Why Firms Should Consider a Digital Transformation

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how we do business in no time at all.

Even before 2020, there was a discernible shift in buyers’ behaviors. Gone were the days when relationships alone drove the decision to sign with a firm. Now, B2B buyers conduct extensive online research before reaching out to a company.

The most agile firms have responded by transforming their operations with advanced digital technologies that empowered them to survive – and thrive – in the new business environment.

Now, accounting firms no longer wonder if they should use digital business techniques, but how to do it well.

Hinge Research Institute surveyed business executives from six core professional service fields, including accounting, to understand how they approached this new dynamic. In this article, we’ll share what a digital transformation is and what you should do before starting the journey.

What is a Digital Transformation?

Digital transformation reimagines marketing and business development functions for the digital age.

Business development efforts are moving toward a digital pipeline where automated techniques generate and qualify leads and close new clients. A robust search engine optimization (SEO) strategy supported by social media and digital PR help drive the funnel. Powerful CRMs (e.g., Salesforce) and automation speed up work processes.

Digital marketing projects improve the effectiveness and efficiency of new-client acquisition by responding to changes in client buying behavior, developing new product and service offerings, and improving the client journey.

The most common goals of digital transformation efforts fall into four broad categories:

• Improve the client experience
• Improve the efficiency of business operations
• Automate or streamline business processes
• Increase revenue and profitability

The Potential of Digital Transformation

Hinge’s research found significant benefits for professional service firms utilizing digital strategies.

• Client satisfaction increased in about 70 percent of transformations.
• Operational efficiency improved in more than 76 percent of firms.
• Digital marketing techniques increased brand awareness in 69 percent of firms.
• Increases in revenue were reported in 64 percent of cases.
• Bottom line profits increased in 61 percent of firms.

When you put these numbers in context, the results are even more impressive. These results represent all the firms we researched, not just the successful transformations.

How to Prep for Digital Transformation

You may be ready to go, but before you start, learn as much as you can about your current systems, processes, and approaches. Use existing research or commission new research to answer questions about target audience needs and buying behavior. This information is critical to designing a plan that will get results.

Here are some helpful tips to get started.

1. Document your vision. Will your efforts advance operational efficiency? Client satisfaction? Revenue? Set realistic goals and document your vision.
2. Involve key stakeholders early. Identify which stakeholders will be critical to making your project successful and get them involved early in developing priorities and vision.
3. Keep senior management on your side. Ensure your leadership team is aware of critical findings from research, your vision and strategy, the budget, and any project metrics. 
4. Make sure your team has the right skills and experience. If your employees do not possess the skills required to design digital techniques and automation, outsource the projects to specialists with knowledge of your industry.
5. Implement your project in phases. Start slowly with core processes. Solid success at the beginning sets the stage for more ambitious steps and builds organizational support.
6. Invest in a governance model. Have a document that showcases the processes, roles, tasks, and metrics that everyone can utilize to deliver results consistently.
7. Put people first. Too many companies fail because they focus on the shiny objects. Ensure you have a framework of digital skills that can be leveraged and shared to gain employee buy-in.
8. Track performance to optimize results. Identify at least one key performance indicator (KPI) for each business goal.
9. Test and then test again. Invest extra time to test the system as much as possible. You never know what may be discovered before you go live. 
10. Incorporate data and artificial intelligence (AI). AI is changing the game by continually learning and leveraging data to generate more effectiveness and efficiency. Be sure to take advantage of its strengths. 

While it’s too early to tell whether the office will become a relic of the 21st century, we can be certain that a digital business strategy done well will only improve your efficiency and profitability.

Firms that make a digital marketing transformation are responding to their clients’ needs — and they are reaping the benefits via better client experience, greater growth, and higher profitability. A digital business strategy keeps firms agile and better equipped to handle an ever-changing marketplace. We can all use that these days.