Chart of the Day: What challenges do a successful digital transformation programme need to overcome?

Our latest Managing Digital Marketing Research report showed that many businesses are actively pursuing Digital Transformation with over one-quarter (30%) of businesses already having a transformation programme in place. 33% are planning to start a digital transformation programme within the next 12 months. By its very nature, successful digital transformation requires significant changes to diverse areas including marketing, technology, and skills. This new July article from the McKinsey Quarterly highlights a range of challenges according to a survey of senior respondents in large businesses. It's useful since it highlights the main risks that need to be managed in a transformation project: The biggest challenge featured as the headline and recommendations of the McKinsey article is not digital-specific, but relevant to any large change management project, i.e. Cultural and Behavioural changes. The other challenges…

The must-know essentials to increasing your footfall through destination marketing online

If you work in the destination sector, you’ll ultimately be judged on ticket sales. We notice time and time again that the leisure and tourism attractions that smash their ticket-sales targets are the ones that fully understand (and influence) the modern consumer’s reliance on the internet when booking holidays or days out. Today’s consumer will turn to the internet to research where to go, what attractions to visit whilst there, where to avoid, and what events coincide with their stay. It’s your job as a destination marketer to get your attraction noticed during this research stage. This article will teach you how and will include details on how and why you need to... Create buyer personas Work from a content calendar Influence each stage of the buyer’s journey Employ the right tactics Ensure your website is traffic-friendly [si_guide_block id="81120" title="Download Paid Member Resource…

Avoid these mistakes to prevent digital transformation failure

There's no doubt that Digital Transformation initiatives have been a major trend in 2016 which look set to continue into 2017. This chart from 2016 research by Smart Insights shows the popularity of digital transformation initiatives. You can see that over one-quarter (30%) of businesses already have a transformation programme in place, with many businesses looking to launch their digital transformation programme imminently. Yet shockingly, according to Forbes, 84% of digital transformations fail.  For each one of you reading this from an organization about to embark on the process, only one in eight of you will succeed. But perhaps the high failure rate is unavoidable. 86% of leaders think digital transformation is necessary within their organization yet only half feel that they fully understand it.

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Facebook digital transformation journey is 'only 1% finished'

I recently had the opportunity to visit Facebook’s Dublin HQ for a deep-dive immersion session. The objective was to up-skill everyone in the latest thinking and best practice in digital and mobile marketing from a Facebook/ Instagram perspective and over two days we covered a range of topics, from the rise of mobile video to the evolution of communication. All of the presentations provided some really interesting and valuable insights, however it was the opening presentation that covered Facebook’s culture of innovation that really struck a chord. At first I assumed this would comprise mainly of corporate propaganda, a list of reasons why Facebook is the #1 channel for marketers and ultimately an unassailable force for social good. Whilst there were inevitably elements of this there were also some interesting insights into a company that is a living and breathing example of digital transformation at…

Marketers are expected to take full control of the customer experience in the coming years

The Economist Intelligence Unit asked 499 (one can't help but think they were aiming for 500) Chief Marketing Officers and Senior Marketing Execs about how they saw marketing evolving, and also conducted some in-depth, one on one interviews with CMOs from leading brands such as Unilever and JPMorgan Chase. They were looking to find out what key technologies and trends will drive change in the marketing industry over the next four years, and the results make for interesting reading. Here we've summarised some of the key findings for marketers, but if you want the full report you can sign up to download it.

Hottest tech trends for marketers

The chart below is in many ways not all that surprising. Mobile has been a massive trend in marketing for years now, and makes up over half of web traffic. The…

20 marketing stats for 2020

2020 now looms ahead of us, emerging from over the long-term planning horizon. For years marketers have envisaged 2020 as a distant realm where consumers are empowered, companies responsive and new technologies like virtual reality and the Internet of Things ubiquitous. Now it isn't actually far off, less than three years. Marketers, therefore, need to stop imagining 2020 as some distant concept and start planning for it as business reality. To help you construct your plan, we've put together this list of 20 marketing stats showing what the state of the market will be in various areas, from search to social to VR, will be in 2020. These predictions can then help you decide where to allocate resources and spot possible opportunities for your business. [si_guide_block id="5676" title="Download FREE Resource – Digital marketing plan template" description="Our popular marketing planning template built on the Smart Insights RACE planning system."/] For more marketing statistics…

Study from PwC shows the need for Chief Digital Officers in larger organisations

The digital revolution is transforming all business departments. Marketing, HR, Sales, Finance & IT all have massive opportunities and considerable challenges thanks to the rapid pace of digital change. Whole industries are being disrupted with newer, faster and more efficient ways are doing things emerging. Many businesses are responding by creating a digital transformation programme - our new research shows the number of businesses adopting digital transformation programmes is increasing with around one-third having a programme in place and a further third planning a programme within 12-months. Managing digital transformation is a herculean task, but one that needs to be done well if the business is going to continue to grow in a world forever changed by pervasive technology. [si_guide_block id="43709" title="Download Expert Member resource – Managing Digital Marketing" description="Our free research report based on a survey of Smart Insights members…

Use our infographic as a visual checklist for planning digital transformation across your entire organisation

Digital transformation is an incredibly complex undertaking, particularly in larger organisations. But given modern consumers' propensity to demand more from brands, it is not optional. Businesses have to become more adaptive and quicker to utilise the latest technology to improve the experience of their customers. If they don't then they'll rapidly find themselves disrupted by more agile competitors since there are so many sophisticated multichannel marketing techniques required today. [si_guide_block id="84595" title="Download Free Member resource – Integrated Marketing 2020" description="10 essential success factors for a joined-up marketing strategy."/] Too often companies recognise these trends but fail to transform successfully. They start a digital transformation process because they feel like they should, but do not integrate it across departments. Worse, they often focus on attempting to use new digital tactics whilst failing to actually develop a cohesive digital strategy. This leaves a mishmash…

The biggest technology trends emerging this year

For organisations of all shapes and sizes, it’s crucial to stay ahead of the latest digital and technological advances. To help you do this, we’ve looked ahead at those trends that will have a major impact in 2017 - and beyond… 2016 saw significant technological advances in a number of different areas (as we discussed in a post on the Box UK blog towards the end of last year). It doesn’t look like this rapid rate of change will slow anytime soon - so what will everyone be talking about in this year? Here are some of the trends we expect to see dominate:

‘Digital Transformation’

Addressing one of the most talked-about trends in recent years, digital transformation may be fast becoming an overused and increasingly vague term - but with four generations now in the workplace and collaborating across all sorts of projects, digital is…

How to create a digital knowledge centre which facilitates your digital transformation and helps you delight your customers.

The way brands are being built is being re-shaped. This is in large part due to consumers’ digital habits; by-passing brands completely and opting for the likes of Amazon, Google or Tripadvisor to satisfy their needs and requirements as the tools of discovery for users. So what can brands do when their market may be ripe for disruption? Start with why you exist and how you can migrate your offering, through digital transformation, in becoming a brand of authority and trust. Authority and trust are two key assets brands can build a distinct unique selling point. For brands that operate in a competitive marketplace, how the brand is perceived to a wider audience can be used as an advantage, in becoming a knowledge centre for your industry sector.

Brands as Knowledge Centres

So what is a knowledge centre? It’s…