the information charted above to determine what you need to execute against this strategy – include headcount, budget and your marketing technology system (platforms, APIs, services and data integration points). As Mayur Gupta of Spotify said, “Technology is the interface of marketing” and “the pipes connecting the different pieces together.”

Governance is crucial – build guidelines and playbooks for people (roles, responsibilities and skills), processes and tools. Many companies don’t pay enough attention to governance, yet it’s needed so people know their role and how they contribute to the success of the program. Plus, if you’re a global or complex organization, you’ll need to establish “market types” to help local leaders see where they are and understand what’s needed to grow in a new direction.

6. Create a Roadmap for Execution

Organize and prioritize initiatives into a roadmap that takes you from strategy to execution, even if it’s paced and phased over six, twelve and 24 months. Don’t be too slow or too cautious, don’t wait for annual planning cycles; be ready and agile with alternative scenarios available. Organizational digital transformation may take time, but marketing should be the nimblest driver and ready to act on available opportunities.

7. Support Your Digital Transformation Strategy

Identify how digital marketing can go beyond doing its day job efficiently and act as a powerful lever in this new era of digital transformation. It could be by using creativity in storytelling, innovating digital services or allowing the customer voice to influence media spend, uncover engagement opportunities and discover new audiences. Embracing digital in your marketing function can serve as a catalyst internally, as your culture becomes more comfortable and emboldened by the opportunities of digital transformation.


FINAL THOUGHTS

Constructing a digital marketing strategy that includes all seven of these components will allow your digital team—and the executive suite—to have a clear understanding of how digital can impact your business, plans for how to best do so and appropriate measures in place to benchmark and assess the effectiveness of your efforts.

If digital is a priority in your organization, as it should be, you’re likely going to need some experts in strategy and execution to assist with creating your digital strategy, identifying opportunities for digital disruption or driving digital transformation in your organization.

Contact our team and learn how we can help jumpstart your digital transformation journey.

REPORT

The 2020 State of Digital Transformation in Southeast Asia

Accelerating Digital Transformation to Drive Uncommon Growth

With the backdrop of the COVID-19 crisis, there is more pressure for digital transformation to perform than ever. Altimeter, a Prophet company surveyed more than 600 key executives about how they are pursuing digital transformation and the impact of the pandemic (see our global report “The 2020 State of Digital Transformation”), including 100 in Southeast Asia (SEA) across Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam. The study reveals interesting differences between digital transformation effort and sentiment in SEA and the rest of the world.

While the rest of the world is becoming more risk-averse, SEA expresses optimism about the future outlook – in fact, a significantly higher number of companies have accelerated their digital transformation initiatives and are focused on growth.

There are five key takeaways regarding digital transformation in Southeast Asia:

  • Top drivers of digital transformation in SEA is more growth-oriented, focusing on improving efficiency to go after new markets and customers while adopting more agile and flexible operation.
  • SEA experiences less financial impact due to COVID-19 than the rest of the world, and they have accelerated investments in digital transformation, especially in marketing operations.
  • Budget cuts are less of a digital transformation challenge to SEA than rigid infrastructure, data quality, ROI articulation as well as digital literacy and expertise within the organization.
  • The focus of digital transformation investments in SEA leans towards connectivity, social and consumer platforms followed by AI & Analytics.
  • There is stronger leadership, culture and optimism of digital transformation in SEA thanks to the consistent and visible efforts driven by top executive in C-Suites, especially CEO & Board of Directors, and CDO

What are the opportunities and challenges for companies to accelerate digital transformation in Southeast Asia? Download the full report to learn more.

Connect with us to learn how Prophet can help you drive uncommon growth in Southeast Asia.

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The 2020 State of Digital Transformation in Southeast Asia

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Digital Transformation in China: Opportunities for Growth

Our research shows that while CEOs are great transformation leaders, they are less skillful communicators.

At the end of 2020, global companies know that digital transformation is a critical piece of moving their businesses forward. With the challenges brought by COVID-19 and other geopolitical factors, new opportunities and industry patterns have emerged. It is now imperative for companies in China to seize these opportunities and accelerate their digital transformation agendas.

“It is now imperative for companies in China to seize these opportunities and accelerate their digital transformation agendas.”

