Mistakes to avoid. How to switch on success. Why it will make your business stronger.
It’s been a tough few years for business owners. In the West Midlands, industries have gone from thriving to surviving – and as an economy, we’re a while away from bouncing back. There’s not much we can do about inflation, supply chain headaches or waning demand, but there are solutions to stay competitive. It’s time to look under the hood, reassess our business operations and let go of the “but we’ve always done it this way” mentality.
Technology is still severely underutilised in the West Midlands. Slow revenue growth has led businesses to trim the fat from operations and cut costs to maintain their bottom line. But there’s other levers we can pull – improved productivity, reduced labour needs and faster sales cycles – all of which can be realised through digital investment.
But there are barriers. With hundreds of tools on the market, which would make sense for my business? How do I know this software will meet my future needs? What are the risks? This guide will help you navigate this process and show you how to access expert advice for free.
There’s a lot of chatter about automation and AI but the landscape is much broader than that. We’ll talk you through the pitfalls, keys to success, and how to think about digital transformation in your own business.
Mistakes to avoid and why.
The benefits of going digital are clear, but many companies face challenges when faced with the transition. Business leaders struggle to navigate the complexity of implementation – you know you need something, but not what or how. And bad decisions can be costly.
In a Larato survey, 70% of businesses said they want technology to drive growth and promote productivity. There is a significant gap between those who want it and those actively considering it. Concerns around adoption and underutilisation are common; there’s no point investing in digital tools if you can’t be confident the benefits will be realised. It’s not that the tools aren’t fit for purpose, but instead that there could be resistance to change.
Another survey by Red Hat highlights this. Nearly all (92%) IT managers believed their teams would be reluctant to adopt new automation tools. 40% thought it would be overwhelming, and another 39% said it would cause friction with a strong preference for existing processes. A further 29% of UK tech leaders cited a lack of required skills as a major barrier to implementation. There are a lot of hurdles to overcome.
These results only demonstrate how digital transformation impacts all parts of your business – it’s not just about selecting the right tools. Here’s five common mistakes you can easily avoid.
1 Investing money but not time
Your business is unique. Throwing money at software with zero customisation is not going to enhance your current way of working. You need to be invested in the process, involved in the implementation, and proactively shaping the tools you choose. Always be optimising.
2 Excluding employees from the process
Employees are not decision-makers and get left out of the buying process. This is a big mistake. They are the primary users of whatever you invest in. If a tool becomes a source of friction rather than a point of ease, they will not adopt it. Not only can they give you excellent feedback on potential solutions, but this helps get buy-in early, overcoming adoption issues.
3 Not considering the impact beyond a specific use case
A CRM system can improve sales team performance. By a lot. The ROI for sales is clear, but you need to consider the ripple effects. What data does Marketing need to inform their content strategy? Is the solution you buy today fit for purpose for the next 3, 5, or 10 years? Does it facilitate your future strategy? Wider business considerations can prevent runaway costs.
4 Treating data as an afterthought
Data is fundamental to any digital transformation – strategic decision making, more complex automation capabilities and deeper integration of business operations. If it isn’t your first thought, you quickly end up with siloed data across teams. And siloed data means you don’t have a full picture of anything – not your business, not your customers. The technological benefits are squandered leading to missed opportunities and possibly even lower productivity than before.
5 Not hiring outside expertise
Now here’s a controversial take – often neither you nor the software vendor knows best for your business. Your ideas are biased by existing processes and the vendor has no knowledge of your business at all. Hiring a consultant, someone whose job it is to deep dive into business problems and implement custom software solutions, can have a huge impact.
You’ve probably noticed a theme here – planning your digital transformation is just as important as the tools you choose. Software is not a magic wand. Your people need to use it, someone needs to manage it, and you need expertise (whether internal or external). Here’s an example of how Uber made this costly mistake.
Systems are only as strong as the weakest link.
Uber had a major data breach back in 2016 when hackers uncovered passwords from their GitHub account using an automated script. By exploiting a vulnerability in a third-party tool, the personal information of 57 million users and 600,000 drivers were instantly exposed.
The security breach was bad, but their response made the situation worse. They tried to conceal the breach and pay the hackers $100,00, leading to a damaged reputation and severe legal repercussions once things came to light.
The incident shows your systems are only as strong as the weakest link. It also highlights the consequences of not following up with robust principles, ensuring staff understand how to conduct their roles in a digital environment. GDPR is another example where many UK businesses simply don’t understand their responsibilities. There could be thousands of major breaches waiting to happen.
Adopt the right tools for the right reasons.
Having a clear business strategy will help you avoid some of these mistakes. By being aware of your goals and overall direction, you’ll adopt the right tools and make better decisions around technology. Working backwards from the strategy allows you to map gaps and inefficiencies in your existing processes. You can’t evaluate new digital tools without knowing how they will solve your own needs.
