How do you quantify the results of a successful digital transformation journey?
--
In this special episode of MING Labs’ podcast Lost In Transformation we wanted to know which tips our digital leaders can share to best quantify and measure the results of our digital transformation efforts.
Tune in or read on to learn how to quantify the success of your transformation, be it with a focus on hard or soft metrics, focusing on customer value propositions, new offerings — or a mix of all of the above.
3 Main Takeaways From This Episode
01Measure your results in improved value for your customers, supported by digital solutions. “Do we understand what value looks like for our customers? And how can technology help us to create that value?” asks AJ Boelens, MD at Innovation Connected. Instead of looking at measuring efficiency in the first place, he recommends to focus on customer-centricity in a digital transformation journey or in applying any type of technology. “It should be to make life better for the customers in some shape or form.”
Ee Ling Lim from 500 Startups adds that the way she quantifies her results actually varies according to different projects. “It’s also important not to have just one single metric for your entire innovation initiative or project, but rather be able to tailor for each project that one metric to measure.”
02Benchmark new value propositions to quantify your transformation success. “I think that the way you quantify results is through the new value propositions that you’re able to offer your customers, that you were able to offer as a result of introducing new technology and new solutions,” advises Marie Cheong, leader of the venture build program at ENGIE Factory in Asia Pacific. “Probably an example that’s been cited several times before is DBS and how it’s the leader in digital banking in the retail space.”
As an example, she refers to her own experience of opening a bank account for her helper completely remote during the pandemic, to highlight DBS’ successful digital transformation journey. “I think that’s a customer that would have never existed if it wasn’t digitally enabled, if there wasn’t a solution that sat behind that. So it’s these kinds of new offerings and new segments that you’re now able to serve because of digital transformation. That is ultimately the mark of success.”
03Use a mix of hard, financial and soft, behavioral metrics, and don’t steer too far away from your existing business KPIs. For Florian Bankoley, Executive VP of the Business Interface team at Bosch, the success factors remain the same as the ones you’ve had so far in your organization. “Because as a business, your most important KPIs most likely are how much revenue you generate, how much profit you generate, how satisfied your customers are, how satisfied your employees are.” But why focus on existing metrics? “Any transformation should not be a fancy exercise with no link to your running business. It should be tightly linked to that.”
Scott Anthony from Innosight suggests to look at hard metrics that you can quantify and tie to specific financial results, and combine them with soft metrics that link to specific behaviors required to digitally transform. “You’re doing this because you want to have bottom line impact to the organization, and digital transformation should have lots of predictable benefits related to the productivity of some of your internal organizations, your ability to provide great service to customers, etc.” And on a final note, Olaf Frank from MunichRe adds that “you can easily get lost in a technology-focused play that rather leads to implementation of technologies, not necessarily resolution of customer problems.”
Interested in more stories from Lost In Transformation? Follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or Buzzsprout to not miss our upcoming episodes.
Related Reading: What are the challenges you might expect to encounter along a transformation journey?
