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According to Forbes, 52% of Fortune 500 Companies have gone bankrupt, been acquired, ceased existence, or dropped from the list because of digital disruptions since the millennium. Using digital initiatives strategically to achieve business objectives is crucial to the survival of an organization.
Companies need to be innovative in these times of rapid change. They must understand the consumer’s experience with technology and assess its impact and improve it.
This blog explores what makes a company a digital leader. These six examples, whether it is taking a customer-centric strategy like Nordstrom and IKEA or having a clear grasp of what your company offers – Lego and Autodesk – or adopting an innovative approach for both their business as well as their customers like Burberry and Unilever, will leave no doubt about the leadership status of these brands.
Nordstrom: Use a customer-centric strategy
Nordstrom’s elegant and upscale customer service has been a Nordstrom trademark for almost a hundred years. In the late 90s, Nordstrom embarked upon a mission of investing in digital technologies to serve customers and empower their customer-centric staff.
The company developed a digital strategy and business model to provide the best customer experience. After creating its website, Nordstrom developed a point-of-sale system with personal book software to track customer needs and requests. Soon after, an innovation lab was launched, which enabled the creation of social apps, mobile check-out, employee texting, and, later, the purchase of a cloud-based men’s clothing service.
Digital transformation has simplified shopping and provided customers with an enjoyable user experience. Nordstrom’s revenues have grown by over 50% in the last five years due to its integration of technology, personalized customer data, and streamlined processes.
The company is constantly evolving as it looks for new ways to work in the digital retail world.
Autodesk: Evolution with Digital
Autodesk, a software solutions provider for 3D engineering and design, relied on a license model that struggled to survive in the digital age. In the face of an uncertain future and a license-based model, Autodesk’s management decided to migrate from its historic software model into a more flexible, cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS).
This transition was designed to increase engagement, attract new subscribers, improve product iteration, and develop intuitive software. They also launched “Spark,” a program integrating 3D-printing software with hardware and material companies.
Autodesk has positioned itself as a digital leader, leveraging the power of cloud-based platforms to gain customers and achieve a projected increase of operating margins between 13% and 30%. Cloud computing is rising, and the company’s future looks bright.
IKEA: Know Your Customer
IKEA, a company that is the world’s largest furniture manufacturer, has successfully ridden the digital wave. IKEA is the largest furniture company in the world. It understands its customers well and uses tactics to capture their attention.
IKEA, known for its clever promotional campaigns that feature good-natured relationship dynamics, has recently launched a campaign called “Where Life Happens,” which uses Google’s search expertise to improve everyday life using its products. IKEA has renamed its products by experimenting with Google searches that target specific problems. Instead of advertising the features of a bed, IKEA renamed it “My Partner Snores.” Various other products have been renamed to match them with typical customer problems.
IKEA’s hands-on approach continues with the IKEA home tour squad. This program sends IKEA employees to the homes of individuals and families to assist them in furnishing complex spaces and finding new uses for their products.
The company’s commitment to its customers has led them to develop other digital projects that embrace the relationship between technology and products. Furniture that wirelessly recharges a smartphone, for example, has the potential to reach two billion smartphone users worldwide.
Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of IKEA, has stated that he hopes to see his company survive based on its digital entrepreneurial.
LEGO: Back to the Basics
In the 1990s, Denmark’s LEGO toy manufacturer grew from a small company that produced children’s blocks into a global organization with theme parks, clothing, and books.
Due to its poor fiscal management, the company was on the brink of bankruptcy in just a decade. In a desperate attempt to recover, LEGO executives restructured their organization to focus on the core building products while cutting costs and engaging kids with digital technology.
The company’s digital presence is where they have created their future. They achieved great success with two highly successful films and construction kits.
You can only make a property appealing to children by playing with the digital world. “Almost everything we do has some digital component to it.” SorenTorpLaursen is the president of LEGO Systems
This is the basis. Lego created the Nexo Knights, a line of medieval knights set in a futuristic world. They developed the capability to scan knights’ shields with a mobile phone, allowing users to download power in an app game. Their building and coding kits, such as Lego Boost, encourage children to make their creations come to life.
LEGO’s digital initiatives combine programming with physical building to capture children’s attention and establish the brand as a leader in the market.
Burberry: Hire Fresh Eyes
The fashion industry needs help to adapt to new digital platforms. Burberry, a fashion leader worldwide, was an early digital adopter. This is evident because its CEO has a digitally savvy background. Angela Ahrendts was in charge of the digital strategy, which included several initiatives to help drive the business both online and off.
Art of the Trench was one such initiative. The site features customers in trademark trench coats and allows users to like, comment, and share their posts.
Originally intended to be an independent platform, the Facebook page of Burberry grew to more than a million fans, the highest number in the luxury industry at the time. Its success has led to its adoption across several social media platforms, including Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.
The company also introduced an ecommerce catalog that matched its in-store inventory. Other innovations included mobile technologies that are easy to navigate for smartphones and tablets. They also created engaging and creative content and RFID chips in the store that show product videos when customers walk by.
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