Organizations Should be Thinking Digital Transformation Right Now: Ryan Mack San Diegos Entrepreneur Highlight

Digital disruption is a very real phenomenon that’s sweeping across industries. But marketing guru Ryan Mack said that companies should be thinking about digital transformation right now in order to thrive in a rapidly changing environment.

“What is digital transformation? It allows any business to meet customer demands by simply focusing on people,” he said. “Customers are people but so are your employees. Even if you digitize your operations and systems, your employees need to buy into the change. If they resist, you fall.”

Mack said digital transformation is what will keep organizations afloat in the face of the sweeping changes caused by digital disruption.

A Study by Constellation Research

He cited a study by Constellation Research, which assessed the amount of time each US corporation spent in the S&P 500 Index. It found that in the 50s, the US corporations stayed for an average of 61 years. In 2011, the length of time was reduced drastically to just 18 years. By 2027, it was estimated that 75% of the companies that are listed in the stock market today would have been gone by then.

“That’s how fast digital disruption is affecting every business all across the globe. People may think that they have time to prepare because it’s not here yet. But if they are only preparing now, they may already be too late,” he said.

How Digital Transformation Should Work

Basically, digital transformation is good business practice. Mack said that management should assess its business processes, delivery, and supply system, and IT practices in order to come up with an honest report of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). Unfortunately, it requires businesses to digitize their operations considering that most customers today are almost always present in the digital sphere.

“The one problem is when you encounter a customer who is tech savvy and yet your system is ill-prepared to address his needs,” he said. “You can rest assured that that potential customer would be running off to your competitor.”

Information is at Our Fingertips

He said that organizations really have no excuse anymore to adapt in order to be more prepared for the disruption in its particular industry. “Information is literally at our fingertips. The veil of ignorance has been lifted so resistance to change is borne of stubbornness or refusing to go out of their comfort zones.”

“In fact, in order to thrive in the current environment, you need to be the one to disrupt the system first rather than just wait for the disruption to affect your business,” Mack added.