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Digital transformation refers to how companies are reinventing themselves and their business models for the digital world. Different businesses will have their own set of motivating factors to do so – established companies see it as a viable way to improve customer experience and operations in the face of increasing competition, while young companies view it as a prime strategy in order to disrupt their respective industries.
Regardless, this technological rat race has resulted in several success stories; companies that have successfully integrated digital transformation into how they are run. Here are three examples we can learn from:
Starbucks has been a trailblazer when it comes to digital transformation, having launched Starbucks Digital Ventures back in 2009. The Starbucks mobile app provides an integrated and user-friendly digital loyalty platform, and has become key in building an extensive digital ecosystem. By allowing customers to earn and redeem Stars and rewards within the app itself, the Starbucks mobile app has become a powerful tool to attract and retain loyal customers. This forward-thinking move has even helped increase overall revenue. As of last year, the mobile app had 19 million monthly active users in the U.S. alone.
Customer experience has also significantly improved through digitisation. With the introduction of its Mobile Order & Pay feature, customers can now place drink orders and make payment within the mobile app itself. Waiting time is eliminated, and payment is secure and convenient – nearly a tenth of Starbucks customer transactions are completed over Mobile Order & Pay.
IKEA has consistently been recognised for its innovative and immersive online campaigns. In 2009, before Facebook competition rules were put in place, IKEA was one of the first companies to introduce gamification on the social platform, allowing customers to win items in a showroom when they tag themselves on items in a photograph.
More recently, IKEA has turned to augmented reality in order to revolutionise customer shopping experience. Launched just two months ago, IKEA has collaborated with Apple to co-build IKEA Place, an AR application allowing customers to try out virtual, true-to-scale furniture in their physical environment before making a decision to purchase, especially useful for bulky, hefty goods like furniture.
Since its founding in 1998, digitisation has been a core strategy for JetBlue. They prioritise process efficiency by eliminating any transactions that do not value-add to customer experience. Process automation comes in the form of their Auto Check-In process, where passengers are registered, assigned seats and sent their electronic boarding passes 24 hours before their flight.
JetBlue’s inflight Wi-Fi, Fly-Fi, has also facilitated the crew’s productivity in attending to customer needs. Cabin crew can make use of iPads to access individual customer information, such as their type of loyalty membership, birthday, or next connecting flight. JetBlue has also consistently kept in touch with new tech, the latest innovation being their Apple Watch app, providing services such as mobile boarding pass, real-time flight updates and in-flight purchases payable by Apple Pay.
Further demonstrating their commitment to digitisation, JetBlue has also launched JetBlue Technology Ventures, a subsidiary tasked at investing and researching on up-and-coming technologies.
Day 2 of our Think Big Leadership Business Series 2017: Outlook 2018 conference brings you talks by respected business leaders pertaining to the topic of Digital Transformation. Don’t miss out on limited slots as registration is already open!
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