Many of our clients are eager to accelerate their Digital Transformation projects right now. And if that's you, you're not alone – over the last 8 weeks, the household penetration of e-commerce retail sales has outperformed the last 10 years of growth.
It's not just consumer and retail, though.
Covid-19 has also dragged many firms in B2B sectors along and as a result, we've never had more B2B clients asking about our digital transformation services.
While our consulting focus is helping clients with top-level strategy and leadership alignment (the digital transformation brief), often people find it helpful to see some of the nitty-gritty tactics and implementation options that might be of use to them.
Sometimes you can look at what might be attractive tactics, and use this to work your way back to help define your ideal strategy. Other times, the tactics only pop out at the end.
So, here's our list of all the different levers you may be able to use to help improve customer outcomes and profitability.
We’ve grouped them by whether they help Recruit, Retain or Realise the value of customers – more on that later.
Digital Levers For RECRUITING New Customers:
Lead Magnets
Community Building
SEO
Display Ads
SEM
Automation
Digital Sales Funnels
Cashbacks
List Building
Cart Abandonment
Forms & Quizzes
Endorsements
Chat
Reviews
Webinars
Promotions
Facebook Ads
Virtual Reality
LinkedIn Ads
Videos
Augmented Reality
Digital Levers For RETAINING Customers:
Customer Portals/Logins
Social Engagement
User Communities
Onboarding Programmes
Feedback Systems
Customer Triggers
Help Desk
Loyalty Programmes
Cross-Sell
Customer Co-Creation
Remarketing
Open Source
Follow-Up Offers
Events
Social Responsibility Programmes
Artificial Intelligence
Newsletters/Emails
Automated Sequences
Customer Education
Promotional EDM's
Digital Content
Digital Levers For REALISING the Value of your Customers:
Pricing Analysis
E-Commerce
Lifetime Value (LTV) Optimisation
Up-Sell
Web Builds
Application Build
Supplementary Products
Partnerships
Customer Inspiration
Referrals
Complimentary Offers
Payment Systems
Subscription Models
Wholesale Deals
External Support
Gamification
Live Video
Aftersales Service
Innovative Channels
Loyalty Schemes
Personalisation
All of these digital levers are used by different firms, in varying combinations, to increase sales and transform digital experiences. (There are undoubtedly more - and yes, I know, I said "all" the levers... but if I had said "some" you wouldn't have been reading this)!
Now, obviously we are not recommending you do all of these tactics - even if you are planning a digital transformation project. The levers you should pull depend entirely on your market, your business and above all, your customer.
And the main thing we find gets in the way of effective accelerated digital transformation is a lack of alignment of your team on what you are trying to accomplish in the first place.
To help with this we use a tool - R3 - to help leaders and marketers plan their digital transformation.
For 8 years, this model has been our secret weapon.
Loosely based on a tool first used by Unilver in 1997 and it works as well today as it did back then. Customer led marketing was always in vogue at Unilever, now they call it exciting names like CEX and UX.
Introducing the R3 Digital Transformation Canvas
R3 focusses on the three most crucial aspects of any business; Recruiting customers, Retaining customers and Realising your customer's value. You can outline who your target market is for each 'R' and choose the digital levers which will help you reach your objectives.
We have used this tool extensively over 8 years and it works. We used to bring this out as the secret sauce for clients. But at this very odd time in human history, I thought we might as well give it away and see if it helps you. Our clients love it, and so will you.
Click here to get a high-quality PDF version – I simply ask for your email in exchange. Don't worry, I won't spam you. You'll just get some helpful bits and pieces delivered to your inbox every couple of weeks.
Naturally, if you're looking to review your digital offering, feel free to give me a call and I can take you through the canvas and help you begin your digital transformation. Let's chat!
Until next time,
Matt Braithwaite-Young