There are about 8.04 billion people worldwide. Out of this, 5.19 are active internet users. It means that 64.6 percent of the world’s population have access to the Internet. Indeed, this global connectivity is the cornerstone of what we refer to as the ‘digital age’. Over the coming years, this percentage is set to increase further. Why is this information important?
With more than half the world’s population on the internet, it presents a perfect opportunity for businesses to access a vast and diverse audience. Potential customers or even vendors are just a click away, highlighting the importance of online presence for businesses. A failure to adapt to the digital age will undermine competitiveness. However, it is not the only reason businesses should consider digitisation.
There are numerous other reasons which we’ll discuss. Let’s start.
Why Focus on Digitisation?
1. Enhances Productivity
Despite investing significant resources in employee training and well-being, businesses complain about low productivity. A more effective way to address the low productivity dilemma is by using digital tools. These tools automate repetitive processes, streamline operations, and reduce instances of human error. It lets your employees focus on value-added tasks such as problem-solving or strategy development.
Nowadays, robotic process automation or RPA is a popular tool for automating time-consuming, repetitive processes. Without RPA, your business must assign workers to complete these tasks. It would be better if these workers focused on complex challenges which would benefit the organisation. The best thing about RPA is that it is easy to implement and inexpensive.
Low-code/no-code RPA platforms allow workers without technical knowledge to create an automated flow. Microsoft Power Automate is one such platform, and you can read more about the benefits of RPA here. Organisations can opt for pay as you use licensing to avoid upfront costs. RPA solutions are scalable, meaning you can add more processes as the organisation grows.
2. Meeting Customer Expectations
Even before the pandemic, customer buying behavior was experiencing a rapid transformation. The pandemic only accelerated this transformation. Regardless of the product or service, the buyer’s journey begins online. Therefore, a lack of robust online presence means potential customers will not even consider your business a viable option, let alone think about buying from you.
If you wish for your target audience to at least consider you as an option, you need to have a robust online presence. When we say robust, we mean don’t create a website or social media page for the sake of online presence. Instead, approach online presence strategically. Your business must have a unique, professionally designed website. The content must be engaging and regularly updated.
The same goes for your social media presence. You can hire a digital marketing agency in Pakistan to manage your online presence. The company will help you enhance your online presence and connect with the target audience more effectively. They’ll be responsible for creating the content and posting it. After studying your business and target audience, the agency will suggest the most suitable online channels.
3. Understanding Consumer Behaviour
Without digitisation, it is challenging to understand consumer behavior. But digital tools make everything easier. Several data analytics tools can help businesses better understand customers’ behaviour and preferences. The obtained information is helpful in personalizing marketing campaigns, products, and every other aspect of your business.
Suppose you run an online eCommerce store. However, despite offering quality products, the sales are quite low. You decide to engage an eCommerce development company in Pakistan to analyse your store’s performance. Using digital tools, they find while customers do add products to the cart, they abandon it after reaching the checkout stage. What could be the possible reasons?
Their analysis reveals the checkout stage is quite cumbersome. The store requires the customer to enter too much information, which is time-consuming. The eCommerce development company then streamlines the page and offers a one-click checkout feature. Soon, the sales start to improve. Undoubtedly, without digitalisation, finding the underlying problem behind the low sales would take considerable time.
If you are considering starting an eCommerce business in Pakistan, refer to ‘Future of eCommerce in Pakistan – Trends and Predictions for 2024’. You can find valuable insights to help you make the right decisions when setting up your online store. Due to Pakistan’s volatile situation, it is imperative that you start a new business after carefully considering all the available information.
4. Improve Decision-Making
Data is the new oil. What does it signify? It highlights the importance of data in today’s digital world. But remember, data is only valuable when organisations know how to manage it effectively. Otherwise, data can become quite overwhelming. Businesses that collect the right data and leverage its insights can easily improve their operations and decision-making quality.
They can quickly respond to market trends and meet customer expectations effectively. Machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies can take data analysis to the next level. They can accurately predict future trends, allowing the organisation to make the right decisions. Data-driven decision-making enhances your organisation’s competitiveness and change readiness.
5. Cost Savings
Regardless of whether your business is in Pakistan or any other country, every organisation faces a rapid increase in business costs. There are numerous reasons, but we’ll not delve into those. Business profitability is also shrinking, forcing organisations to cut costs by laying off workers or scaling back operations. Digitisation can prove to be a game changer in helping organisations cut costs.
For example, renting an office and its maintenance account for a significant portion of the operating expenses. With digitalisation, businesses can shift workers to remote or hybrid working. When a business shifts to remote or hybrid work, there is no need for a large office space. Instead, the business can move into a smaller office space and save money on utilities.
Additionally, digital tools like RPA enhance worker productivity. Organisations get more value from their employees. Hyper automation also removes the need for a human to manage the automation tool. Instead, the tool can operate independently. Organisations can utilise hyper-automation in any area, especially the customer service department. It removes the need to hire workers. On top of that, the bots can run 24/7 without interruption.
6. Staying Competitive
Digitising your business is no longer an option but a necessity. Your competitors may already be on their way to digitalisation. Your target audience demands digitalisation as it makes everything easier for them. Therefore, continually opting against digitalisation undermines your competitiveness. Tech-savvy startups and organisations are disrupting industries. It won’t be long until they run your business to the ground.
Therefore, the only viable option is to embrace digitalisation. Businesses that embrace digital transformation are better positioned to adapt to any situation. They can easily meet the ever-changing customer expectations and market trends. This adaptability goes a long way in ensuring their long-term viability. Nokia’s failure is a perfect example of what happens to established organisations when they fail to adapt.
Conclusion
If you are still considering investing in digitising your business, then you are lagging behind your competitors. You’ll need to work thrice as hard to maintain your market share, let alone improve it. However, it is still not too late to start digitising. Develop a strategy that encompasses all aspects of your business. Ensure all stakeholders are a part of this process to avoid resistance. Then, engage specialist companies to help you implement your strategy.
