Discovery — The First Stage in Building and Running a Digital Strategy.

A lot of has been written about digital innovation, with companies like Apple and Amazon commonly used as case studies. What gets far less mention is how small and medium business (SMB) and Startups are winning at the digital game — For startups like Monzo, Deliveroo, and Made, digital is driving new sources of competitive advantage, business growth, and value creation for customers.

A study of successful SMBs and startups showed that the adoption of innovative technologies is one of the primary drivers of business growth and value creation, however for most SMBs, choosing the right technology is also one of the main challenges they face.

Gaining competitive advantage by adopting the right digital technologies that are impactful and delivers delightful customer experience at an affordable cost to the business is a precarious position for SMBs.

We deduced that this is because the focus when planning and building a digital strategy for most SMBs is on technology and how technology can grow the business, whether that means creating new products or redesigning current processes or customer experiences.

Undoubtedly, digital technologies are changing how customers interact with brands, with new rules and possibilities that were unimaginable a few years…