In his new report, “The 2017 State of Digital Transformation,” Altimeter principal analyst Brian Solis noted that while a growing number of companies are investing in new innovation strategies as a way to uncover new growth opportunities, they are also falling down on their efforts to understand digital transformation and its purpose.
One of the things Solis points out is that while many businesses cite “evolving customer behaviors and preferences” as the top driver of digital transformation less than half invest in understanding digital customers. This may be because less than 31 percent of companies surveyed in the new report viewed digital transformation as a fixed cost in their business.
This lack of a budget and resources can actually hinder any advancement in transformation and in turn hinder a company’s growth. Another hindrance is a lack of digital talent and surprisingly, especially in this day-and-age, a lack of interest in changing a company’s culture.
Embracing digital transformation
As for those companies who are succeeding in making the transformation in our digital age, they are embracing the digital customer experience and the employee experience. They are investing in ecommerce and mobile commerce platforms, while at the same time integrating all social, mobile, web, service and commerce entities into a pleasing customer experience.
Close to 46 percent of companies are now investing in innovative initiatives to drive themselves forward in meeting and understanding the digital customer’s needs and expectations. One such company, Nike, has been investing in consumer-focused strategies that have proven beneficial to the company’s growth.
Nike’s innovative plan to fuel growth
Nike hosted its 2017 Investor Day on Wednesday, The company announced it is accelerating its next phase of long-term, sustainable and profitable growth. In a statement, Nike said: “We have implemented new consumer-focused strategies several times in our company’s history, and in each instance, we have ignited NIKE’s next horizon of long-term growth.”
“The consumer today expects a premium experience, with innovative product and services delivered faster and more personally,” said Mark Parker, Chairman, President, and CEO of NIKE, Inc. “Fueled by a transformation of our business, we are attacking growth opportunities through innovation, speed and digital to accelerate long-term, sustainable and profitable growth.”
To fuel this growth, Nike has doubled down on three main areas of business growth. One focus involves doubling the impact of innovation with more distinct platforms. This will give the customer better choices as well as a broader range of sports and style choices.
Paying attention to customers, Nike is also focusing on speed. This means reducing the timeline for how a product gets to market by 50 percent. This can be accomplished by investing in end-to-end digital capabilities to serve consumers faster. A third initiative is to double the company’s direct communication experience with their customers.
Nike is based near Beaverton, Oregon. It is the world’s leading designer, marketer, and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities.
