Digitalisation has become a ubiquitous topic. New technologies and application software are conquering the market and the range of offers is growing every day. These advertise many benefits and make the case for digital transformation.

At this point, a company quickly faces the question of whether and to what extent adjustments need to be made to ensure the successful sale of products and/or services in the long term. Furthermore, the pandemic in the past has shown how quickly companies have to adapt to new challenges when circumstances require it. Entrepreneurs who were already working with a digital business model at the time, such as online stores or apps, had a much easier time continuing to generate sales during the pandemic.

The benefits and opportunities are many and should ensure long-term business success. They range from new business models, to the introduction of social media, to a change in the company. Topics such as home office, software as a service, new technologies or even Industry 4.0 are becoming increasingly present. Video conferencing has also become standard for many companies.

In the following, we provide an overview of eleven advantages of digitalisation.

Maintaining competitiveness

The demands of the consumer market are constantly changing. It is therefore necessary for a company to adapt its own products, services and business models to the needs and current conditions of the respective market. This can be, for example, new functions of a product that are needed. If a company cannot map these profitably through its own processes and production, these innovations cannot be offered. As a result, more and more market share is lost to the competition and the company loses touch with the market and is no longer competitive. This is where digital transformation through process optimisation can help to realise new potential.

In addition, new products can also ensure competitiveness, as can new digital business models such as a pay-per-use model. But processes, new technologies or new advertising measures can also create advantages over one's own competitors.

The advantages of digitalisation should always be used in such a way that they ensure long-term competitiveness and thus the success of a company.

Increasing customer satisfaction

If customers are satisfied with a company and its product, they are happy to buy there again and recommend it to others. Ratings and information about the purchasing process help new customers to get an impression of the satisfaction of other customers and to base their purchasing decision on this. Customer satisfaction does not always speak for a company. Long processing paths, standardised e-mails, poor accessibility of service staff or lack of information are just a few reasons why consumers are not satisfied with a company's services.

Appropriate tools can improve customer satisfaction by using chatbots, for example, which answer the most important questions quickly and at any time. Leaner and faster internal processes mean that orders can be delivered more quickly, for example. Fast delivery is a key argument for many shoppers to make a purchase.

As digitalisation becomes more present in all areas of life, consumers are demanding consistent change. Therefore, companies should take advantage of the benefits of digitalisation in any case to ensure the chances of continued customer satisfaction and long-term sales success.

Developing new target groups

If the current sales market is as good as exhausted, revenue increases within this target group are also limited. Digitalisation offers completely new opportunities to develop a new target group for one's own products, for example through new online tools or application software such as a CRM system. This does not necessarily have to be developed in one's own country. Digital tools offer the opportunity to serve the global market as well. This results in completely new sales opportunities.

Customer communication also falls into this category. Advertising measures can be used to quickly and easily identify the needs and interests of new customer groups. Social media can then be used to target offers in order to arouse buying interest. In this way, collected data and analyses can be used to tap into new target groups.

Knowledge transfer 

Qualified employees are the basis of every company. A digital business transformation brings with it many innovations, such as new software. For optimal use of the new tools, it is essential to train employees and make knowledge available on demand at all times.

This guarantees that employees are always qualified in their field and can achieve optimal results. Confident handling of new software, for example, often enables more efficient work and can save time and resources.

In addition, knowledge and expertise can be better utilised within the company through shared tools. Information is stored in a way that is available to everyone and can be accessed at any time. On the one hand, this enables better organisation of existing knowledge and more efficient work within the company.

If my knowledge and know-how in the company is possibly also exciting for my customers, I can use this fact to develop a new business model from it. For example, a download can be used to generate leads for the company's own sales department. Or the knowledge can be processed in such a way that it can be sold directly and thus become a scalable revenue component.

New products/services

It is important for a company to always have its finger on the pulse with its products/services. With digitalisation, customer needs are also changing in both the B2B and B2C sectors.

In order to remain successful in the long term, the products/services offered should be scrutinised in terms of market demand. By using digital processes and tools, new products and or services can be offered and thus complement or even expand one's own portfolio.

