Digital strategy: Definition, development and tips
A strong digital strategy is crucial for transforming your current business model into a digital one. With the right strategy in place, your organization can handle business processes more efficiently, adapt to digital change, and position itself for the future.
The goals for any digital strategy should include enhancing competitiveness and driving growth. Below, we show you how to develop a digitalization strategy step by step, what advantages it offers, and how to overcome common challenges.
Simple definition
Definition: What is a digital strategy?
You can think of a digital strategy as a digital transformation roadmap. It defines how your organization will integrate technology into its business strategy. The goal is to enhance competitiveness and promote growth.
The best digital strategies focus on establishing digital ways of working throughout your company. Ideally, your strategy should allow you to holistically transform all processes throughout your company’s value chain.
Well-thought-out process management, simple implementation, high time savings - JobRouter® is ideal for us.
Stefan Brand
Site IS Manager
Valeo Thermal Commercial Vehicles Germany GmbH (Valeo TCV)
Reasons and advantages
Why do you need a digital strategy?
There are many benefits of digitalization. These include increasing efficiency and offering richer customer experiences. In today’s crowded markets, companies must reposition themselves to stay ahead of their competitors.
A digital transformation strategy helps you structure your company’s digitalization activities. Here are 4 key benefits that a digital strategy offers:
- Clarity & direction: A digital strategy sets a clear direction to ensure your initiatives are effective and well-coordinated. This helps you avoid wasted resources and missed opportunities. It also makes it easier for multiple departments to work together on digital change projects.
- Setting priorities: A digital strategy helps you identify your priorities, so you can start with the most important changes first.
- Mitigating security risks: Security is a key component to any successful digital transformation. Your digital strategy ensures you do not overlook any security risks, so you minimize the threat of data breaches.
- Metrics & monitoring: Lastly, your digital strategy includes specific goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) that you can use to track your progress and make course corrections when needed.
Business areas
Which areas of your business benefit from your digital strategy?
Your digital strategy can have a positive impact on three core areas of your business:
- Digitalization of processes
Your business processes consist of numerous individual tasks. You can use technologies such as an ERP system, warehouse management software or the JobRouter® digitalization platform, to digitalize key processes. This helps reduce costs while also boosting productivity. Your digital strategy contains a detailed plan for how you intend to implement software solutions like these. - Digitalization of products
Your customers’ needs and preferences are constantly changing. To keep your customers satisfied, your company may need to introduce new products or services that cater to the demand for digital, mobile and intelligent solutions. - Digitalization of business models
Many companies have moved to offering their products and services through digital platforms. Under a traditional business model, your company might have opened multiple brick-and-mortar locations throughout your region. Today, you can benefit from selling through a central online marketplace. This involves rethinking and digitalizing your entire business model.
Types of implementation
What types of digital strategy are there?
| Strategy | Description | Ideal for |
|---|---|---|
| Big Bang | Implementing a digital transformation in one sweeping step | Rapid transformation (with all the risks this entails) |
| Step-by-step digitalization | Implementation in several small steps | Most companies; minimizing risks |
| Individual project approach | Focus on one important project | Limited resources; solving a specific problem |
| Multiple parallel projects | Several projects at the same time | Larger companies with a project management structure |
| Focus on weak points | Focus on fixing the most urgent weak points | Targeted problem solving to improve efficiency |
| Replacing outdated systems | Replacing old systems with new solutions | Modernization of outdated IT infrastructure |
| Platform strategy | Building a digital platform | Digital products/services; flexible basis for innovations |
| Ecosystem approach | Developing a network for digital solutions | Networked markets; collaboration with partners |
| Agile digitalization | Using agile development methods | Rapid response to market changes; continuous improvement |
Creating a digital strategy
How to develop a digital strategy
Is your company ready to set out on a digital transformation project? If so, this step-by-step guide to developing a digital strategy can help:
1. Identify the added value for your customers
An effective digital strategy must take your customers’ needs and preferences into account. This involves analyzing your existing data to identify areas where increased digitalization will drive value for your customers. Keep the following questions in mind:
- Who are your customers and how do you want to reach them?
- Why do your customers need your products/services?
- What are they trying to achieve?
- Which products or services do you offer that help your customers achieve their goals?
You should also define who is responsible for developing and implementing the strategy.
2. Analyze your current situation
When developing a digitalization strategy, it is crucial to precisely evaluate your existing business processes and technologies:
- Identify weaknesses and bottlenecks that can be improved.
- Create an inventory of your existing business processes and their current degree of digitalization.
- Check which technologies and tools are already in place.
You should also research new innovations and assess their potential impact on your target market and your company.
3. Set goals
You have identified the potential for improvement and decided where there is work to be done. Now it is time to determine which areas and workflows you need to digitalize and which processes you need to optimize. Define the business outcomes you want to achieve through digitalization, for example:
- Increasing sales
- Improving customer satisfaction
- Reducing operating costs
Goals like these serve as a guide for your entire strategy and make it possible to monitor progress and evaluate success.
4. Plan implementation
During the planning phase, it is important to carefully map out the steps you will need to take to achieve your goal. This includes:
- Identifying which initiatives you will need to launch
- Researching to find the right tech solutions and tools
- Estimating costs and setting a budget
- Considering possible risks and taking effective countermeasures
Tip: Create a roadmap to define milestones and timelines, so you can consistently monitor the implementation step by step.
Before you get started...
A new digital strategy will also bring new requirements for your company’s employees. It can be challenging to guide your staff through changes in the way they are used to working. That is why it is important to communicate clearly and transparently. Provide all team members with comprehensive training and make sure everyone is on the same page. It helps to promote a culture of “learning by doing” in which your employees feel free to experiment, contribute ideas and learn from their mistakes.
The JobRouter® digital process automation platform
The JobRouter® digital process automation platform lets you digitalize internal and external processes. Our platform helps companies shift to a paperless office. It also gives the ability to fully customize it to meet the unique needs of your business.. The intuitive user interface makes it easy to get your staff onboarded to the platform without extensive training. We also offer a wide range of helpful courses and webinars trhough the JobRouter® Academy.