Organization

How new technologies are being developed every year, but organisations are still hungry for insights?

New technologies are being developed every year, but organizations are still hungry for insights on what customers want. Consumers have become the "new king" in the world of business. While industries have changed dramatically over time, it is clear that companies will continue to need information on their customers to be successful. The answer? To study consumers better than ever before!

While there are many different ways to get these insights, organizations can employ emerging technologies to better understand their customers. For example, Artificial Intelligence (AI) gives companies the ability to use big data and transform it into actionable insights.

The Insights Deprived

Organizations are hungry for insights into what customers want, but there is a lot of information available about people in today's world. What's keeping companies from having the correct data? When organizations think about insights, they often focus on customer experience or feedback polls. However, when these sources produce unreliable results, they can close off opportunities to know their customers more nuancedly. Today's modern organizations are insights deprived; they cannot collect data efficiently and utilize it in meaningful ways. Insights are critical for companies who don't necessarily know what the customer wants because companies will not be able to grow into tomorrow without them.

Insights, while seemingly simple to the naked eye, are an extensive topic. Insights about improving products and services can be discovered by just observing consumers or focusing on what they're doing at the moment. Insights aren't just about getting feedback from people but also understanding why customers act the way they do when it comes to what they're interested in or not. Insights also cover a more extensive scope, as significant purchases are made for reasons that go beyond just the product itself. For instance, consumers may want more environmentally friendly appliances because it shows how much energy is being used and therefore benefits society. Insights can be gathered from different sources, but there are some significant roadblocks to getting them. Insights come from a variety of sources, which is part of the problem. Insights often fall short because they're based on what customers say or do at just one moment in time and aren't necessarily indicative of how they will act in the future. In addition, companies often face challenges when it comes to getting more than one perspective. Insights are an essential part of business, but not all sources or types of data collection yield effective results on their own. Insights can be drawn from observations of consumers' products, brand involvement, and even how products are used. Insights also come from market research (surveys or polls) and statistical data analysis to create reports. Insights are not easy to uncover, but they can be obtained through modern technological advancements.

Insights are challenging to gain because organizations aren't always using the right tools to get the results. Insights often rely on consumer feedback, but companies learn biased because customers don't always say what they mean. Insights would be easier to detect if companies paid attention to all the information that technology has available, not just a tiny fraction of it. Insights are crucial in today's global economy because it helps companies know whether their products and services meet consumers' needs. Insights are an essential part of business, but if companies fail to gather them, they cannot grow into tomorrow.

Organizations have a lot of data available about their customers, but this doesn't mean that the information is accurate. It may be possible for organizations to miss out on collecting insights without even knowing! Insights are the key to future growth because they can be garnered through studying consumers better than ever before, not just by relying on consumer feedback. Insights come from different sources, but organizations need to use them correctly not to be misguided. Insights are about understanding why customers act the way they do and what they're interested in, rather than just getting feedback from them. Insights don't necessarily come from what customers say or do at one moment in time, but this is often where companies get their wrong ideas from. Insights are not easy to gain because they often rely on consumer feedback, and organizations aren't always using the right tools to get the results they need. Nevertheless, insights are crucial in today's world because it helps companies know whether their products and services meet consumers' needs.

Artificial Intelligence the way forward

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to provide insights hungry organizations with information on their customers. AI offers advantages in many areas, such as predictive analytics and intelligence. It can be used to identify existing or potential future trends. This can be done using customer data and detecting patterns of behaviors for different groups of people. AI can see consumer behavior and notice which detail is essential, such as preferences related to specific brands, colors, sizes, etc. It also provides the standard features that allow companies to "talk" to their customers through digital channels and increase sales conversion rates.

AI takes existing trends and applies algorithms to find patterns for use in targeted marketing. This can help to optimize an organization's budget because activities are less likely to be wasteful. For example, AI can use customer data to detect when people are most likely to purchase online. Predictive analytics is also beneficial because it provides organizations with the ability to allocate budgets more effort example, this very. For example, this can be used to determine which incentives are likely to influence customers during specific moments in time, such as reminding customers of upcoming birthdays or anniversaries. These are only a few of the benefits that AI offers because it can provide insights hungry organizations with information on their customers.

However, AI is not without flaws. It might be challenging to identify opportunities to scale up when they are poorly executed for unknown reasons. Therefore, it is essential that organizations use data-driven results rather than just basing their decisions on opinions or traditional trends. Organizations need to recognize that customers are individuals with different personal preferences, and it is essential to be mindful of their diversity. In addition, there are limitations regarding how much information companies can gather from customers. For instance, if a consumer does not want to receive personalized advertisements via email or other communication channels, they may opt-out altogether of communication with the company. It is also difficult for organizations to maintain a solid relationship with their customers because brands should be authentic. Consumers can tell when a company is being fake and will eventually lose trust in the brand.

In conclusion, it should be noted that new technologies are constantly being developed to help organizations better understand their customers to market more effectively. However, there are gaps AI has and limitations on how much information can be gathered from customers. Organizations need to make sure they use data-driven results rather than opinions or traditional trends when making decisions. Customers are individuals with different personal preferences, and brands need to be authentic; otherwise, consumers may lose trust in the brand.

Digital Transformation: Not about Technology

The last decade gave birth to technologies, sciences, and business models which have brought in 

  • Companies which are challenging the norm

  • Forced companies to transform or evolve their business models

  • Perished or close to being non-existence large companies which at one point were industry leaders

A more significant and higher-order business transformation program that came to light was the term "Digital Transformation." Industry leaders, academia, and many other leaders defined their own versions of how organizations should approach digital transformation. The concept started taking many forms, and technology-led organizations started positioning as their product as the lead to drive digital transformation. The positioning enabled and excited board members and executives to embark on the "Blue Pill" that adopting such technologies would be to position the company completing a digital transformation program. The order was short-lived, the companies faced the following:

  • Technologies weren't able to scale organization-wide

  • It solved a specific and not a more significant organization-specific use cases

Hence adopting technologies is just one of the cog in the wheel and not the entire picture. The recommended approach to the right digital transformation program is to define your strategy based on:

  1. Redefining the business 

  2. Enhancing customer-facing programs

  3. Improving employee engagement and increasing efficiencies

  4. Generating and evaluating new business models

  5. Setting the machine to machine engagement models

With the solve objectives to strengthen and transform the business into its entirety. In addition to core strategic framework, the essential layers which enable a digital transformation are:

  1. Data - the fundamental asset of the companies to drive, prioritize and simulate the programs

  2. People - a multi-faceted and multi-skilled team

  3. Technology - an appropriate tech stack and not a single ecosystem with a balanced subscription and open tech ecosystem

  4. Agile and DevOps - the sharp and continuous delivery mechanism

  5. AI - an enabler to exponentially impact the program

  6. Consulting - an in-house group to define, refine and project outcomes

  7. Engineering - a robust technology-enabled approach

  8. Knowledge Management - ensure retention of organizational knowledge

The layers are not independent and are like lego blocks that come together to form a structure. 

Recommended books for further reading:

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Hit Refresh

Book by Satya Nadella covering his personal life and transformation of Microsoft

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Driving Digital Strategy

One of my favorite books on Digital Transformation