At the first glance, digital transformation seems to mean simply introducing digital technologies in business processes to keep up with the current trends. In fact, digital transformation is much broader and deeper, it means reimagining the entire business in the context of digitalization. Digital transformation means reshaping all the business processes and flows, sometimes tearing down some firmly established ways of working. Digital transformation changes the very culture of business relations, both inside and outside the company.
While this may sound a bit alarming, digital transformation brings heaps of benefits to those who are not afraid to embrace it. The most obvious one is being able to keep pace with the competition and secure your market presence – the story of Kodak is a perfect example of what you should not do when the world is changing around you.
When you embark on digitalization, you can expect other benefits that will, ultimately, take your business to a new level:
- More customer-centric approach. Digital transformation allows creating better customer experiences, responding to customer demands more efficiently, and, generally, increasing customer satisfaction.
- Cost savings. The introduction of digital technologies allows you to optimize and streamline many processes by getting rid of unnecessary overhead costs.
- Innovation opportunities. The use of advanced technologies allows businesses to adapt to the current market trends faster.
- New product development openings. Digital transformation releases both material and human resources that can be used in developing new products or services, thus, creating new market opportunities.
A smart digital transformation strategy generally improves your business flows ensuring more rational use of your resources, higher flexibility in decision-making, a shorter time to market for your products and services. In 2021, when the world economy has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and the competition is fierce, these advantages can make all the difference.
Role of real-time communication in digital transformation
Digital technologies affects the way communication is done, both in-house and with outside partners, customers, vendors, and such. In the communication area, smart digital strategies can make a huge difference and improve business processes significantly.
At the same time, advanced communication technologies, when implemented properly, can boost and support digital transformation efforts in all business areas – from marketing to logistics. Communication is literally the life-blood of any business enabling quick and effective information sharing both inside and outside the company.
How real-time communication can aid your company’s digital transformation
Implementation of advanced real-time communication tools should become one of the priority items in your digital transformation journey. When you have an effective communication platform, you will have a “skeleton” on which you will grow the rest of your business’s digital system.
How real-time communication can improve internal business processes
Your business success stems from how well your internal processes are organized. Here, the importance of communication cannot be overestimated.
- Facilitate collaboration
Effective internal communication is critical for collaboration within a company. Collaboration usually occurs at multiple levels – from enterprise-wide initiatives to individual team projects. In all cases, proper collaboration is the driving force of success, and here communication plays a key role.
A proper communication tool enables various collaboration types – instant messaging (both private and group), file sharing, screen sharing. This way, the team can always be on the same page, with any issues resolved within the shortest time possible.
- Connect remote workforce
Many businesses adopt a remote or hybrid working model when all or some of the employees work from their homes or, generally, anywhere in the world. These models have become especially popular with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic that forced companies to revise their ways of working greatly.
In a remote or hybrid working model, communication becomes the top priority. You not only need to enable your dispersed team to connect to continue their tasks but also have to make sure the communication is secure and protected.
- Improve workflows
With a proper digital strategy, you will soon see how communication helps to reshape your workflows creating a much more efficient working environment. With paperwork reduced to a minimum, time-consuming personal meetings replaced with quality voice or video conferences, important updates circulated within minutes, you will note a significant improvement in your company performance.
Digitized workflows supported by advanced communication can help you to use your resources in a much more efficient way and achieve better results.
How real-time communication improves external relations
Your digital transformation strategy should include not only internal relations but also your external communications with your customer base, business partners, agents, and vendors. Here, the benefits of using an advanced communication system as part of your digital innovations are numerous.
- Enhance customer experience
No matter which size your business is, you will definitely need a reliable and secure communication channel with your customers. They might want to contact you to inquire about a new contract, to request a product demo, to discuss conditions, or – let’s admit it – to voice complaints.
When a customer is trying to reach you, the best experience they get is when they are connected immediately. In 2021, hardly anyone uses the telephone for business communications, and emails are becoming less and less popular. Now, everything is about real-time.
A communications platform supporting digital channels, such as instant messaging and live chat, can help you meet customer expectations and, thus, improve customer experiences considerably. Time is precious, and when your customers see that your company does its best to save their time, their experience of working with you improves.
- Facilitate transactions
eCommerce has been gaining momentum for years, and the Covid-19 pandemic with the restrictions it brought boosted the popularity of online shopping even further. In their effort to gain a competitive advantage and improve customer satisfaction, eCommerce businesses might consider adding a reliable and secure communications platform as one of their digital transformation initiatives.
Today, communication tools can enable the complete customer journey, from product browsing to checkout. A chatbot enhanced with a payment gateway can help you create complete customer experiences providing customers with all the information they need and allowing them to conduct transactions directly within the chat.
Of course, such functionality requires careful selection of the payment service provider and top-notch security mechanisms. At the same time, the benefit this solution promises can outweigh the implementation difficulties and business challenges. Thus, eCommerce businesses should consider including this feature in their digital transformation strategy.
- Build trust in the company
Real-time communication allows you to respond to customers’ requests immediately, thus building their trust in your business. It is no secret that customers evaluate the company by the way it responds in a crisis situation. Here, being able to respond quickly can make all the difference.
Offering your customers a real-time communication channel – or even more than one – you are working towards building their trust in you. Just make sure there is someone on your side to answer their requests.
How QuickBlox can help
In boosting your digital transformation efforts with real-time communication, it is important to choose the right tools and digital technologies to ensure success. Communication creates a base for virtually any process in the company, so its quality, performance, and security must always be top-notch.
Quickblox has designed a communication solution that meets all your digital transformation needs. With QuickBlox, you are getting a whole set of features that you can configure and customize as you think best – voice and video calls, group calls, video conferencing, file sharing, instant messaging. The solution supports all the major web and mobile platforms offering flexibility in choosing your hardware and software stack.
Another thing worth mentioning is that the QuickBlox solution was built with a focus on security. The tools and technologies ensure data protection in transit and at rest with proper encryption.
QuickBlox is offered as a set of SDKs and APIs that you can use to easily integrate a full-featured communications platform in your business infrastructure. If you need more information or would like to discuss QuickBlox implementation at your enterprise, contact us, and our team will be happy to help you.