In our new report “The 2020 State of Digital Transformation,” Altimeter, a Prophet company. surveyed more than 600 executives, including 100 in China, about how they are pursuing digital transformation. The research revealed some distinct regional differences and highlighted the opportunities for companies in China to achieve uncommon growth. (Download the full China report here)

The State of Digital Transformation in China: Understanding the Driving Force

Digital transformation is a firm-wide agenda that requires a clear vision and commitment communicated from the top.

In China, digital transformation initiatives are mostly sponsored by the CEO, CMO and CIO/CTO. Together, these roles provide sponsorship for digital transformation in 83 percent of the Chinese companies. That differs from other regions, where a broader mix of leadership is typically in charge, including the Chief Digital or Chief Innovation Officer, as well as the Board of Directors.

Figure 1: Executive Sponsorship of Digital Transformation

“Which executive officially owns or sponsors the digital transformation initiative?”

Most notably, significantly more CEOs and CMOs in China are ultimately responsible for digital transformation, at 37 percent and 13 percent respectively, compared to 24 percent and 2 percent in the rest of the world.

But there’s a problem. While CEOs lead the charge and appreciate the strategic importance of digital transformation, they often fail to communicate those transformation initiatives are considered a top priority. And they don’t provide enough visible follow-through and strategic guidance.

Figure 2: How Digital Transformation is Driven by Leadership

“Which of these statements best describes the nature of executive leadership in your organization?”

Because they fail to articulate the vision adequately and don’t actively promote it, mixed signals can lead to confusion for employees and customers. Just 46 percent of the respondents in China say their executive leadership has made digital transformation a top-three priority, compared to 61 percent in the rest of the world. And 22 percent say their executive leadership doesn’t see digital transformation as a focus.

Top drivers of transformation in China: Building a more resilient and high-performance culture and operation.

The events of 2020 have changed the way the world looks at digital transformation. Instead of focusing on external drivers, such as finding new markets and customers, they are more driven by internal needs to focus on their operations.

Figure 3: The Top Drivers of Digital Transformation

“What are the key drivers of digital transformation within your organization? Select up to three.”

Chinese companies say that developing a better culture, with more collaboration and innovation, is now the leading digital transformation driver. It was named by 30 percent of Chinese executives, compared to 22 percent in the rest of the world. That is closely followed by increasing productivity (29%) and working in a more agile, flexible way (28%).

Companies here are also more sharply focused on building resilience to keep up with change and global disruption. Some 21 percent of Chinese executives say they are looking for an increased ability to comply with new regulatory standards, compared to 14 percent of the rest of the world. And 20 percent hope to become more resilient to disruption, versus 16 percent. Notably, more believe they can actively create a culture capable of handling that disruption, at 20 percent, versus 12 percent in other regions.

Advance the Transformation: Opportunities for Building Strength

We observed some distinct characteristics of how companies approach digital transformation and identified three opportunity areas they should focus on to move faster toward transformation goals:

Lean into the future by pursuing multiple technologies

Figure 4: Prioritized Technology Investments

“What are your top priorities for technology investments in 2020? Select up to five.”

Around the world, companies are heavily investing in the same five technologies: Cybersecurity, Cloud, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, 5G and Internet of Things.

Although Chinese companies are investing in these technologies too, they are also more diversified, putting their eggs in far more baskets.

Continuing to invest in emerging technology – and hiring the talent that can best help leverage it – will build competitive advantages and enhance agility, enabling companies to move quickly into new directions.

Integrate more, collaborate better

Chinese companies are also behind other regions in their ability to get employees to collaborate.

Figure 5: Employee Collaboration and Engagement

“Which of these statements best describes how your organization is transforming employee collaboration and engagement?”

In China, just 24 percent of the respondents say their employees are connected throughout the organization, versus 32 percent in the rest of the world. And 38 percent of Chinese companies say that while workers frequently use employee platforms, digital engagement is still limited when working beyond the project team, compared to 27 percent of the rest of the world.

Figure 6: Success Metrics Across Functions

“How do you currently measure success across marketing, sales and service teams?”

Moreover, less than half (44%) of Chinese executives say their companies have aligned customer and revenue KPIs across marketing, sales and service teams. Yet 67 percent of those in the rest of the world have achieved this. As the report emphasizes, unifying metrics is an essential requirement for digital maturity.

