The past year has been filled with a long list of unforeseen challenges for all organizations. This uncertainty has left businesses with more and more questions that need to be answered, particularly when it comes to their strategies moving forward.
There’s no question that data and analytics are paving the way for businesses in the post-pandemic world, but what exactly are companies doing right now to bounce back? Let’s take a closer look at what leading companies are doing to get back on track and prepare for growth in a post-COVID world.
Investing in the Digital Future
There has always been an enormous amount of talk surrounding the need for digital transformation. Organizations have long used the buzzword loosely when discussing their strategy and high-level goals. For many years, there has been a recognized need for these digital efforts but the transformation has been slow to move. The recent market disruptions, though, have catalyzed digital transformation and emphasized the importance of cost optimization and process improvement through new digital strategies.
Industry leaders are doubling down on their investment in digital strategy and IT implementation. According to a recent Gartner survey, 69% of board of directors have accelerated their digital business initiatives due to COVID’s disruption. This has caused an increase in “forward-looking investments” that will aid in quick responses to unexpected events. Through widespread digital transformation, there has been an apparent shift towards preparedness and the improved agility of organizations as a whole.
Additionally, digital transformation opens doors for things like customer engagement due to increased customer visibility and opportunities for personalization. Many companies are entirely transforming their business model while expanding their digital product offerings as a means for revenue growth.
To start accessing your own digital strategy, start by asking questions such as:
- How is your digital investment aligned with your business goals?
- What metrics and KPIs need to be tracked to effectively measure change?
- What strategies and high-level goals should be understood at all levels of the organization?
Data-Driven Decision Making
Decisions, decisions, decisions. The one thing you can always count on to remain constant in business, regardless of any change and uncertainty in the business environment. The road following a disruption, though, is filled with new questions surrounding customer behaviors and strategic decisions that need to be made quickly.
The recent marketplace changes have highlighted the need for rapid decision-making. Rapid decision-making falls into both an organization’s preparedness and ability to adapt to evolving situations. Using data to drive and inform decision-making is no longer considered a competitive advantage, but instead is identified as a need in order to compete. Whether you’re predicting staff and inventory requirements or evaluating online buying behaviors through customer analytics, data should be at the core.
Not Putting Things Off
Arguably the most important thing companies are doing to bounce back from the downturn is taking action. The time is now, stop putting things off! The vast majority of companies deferred a number of initiatives and business development efforts due to COVID. You’ve likely heard it used as an excuse to delay or revisit a project in the future yourself.
Nevertheless, progress or effective change never came from putting something on the back burner. You can’t expect growth to happen on its own and continue to delay efforts until things go back to what was once considered normal. Reevaluate your priorities, preparedness, and strategies from the individual level all the way up to the overarching organization.
Review
To sum up, the points stated above, the key to moving forward is all about adapting to changing situations. Whether it’s your ability to quickly generate insights that will drive decision-making or investing in new digital channels, it all comes back to how prepared you are to respond and adapt to change.