Automation tools could streamline task management, improve accuracy of outcomes, and give time back to employees to focus on more value-adding work. But there are wider considerations – your existing tools, and your team, play a part in your success. 25% of survey respondents said a lack of integration with other systems was a barrier in getting the best return on investment. A further 25% said the biggest barrier was complexity. It’s critical that you understand the specific problems your digital investment needs to solve to overcome these major hurdles.
Let’s walk through some examples of aligning digital transformation to business objectives. Perhaps improved cash flow is a top priority this year. A CRM could help shorten sales cycles and reduce the average time to close – offering an alternative to looking simply at credit control. Managing stock and inventory can be hard to forecast, tying up capital best spent elsewhere. An ERP system could mitigate this. Upfront investment into security to support your remote work policy could save time and expenses down the line.
Of course, these digital tools have many additional benefits to enhance your business operations. Having clear priorities however is a good place to start. Implementation and staff training should also be considered when evaluating software or third-party providers.
Identifying problems is the easy part; translating that into solution requirements is more difficult. A Sharp survey found over 20% of smaller businesses were relying solely on internal IT resource, indicating a lack of expert advice around specific, technical needs. Less than half surveyed felt knowledgeable enough about the benefits of cloud (40%) and IT security (44%). It’s clear that outside expertise would be beneficial to most businesses.
68% of firms told Larato they preferred to buy from local technology experts, but didn’t know how. The #MakingADifference initiative in the West Midlands can help you access the relevant support.
How and Why to Switch On Success
Once you’ve evaluated your strategy, operational goals and customer targets, areas for improvement will become clear. Finding support to take the next step in digital transformation can give you the confidence needed to take action and get the process started. There are over 250 local technology resellers in the West Midlands that can guide you on everything from CRMs to security, with further support available backed by the UK government.
Why the UK is investing in digital support
The UK Innovation Strategy sets out the government’s vision to make the UK a global hub for innovation by 2035. Through this, there are multiple initiatives for businesses to access help to innovate and grow in a number of ways.
The Help to Grow: Management course is available for senior managers of smaller firms to boost business performance and growth through modules like finance, marketing and digital transformation. It’s expected to help 30,000 businesses over its lifespan. Our country’s productivity has fallen to around a fifth lower than Germany, France and the USA – and the government is keen to improve this.
There is also fresh funding available through the Strength in Places Fund (SIPF), helping build on local innovation to promote jobs and R&D. The government is investing ￡300m in 12 major projects, attracting a further ￡340m of investment from private firms and research organisations. This has included ￡18.3m in the Midlands, allowing the Midlands Industrial Ceramics Group to improve manufacturing processes becoming more energy efficient, faster, and cheaper.
What is available to you
Even if you don’t need or qualify for direct government initiatives, you can access support from vendors with the support of local authorities. Larato has teamed up with West Midlands Authority to provide a free matching service with technology consultants for businesses looking to invest in their digital transformation.
If you’ve been thinking about this but worried about the time and effort required to invest in this, you are not alone. The largest barriers as we’ve seen are lack of expertise and uncertainty around what implementation might look like – starting with a consultation can break those barriers down.
Whatever route you take on applying digital transformation in your business, it’s important to take a phased approach. You don’t have to upheave entire functions or processes and hope that they stick. Take an agile approach, testing each stage before it goes live. Play with the data and iterate as you go. By fostering a culture of innovation and continuous improvement, you’ll have a much smoother transition and help employees adapt to changes.
They decided to implement an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system to make their processes more efficient. Having a singular piece of software to manage operations across production, inventory and order management, they were able to handle the end-to-end process much more effectively.
Bridge Cheese understood there were gaps in their knowledge that were stopping them utilising their ERP system to the best of its abilities. The company leaders, Michael Harte and Martin Burrough, participated in Made Smarter’s Digital Leadership programme to upskill on digital transformation strategies that they could implement.
Overall the transformation delivered some huge benefits:
Barry Jones, Digital Transformation Specialist for Made Smarter West Midlands, commented: “Michael and Martin knew they needed to implement digital technology to take their business to the next level, but weren’t sure where to start. Through Made Smarter, they were able to access the support and funding they needed to make it happen”
You could also gain these benefits, starting with finding the right vendor.
Digitisation is essential for long-term success, and with the resources available right now it’s time to take that first step. Just like Bridge Cheese, your business can become more productive, efficient, and competitive.
The #MakeADifference initiative will connect you with local technology experts, who can talk to you about your unique challenges and point you in the right direction.
Adopt digital tools that support your overall business strategy
Take a phased approach with lots of testing and iteration
Include employees on your transformation journey to increase satisfaction/tool adoption
Leverage local expertise for a smooth transition and sign up for #MakingADifference
Don’t choose digital tools without careful evaluation
Don’t overlook the importance of integration (including your existing tools)
Don’t exclude key stakeholders like employees across functions
Don’t skimp on data security
Ready to find out how we can work with you to help meet your business objectives and bridge the gap between buyers and sellers with our market-leading intelligence and decades of strategy experience.