The digital transformation is very important in the world of commerce right now. This is because the shift from the offline world to the online world is bigger than ever. When you not operating online as a company you will have a lot of disadvantages. Firstly, you will not reach your entire target group. People are buying more online, not only in B2C but also in B2B. When you not working digitally yet, it will cost you a lot more manpower and time, besides that your organization can easily make a mistake. To prevent this and to work in a better, faster and online way there are a lot of tools and digital solutions invented. To implement this, you need to start with your digital transformation. This is the use of new, fast and frequently changing digital technology to solve problems. It often utilizes cloud computing, reducing reliance on user-owned hardware but increasing reliance on subscription-based cloud services.
Before you start with your digital transformation, you need to create a digital strategy for B2B. Making a strategy is complex and takes time, so you need to divide your digital transformation into manageable objectives delivered through phases to build success along the way. The digital transformation is too big and important to only measure success at the end. To start you need to create a framework and a roadmap. Where do you want to be in a few weeks, months and years? Create a few years plan to work towards a bigger goal. But creating an actionable strategy is key. The following image shows how a digital strategy for B2B needs to be set up.
Data
Use your current data, every company has a lot of data available. Talk with your customers and find out how you can improve. Also, look at the competitors. What are they doing? Match that.
KPIs
Define your KPIs. Without KPIs, you can’t evaluate the success of your reached targets.
Smart objectives
Create smart objectives. Having goals is not enough, make them smart. With the smart objectives, you can really reach your goals. This is because they are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-based.
Goals
The goals are being successfully reached with smart objectives. What do you want to achieve? What are your goals?
Vision
To start your digital transformation, you need to have an idea of the company’s future. Where do you want to be in 5 years? Everything you are writing down in the digital strategy for B2B needs to benefit this vision. The tooling you now purchase needs to fit this vision otherwise you are wasting your time and money on tooling that in the end will need to be replaced within a short period of time.
Digital transformation costs time and money. In your digital strategy for B2B, it will become clear which tools you are missing, and which processes you need to change. But a digital strategy will provide a lot of benefits for your organization. In the end, you will have a modern online platform and you will be a digital business; this will boost your profit and so much more. Some of the benefits that a digital transformation will deliver are:
In this day and age, a digital strategy for B2B and also for B2C is something companies can’t live without. Want to know how to create a successful digital strategy? Download our whitepaper: How to create an executable digital strategy and navigate your way to success. A digital strategy not only gives your organization structure and a clear vision but, in the end, it will provide a lot of benefits for your organization.