Our experience substantiates that. While Chinese companies seem especially skillful at building and deploying highly effective project teams, they need broader collaboration across different functions to achieve maximum impact.

Double down on data

Chinese companies trail other regions in leveraging data as a core strategic component.

Figure 7: The Use of Data

“To what extent do you have clean and accessible data, clear processes, and organizational support for and discipline around data science in your organization?”

Only 38 percent say their company has succeeded in making data analytics a central capability, compared to more than half (51%) for the rest of the world. That means 62 percent still have the opportunity to expand and build their data capabilities.


FINAL THOUGHTS

Beyond digitizing marketing and sales, digital maturity is also about strengthening organizational operations and driving innovation to increase revenue. That requires a new kind of leadership. CEOs and other leaders must become cheerleaders for digital progress.

Digital leaders can’t afford to lose sight of the need to invest in digital transformation, even when budgets tighten. While no one can predict future moments of opportunity, they will continue to come, creating digital leaders’ chances to further outperform digital laggards.

Download the full PDF report, or get in touch to learn more about how to advance your digital transformation in China to grow better.

REPORT

The State of Digital Transformation in China: 2020 Report

CEOs here are more likely to have oversight of transformation. But they are worse at communicating about it.

Advancing Digital Transformation to Grow Better in China

With the challenges brought by COVID-19 and other geopolitical factors, new opportunities and industry patterns have emerged. It is now imperative for companies in China to seize these opportunities and accelerate their digital transformation agenda.

In our new report The 2020 State of Digital Transformation, Altimeter, a Prophet company, surveyed more than 600 executives, including 100 in China, about how they are pursuing digital transformation. The research revealed some distinct regional differences and highlighted the opportunities for companies in China to achieve uncommon growth.

What you will learn in this report:

  • Significantly more Chinese CEOs understand they are ultimately responsible for digital transformation compared to the rest of the world.
  • Yet CEOs in China often fail to communicate transformation as a top priority and don’t provide enough strategic guidance.
  • The top drivers of digital transformation in China are to build a more resilient and high-performance culture and operation.
  • Compliance concerns, resistance to change and budget are the top three challenges of digital transformation.
  • While the rest of the world is committed to five main technologies, Chinese companies are more diversified by placing smaller bets in more types of tech.
  • There is still much work to be done for Chinese companies to allow better collaboration across all departments and functions.
  • Chinese companies still trail other regions in making data use a core strategic component.

Download the full report below.

Download Advancing Digital Transformation to Grow Better in China

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Thank you for your interest in Altimeter’s research!

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Human or Abstract? Defining Your Conversational Brand Experience

Gender, name, visual identity and personality all factor into what a brand should sound like.

Consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable with voice technology. Digital assistants, whether chatbots or voice agents, can bring brands to life in new ways, adding personality, differentiation, warmth – and even humor. They can turn static digital experiences into dynamic conversations, deepening the connection between brands and their customers.

The Conversational Brand: Strategy for a Digital-First World report by Altimeter, Prophet’s research arm, outlines the key decisions to consider to bring a conversational experience to life. The report seeks to answer the following questions:

  • What is the role of the conversational experience in the broader brand portfolio?
  • How closely linked should it be to the master brand?
  • What use cases will it deliver on?
  • What benefits will it bring to its users and to the company?

If the goal of the conversational experience is owned by one product or channel, it may look and talk very differently than if its role is to represent the master brand and provide a connective thread across different touchpoints.

Human or Abstract: That Is the Question

First, one must decide how to design the persona –either human-like or abstract. The main factor that should influence this decision is the strategic intent of the conversational experience: is the goal to humanize the brand? To create a deeper relationship with customers? To stand out in the market with a relatable character? If the answer to these questions is yes, then a human-like persona may be preferred. If, on the other hand, the goal of the experience is to automate repetitive tasks, to increase the speed of transactions, or to simplify processes in the background, then an abstract persona may be preferred.

In practice…

When AXA asked Prophet to create a conversational experience, we aligned on some clear strategic objectives: deepen customer engagement while humanizing the AXA brand as it was making the shift from payer to partner. A human-like avatar made the most sense, and so Emma was born. We built Emma to become an empathetic navigator, helping customers easily navigate the journey – from accessing services and making claims to reviewing health information and checking symptoms.

