Digital solutions make use of technology to streamline processes and create new avenues for interaction with customers. They can help businesses remain competitive, satisfy customers’ demands more efficiently and boost growth. However, selecting the right ones requires careful planning. Here are some of the most important factors you need to take into account when choosing an advanced digital business solution.
Many digital solutions rely on a combination of advanced and scalable technology, making them able to expand with the company and adapt to its needs. This flexibility comes with costs. It’s not unusual for successful solutions to generate demands for expanded services, greater personalization, and greater scalability. The challenge for businesses that are digital is to embrace complexity, which adds real value without introducing unnecessary complexity.
Digital solutions that are complex can automatize routine tasks, which can reduce the amount of time that employees devote to tedious administrative tasks, allowing them to focus on more important projects. They also help improve data management and facilitate more precise decision-making by utilizing real-time monitoring of information. These solutions can also cut costs and make scaling the business more manageable.
The art of articulating the value of these abstract capabilities is a major challenge for sales professionals. They need to have a strategy that explains how the solutions will provide tangible benefits to meet specific customer requirements. They must also be able to modify their value offering to meet the changing needs of customers. Jeanne Ross is a principal researcher at the MIT’s Center for Information Systems Research and co-author of Designed for Digital: How to plan Your Business for Long-Term success (The MIT Press, 2019). Follow her on Twitter @mit_cisr.