One example of how the advantages of digitalisation in this category could be turned into a successful business model for a company is e-books. Consumers can buy these online as articles at any time. A solution that decouples sales from times or days of the week. Based on data, the offer can then also be adapted to the customer, which in turn can lead to more sales.

Sustainability

By using digital technologies and software solutions, processes can be optimised and made more efficient. A switch can enable resources to be used more effectively. Data-based analytics, for example, enable production on demand and request.

Also, certain sensors can immediately detect errors in a production line and stop production. This means that no further material is wasted and the fault can be rectified first. Valuable resources can be saved via these procedures in each case, as long as production is not fault-free.

Another advantage of digitalisation in the area of sustainability can be the change in customer communication. Instead of letters, communication can be switched to e-mail traffic. This represents a valuable contribution to saving resources.

Furthermore, this process can speed up work with the customer, making collaboration much more efficient. An e-mail reaches the recipient in real time and can also be sent to several addressees at the same time. Documents such as photos or correspondence can be easily sent along and are thus immediately available. This approach can save a great deal of time in collaboration and communication with one another.

Expanding business models

Digitalisation not only produces new programs that transform analog processes into digital ones, but also offers completely new opportunities. With the help of new tools, new business models can emerge that can secure the company's success for the future.

The basis here is purely digital products. Various digital business models are built on top of these products. Here are some examples: Subscription model, freemium, pay per use or even e-commerce. Thanks to a wide variety of technologies, companies have countless opportunities to offer their own target group a wide range of solutions.

Increasing sales

The benefits of digitalisation often intertwine. By tapping into new target groups, for example through new products or digital business models, the opportunity arises to increase sales and align the company with the future. Such an increase in sales can be realised through data-based marketing, for example.

Targeted analyses based on demographic data and user behaviour can help to drive targeted marketing campaigns. Targeting increases the chance of reaching consumers who are most likely to be interested in the product. This can increase the conversion rate to realise a better spend-to-revenue ratio. 

Data and analysis can also provide insight into new needs in the market, for which one's own company can then develop solutions. New products then also offer potential for further sales and can be best promoted to the target group through targeted marketing.

Increasing employer attractiveness 

A digital transformation can have a positive impact not only on processes, but also on internal communication. Cloud solutions for storing documents and information allow access from anywhere. Chat programs offer the possibility that employees can now coordinate online without always having to be on site. The option of working remotely offers many employees more flexibility and, in some cases, an improved work-life balance. For many employees, the option to work in a home office has become an important criterion for an employer.

Advantages for a company can lie in the fact that employees from other regions can now work for their own company from the home office without having to relocate. This option allows a new form of collaboration to develop, and even a new level of work-life balance.

Furthermore, costs for office space and, for example, work materials can be saved, which can be optimally used elsewhere, for example for innovations. 

For companies themselves, this increases the pool of qualified employees who can be considered as employees. By partially automating the application process, communication can take place quickly, easily and digitally, thus shortening the entire process. An advantage that has a very positive effect on applicants because they perceive the company as modern and digital.

Use of data

Many companies rely on tried-and-tested processes, true to the motto: we've always done it that way. Yet digitalisation offers tools that analyse all data in detail, such as how customers behave on the website. From this, analyses can be generated that enable data-driven decisions.

For example, a team can align its own activities with this data. Best practices can then be communicated and shared across the company so that as many teams as possible benefit directly.

Optimising business processes

A company should put its own business processes to the test at regular intervals. The focus should always be on optimisation. One step, for example, could be automation, simplification or a more efficient way of working. In the best case, resources such as material and time are saved, which in turn can lead to cost savings. 

One of the major cost factors of a company is administration. Here, too, processes and work methods can be optimised. If the administration is digitised, this almost always has advantages for the employees in the administration itself, as well as for the users, i.e. the employees. Transforming an analog organisation into a digital one can make the daily lives of many employees more efficient.

Summary:

The list of benefits of digitaliation is long. It is important that they are integrated into the business strategy in order to generate solutions that position the company competitively in the long term. The term digitalisation stands for many topics and categories. Not all of them have to be relevant for your own company. A roadmap can provide a rough timetable for implementation. In practice, it then also becomes clear how many advantages intertwine and thus bring about the digitalisation of many areas.