“The experience is futuristic and high-tech to create a futuristic and high-tech identity.”

Choosing a human conversational identity is an approach other companies are finding success with, as well. For example, Microsoft recently announced that it would turn Xiaoice, its highly empathetic chatbot, into her own entity, paving the way for new licenses and ventures.

Microsoft has described this virtual teenager as “sometimes sweet, sometimes sassy and always streetwise.” She’s fond of joking with users, even offering encouraging advice on life and love. With 660 million users worldwide, Xiaoice works on multiple chat services and is trained on data that Microsoft gleaned through the Bing search engine.

In addition to its abstract Google Assistant, Google is developing Meena, a human-like avatar that observers expect to deliver the best conversational AI yet.

But for some purposes, abstract identities offer more possibilities. For example, Bixby, Samsung’s digital assistant, is designed to help customers unlock their Samsung devices’ full potential. Bixby is an always-on feature. But instead of simply following commands, it’s built to have conversations. It encourages exploration and offers insightful curation, all the while making the everyday tasks feel easier.

In other words, it acts as a users’ bright sidekick, bringing together more information than a human could possibly manage. And while the technology is friendly, its features are best expressed through an abstract experience, not a human one. The experience is futuristic and high-tech to create a futuristic and high-tech identity. Even its name is not human, which allows it to appear and perform consistently in markets worldwide.

Developing Your Brand’s Conversational Identity

Once a company has decided what type of AI assistant it will create, there are still many decisions to make in developing its identity. For example, we established guidelines for the many ways Emma communicates with consumers, allowing personality to shine through in every interaction. She is curious, smart and thoughtful, determined to help users take care of their physical, financial and emotional well-being. Even her physical appearance is distinctive: She’s an approachable Pan-Asian woman with a little French flair.

Often, these seem like minor details. But digital assistants are functional, transactional touchpoints that benefit from small, purposeful doses of personality, including:

Gender

Users expect a gender even in abstract assistants. If it’s not immediately apparent, they’ll often ask. Both Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa, for example, are positioned as vaguely female. And Samsung made this question a core part of the Bixby’s user experience, with devices prompting people to assign Bixby a voice that is either male or female.

Names

Even beyond suggesting gender, names are a key part of developing an identity. Some names sound young. Some sound formal. Choosing a too familiar name might at first make customers think they’re dealing with an actual human. And some names have specific class, geographic or even religious associations.

Visual Representation

Since users see these assistants while they are talking, aesthetic considerations are important. These questions go far beyond simple graphic design and are at the heart of strategic positioning. Should the assistant look like it is closely connected to the master brand? Should the visuals be able to translate into more extensive advertising efforts? Or can it take on new dimensions, possibly paving the way for new offers, markets and customers?

Personality

Customers will only respond to digital representations that are likable. Like in real human relationships, personality traits shape communication. Should it be bold? Curious? Serious? Funny? Thoughtful? Clever? A Gen Z customer expects a different type of conversation than a Baby Boomer does. Use cases also matter – customers probably won’t feel like joking if they’re sick or just lost their credit card.

But ultimately, the best choices all support the strategic foundation, turning digital assistants into brand allies. And built carefully, with thoughtful updates as more data is collected, they can spark growth and deepen digital connections.


FINAL THOUGHTS

When designing the conversational experience’s identity, merely finding an interesting avatar or mascot is not enough. It is crucial to consider the strategic imperatives to make the experience consistent with the master brand.

Interested in developing a powerful digital experience and virtual assistant for your brand? Contact us today.

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Digital Transformation for Financial Services: Three Reasons to Hit the Gas

Legacy companies are moving faster, keeping up with their fintech competitors.

While the financial services industry is undergoing almost constant transformation, fintech startups drive most of it. As these rising stars continuously find new ways to introduce customer-centric innovation, incumbent financial institutions are struggling to keep up. “The 2020 State of Digital Transformation,” a new report from Altimeter, a Prophet company, finds that even as these tech-savvy newcomers surge to record valuations, 68% of traditional financial services companies report that they are only in the early stages of digital transformation. And they say that COVID-19 has slowed their progress even further.

