In an age where it seems as though computers are starting to run the world, there’s no doubting the fact that businesses need to be on the cutting edge of technology to survive. If you’ve found that your business is falling behind the times with tech, then it’s time for a digital transformation.

In this article, we’ll take a quick look at what turning your company into a digital enterprise may mean for your business. We’ll provide you with a quick guide to digitizing your business so that you know what pieces of this puzzle you need to acquire.

CRM

The first thing that you need as a business is a CRM tool. CRM stands for customer relationship management. In short, a CRM tool is a software product that helps you manage each stage of a company’s lifecycle.

Think of it this way. When marketing engages one of the target prospects in your industry, they need to record that activity somehow. And when they pass that lead on to sales, that also has to be done in a documented fashion so that sales knows that they need to follow up on that lead.

Lastly, when a salesperson is executing steps to close a deal with that prospect, upper-level management also needs visibility into that process so that they can identify what sales motions are working in the industry.

Without a CRM tool, there’s practically no way to see any of that. Your CRM will function as a system of record for all of your engagements with your prospects and customers. You’ll be able to track every step of a customer’s journey from cold lead to happy customer.

To make your CRM more actionable, you can also leverage sales engagement platform. Sales engagement platforms work off of your CRM, and provide a single-pane-of-glass solution to call and email customers while syncing activity back to your CRM for easier reporting.

Accounting & Payroll Software

Another piece of software that is essential to your company’s digital transformation is accounting and payroll software.

Accounting software is hugely important to any business. Few things can prove to be quite a significant setback to a company as getting on the wrong side of the IRS. The right accounting software will help you maintain all of the financial records and statements to avoid that very situation.

Another piece of the puzzle is payroll software. Your employees are key to your business. Keeping them happy should be one of your top priorities, as a happy employee is a productive one.

One of the many ways that you can keep employees happy is to ensure that payroll is processed correctly every single time. Without software, this is a herculean task for even the most experienced payroll manager. Thankfully, there are lots of different options on the market that will suit this functionality — be sure to pick one that integrates with your accounting solution and has direct deposit capabilities.

Mobile Apps

Nowadays, it seems as though everyone and their grandmother have a smartphone — and the statistics back it up!

What does that mean for your business?

Simple: if there is a way that you can leverage a mobile app in order to drive engagement with your product or service, then you should seek to do so.

However, an important caveat worth mentioning is that mobile apps are typically quite an expensive endeavor. Firstly, you have to pay for the design and development of the app. Second, you’ll pay listing fees to put it on the App Store. Third, you’ll also have to pay for marketing as well as any ongoing maintenance that comes up on the app’s back end.

These costs are what make most business owners shy away from mobile apps. However, the truth is that the increased engagement the app could provide could result in a positive ROI. The only way to know is to conduct a study on your market to see if an app really makes sense for your industry.

Internet Advertising

Advertising on the Internet is another good way to continue your journey of completing your digital transformation. Widespread Internet access means that your customers are spending more and more of their time online. If you want to market to them effectively, then you need to have a strong Internet presence.

There are several different Internet advertising channels available to you. You could go with the PPC route and pay for Google ads in the search engine. You can advertise privately on specific websites and social media influencer platforms.

Whatever your industry may be, there is an advertising option on the Internet that is sure to fit your needs.

Custom Software Development

The last thing to consider as a part of your digital transformation is any custom software development that your business may require.

Custom software development can take the form of many different things. You may need to build out some kind of intranet to train new employees on.

Or perhaps you need to build a custom integration with another product that you plan to partner with. Whatever the case may be, custom software development has the potential to help your business out in several different ways.

When you embark on a custom software development project, you’ll likely be looping in a team of professionals to help you out. Coding software is no simple task, after all.

Be sure to shop around multiple different software agencies before settling on any one provider. Only pick a contractor that has an excellent history of providing great service to customers.

How to Build a Digital Enterprise

There you have it. With this guide on how to build a digital enterprise under your belt, you should have a much better understanding of and appreciation for the different parts of the puzzle that you need in order to make your digital transformation a successful experience.

For more business advice, be sure to take some time to check out the rest of the articles available on the website before you leave!