Early promises of digital transformation were big and bold. At the turn of the millennium, we were told that a shift from the manual to the digital would make us more efficient and responsive, and free us up for more fulfilling work. In hindsight, many of us are frankly feeling a bit ripped off. I have more data, but no more clarity! Why am I still two steps behind my customer? Aren’t we going paperless?! Challenges facing organizations today are not necessarily about whether or not to “go digital,” but about how to implement and reimagine this transformation.
Within this context, analytics tools like Semantic AI are stepping into the ring. By tackling information with speed, precision, and inclusiveness, they are delivering a one-two punch: tackling long-unfulfilled promises of digital transformation and acing customer experience in the process.
The persistence of analogue
While society has no doubt been dramatically transformed by the digital, organizations are still surprisingly analogue in their operations. A recent global survey by McKinsey found that only a small fraction is embracing digital technologies wholeheartedly. It found that “in only 15% of firms are digital technologies entirely embedded in more than half of all their businesses” and “20% of firms are barely leveraging these technologies at all” (Harvard Business Review, 2019). Obviously this leaves enormous room for advances in digitization. Despite this potential, transformation is not always approached in a strategic way.
“In only 15% of firms are digital technologies entirely embedded in more than half of all their businesses.”
According to MGI’s Industry Digitization Index, countries and regions are punching well below their weight. The USA is operating at 18% of its digital potential, Europe at 12% overall, with the UK at 17% and France and Germany at 10%, for example (MGI, 2016). And still, even as many organizations digitized their operations over the last decade, most failed to do so holistically. Channels were digitized, but the “solutions” only created disconnected silos of information. Clumsy analogue systems were replaced by clumsy digital ones. No wonder many are frustrated by the promises of a digital transformation.
“Countries and regions are operating well below their digital potential: the USA at 18%, Europe at 12% overall.”
Holistic digital approaches and customer experience
New approaches to digital transformation need to be integrated and seamless. Data from across channels and organizations must be amassed quickly and accurately to create a whole picture of the organization, its activities, and its customers. This is especially vital to deliver on customer experience.
While we may not have seen the full potential of digital transformation, we have seen it put the customer back in the ring. In fact, we’ve witnessed a customer revolution. Customers have been empowered to speak up and to walk away if their interests aren’t being served. Organizations need to up their game as a result. They need tools to listen to the voice of the customer – to keep ahead of their moves, instead of mopping up the mess left behind.
Satisfying customers impacts the bottom line for obvious reasons. Technology will help organizations get there. Indeed, investing in technology is investing in customers. Research on digitalization reveals that the more assertive an organization is in adopting technology, the greater benefits it sees in revenue and growth. A study on digital reinvention confirms that “49% of leading companies are investing in digital more than their counterparts do, compared with only 5% of the laggards, 90% of which invest less than their counterparts” (McKinsley, 2017).
“49% of leading companies are investing in digital more than their counterparts do.”
Digital transformation should deliver new levels of prosperity for customers and organizations. How can everyone win? Semantic AI can help us all get there.
The promise of Semantic AI
Smarter tools make smarter organizations. AI-powered analytics tools like Semeon reach across silos and can systematize a vast amount of structured and unstructured data, helping organizations develop quicker, more accurate insights. These new tools zero in on customer experience and allow organizations to respond to feedback in the blink of an eye. And by getting machines to do the heavy lifting of data processing and analysis, people can do what they do best – guide strategy, pilot discovery, and spark innovation. So it seems digital technology can make us more efficient and responsive, and free us up for more fulfilling work after all. It just took Semantic AI to get us there.
Does this promise seem too good to be true? Get in touch for a demo and see what sort of transformation Semeon can offer you.
