This summary was written by Brandon Lee, CEO of FunnelAmplified.

Here is the summary of this great article by HBR. 

Those who have adopted digital solutions for the business are doing a lot better than those who have not. Simple, right? 

Here is a quote from the first paragraph to get you interested in the rest of it. 

“Our research shows that digital transformation is paying off for those who embrace it: Digitally transformed organizations (“digital leaders”) performed much better than organizations that lagged behind (“digital laggards”), effectively creating a “digital divide across companies.” 

In their research of 344 companies, they found organizations that scored in the top quartile of the digital transformation index also had much better gross margins, earnings and net income than those in the bottom quartile. 

So, what does it mean to be a digitally transformed organization? 

There are 4 key operating pillars that are lenses for looking at digital transformation. The one that I focus on is the Customer Interaction and Relationship Management pillar. Throughout my career I have focused on the strategies and systems that help individuals build relationships for business growth. 

The findings are very clear. 

Digital leaders use real-time data to tailer the customer experience. Using data to help sellers provide valuable information to their buyers is a very tangible way for sellers to stand out from competitors. Buyers want information and research. 

They don’t want to be sold or get on a demo. They look for trusted advisors who will walk with them through their research and buying journey as helpful, supporting and insightful advisors. Companies who are providing technology to help their team members do this well and efficiently are winning. 

Additionally, digital leaders are 2.6x more likely to use analytics to prescribe business actions to their customers to limit churn.  Digital leaders use technology to stay ahead of their customers, be a valuable partner and therefore reduce churn while also winning more deals on the front end. 

No wonder they earn more revenue and have better margins. 

You can read the complete article from HBR by clicking the link below. 

This article is published on:https://hbr.org/2017/01/what-the-companies-on-the-right-side-of-the-digital-business-divide-have-in-common