While validating the obstacles many legacy companies face as they navigate their way forward, this research makes clear that this is no time to slow down. The sooner companies lean in and accelerate digital efforts, the more revenue and market share they can reclaim from newcomers.

Fending off the fintech onslaught

There’s no doubt that capital markets are favoring these fintech startups. In 2019, KPMG reports that investment hit $135 billion. These companies are growing in scale and revenue, with 68 achieving “unicorns” status, a valuation of at least $1 billion, as of this past September, according to CB Insights. And while they span consumer banking, payment solutions, insurance technology and trading, they have plenty in common: They’re disruptive, customer-centric and digital to their core.

Chime, a neobank startup offering digital cash management services and debit cards, is one of our favorite examples. It has tripled its transaction volume and revenue this year, achieving a $14.5 billion valuation.

“The sooner companies lean in and accelerate digital efforts, the more revenue and market share they can reclaim from newcomers.”

And Robinhood, a commission-free brokerage platform, saw daily average trades skyrocket to 4.3 million in June, surpassing all traditional brokerage firms. Among the household names left in the dust: TD Ameritrade, with 3.84 million, Charles Schwab at 1.8 million and E-Trade at 1.1 million.

But some traditional banking institutions, such as Marcus, Goldman Sachs’ consumer banking platform, have also seen rapid growth during the pandemic. It’s grown to more than $27 billion in savings from 500,000 customers, indicating that even legacy companies can successfully transform into digitally-powered institutions.

How legacy companies can catch up on digital transformation for financial services

Altimeter’s report delves into how incumbents are trying to catch up. Based on an in-depth survey of 600 executives, including 137 in financial services, three clear imperatives emerge.

1) Move faster. The majority of financial services firms are still early in their digital transformation journey.

Altimeter’s research measures digital transformation through a five-stage model. First, companies make their case for investing in digital. Next, they develop foundations for more comprehensive investment, seeking to understand customer journeys and improve employees’ digital skills. From there, they build operations, digitizing them at scale. Fourth, they integrate these platforms to use data more strategically, and finally, optimize for growth, leveraging data and AI for great customer experiences.

Only 25% of the companies in our study have moved beyond this to the final two phases. Financial-services execs say they are moving even more slowly. Some 68% say their companies are still in the first two years of their transformation journey, and only 38% say they’ve reached the third phase (building operations). That compares to more than 50% of healthcare, tech and retail companies.

And that’s far too slow for consumers. The latest banking satisfaction research from J.D. Power, for example, shows that the more digital the customer, the more significant the satisfaction gap. And dissatisfaction is highest among Gen Z customers, a fast-growing demographic.


Source: The 2020 State of Digital Transformation 

2) Make new ways to reach customers a higher priority

Optimizing internal processes is a compelling reason to pursue digital transformation, named by 40% of respondents and 33% name responding to COVID-19. And to create the resilience to navigate the current economic and health crisis, financial service executives recognize that their digital transformation should focus on improving operations and enable them to operate in a more agile and flexible way.

But our data suggest that these companies should give more weight to the many ways digital transformation could provide firms with opportunities to reach customers through new digital channels, particularly as more consumers look to engage primarily online.

As the market continues to change, and consumer preferences and tendencies evolve significantly due to COVID-19, financial services brands are picking up on the need to leverage advanced technology and data to become more flexible and agile.

Source: The 2020 State of Digital Transformation 

3) Acknowledge new barriers

Transformation has not been easy, given legal hurdles and inherent resistance to change. And COVID-19 is creating new challenges. With urgent demands for supporting remote work and developing digital marketing and selling tools, the pandemic has hijacked many corporate priorities. In fact, 45% of our respondents say pandemic response and related budget considerations are the most significant challenge they face. And of course, traditional obstacles like risk management, resistance to change or rigid structures haven’t gone away.

Source: The 2020 State of Digital Transformation 


FINAL THOUGHTS

The global economic and health crisis has impacted the way we think about digital transformation. This research underscores questions leaders within these companies should ask, to accelerate the transformation and achieve growth.

  1. How has your organization accelerated or reprioritized its digital transformation initiatives in response to the current environment?
  2. What obstacles are you encountering as part of that acceleration?
  3. Is your agenda building greater operational resilience for your business?

Prophet’s financial services practice has been partnering with many clients in accelerating their digital transformation journey. Please contact us to learn more.

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