How to push the button on your brand’s digital transformation

While some industries have already undergone a radical digital transformation, there are still many that cling to their analogue way of doing business. But as a brand or business, when do you know that you’re really ready, and what to do next?

According to a recent survey by global market research company Ipsos, as many as four out of 10 Swedish companies don’t even have a digital strategy. In fact, more than half were even doubtful as to whether or not they needed a strategy at all.

In their new book Leading Digital Transformation, aimed at board members and senior managers, the digital consulting duo Marie Andervin and Joakim Jansson set out to de-mystify the journey. Here, Marie Andervin talks to us about overcoming the fear of digital transformation, what companies can inspire others to take the plunge, and the industries she believes are next in line.

Many companies still don’t believe in digitalisation. What characteristics do they share?

What we know is that different industries have been affected to varying degrees. Media, music, IT and telecommunications are the sectors that are most advanced in their digitalisation processes. Depending on what industry you work in, there’s a greater or lesser understanding of how digitalisation affects the company. What we encounter almost every day is that the knowledge of how to approach this challenge is missing. Not knowing how to relate to digitalisation often means that the process completely stops.

What industries do you think will undergo a digital revolution next?

In many industries, like media and the telecommunications industry, digitalisation has already changed the playing field completely. Other sectors have not yet been digitalised but have managed to survive so far.

According to a survey by Bain & Co, a few of the industries that are next in line are retail banking, the aviation industry, the car industry and the education industry. However, this survey was conducted in 2014, before the Internet of Things had its major breakthrough, which has changed the playing field even more. What we’re also seeing right now in Sweden is great interest from the public sector, which feels really exciting and important!

Which companies should we be looking at for inspiration on digital transformation?

We have interviewed 20 companies, eight of whom you can read about in the book and the rest via the book’s website. We think they have all made courageous journeys. For example, Schibstedt, a company that for over twenty years has been working on its transformation, or the Swedish encyclopedia “Nationalencyklopedin”, who after losing its market to Wikipedia, turned to a new target audience with a new offering and new revenue models.

The travel agency Ving is also a brave company that went from 54 live travel agents to online commerce with dynamic pricing. Or MTG, who started MTGx to jumpstart its transformation. Last but not least, I want to mention the online gaming company King, which is proof that even online companies are not immune to the impact of digital transformation. Even a company like King has to work constantly to understand its customers’ changing behaviour, and have the courage to invest in new models that don’t provide an immediate, positive return on investment.

How will your book help leaders digitalise there businesses?

The book is a guide to how you can lead a digital transformation. It explains digitalisation and digital transformation and describes the work methodology, the digital maturity matrix, in detail. Readers are guided through the transformation process and how they can organize and structure their own company’s digital transformation.

With the help of the work methodology, they can pinpoint their positions today, understand the industry’s digital maturity, better know what changes they should make, and decide what should be done and when. In other words, everything they need to be at least as successful tomorrow as they are today.