Summit Spotlight: Aligning Business Priorities With Executional Strategy To Advance Your Digital Program

A proposed digital transformation may receive some resistance in your organization, but it’s necessary to remain aligned with your consumers’ needs and expectations.

“The scariest part of moving forward in a digital transformation journey is change … and the way to get over change is to let go,” says Jonathan Maier, senior director of global programs at Salsify.

“You need to let go of your fear of change, and you need to accept that change can be good. Let go of preconceived notions, let go of your personal priorities, and think about what change can bring to you, to your organization, to your company,” he adds.

Maier and Garret Schneider, presales architect at Salsify, shared their expertise during the 2024 Digital Shelf Summit session, “Aligning Business Priorities with Executional Strategy to Advance Your Digital Program,” and discussed how brands can successfully approach digital transformation.

What Are the 3 Critical Elements of a Digital Transformation?

A digital transformation comprises three essential components: the customer journey, a data strategy, and tech consolidation.

1. A Consistent Consumer Journey Is Crucial to Satisfaction 

The customer journey has changed dramatically since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Consumers grew more comfortable with online shopping over in-store shopping, and now they skew almost right down the middle.

According to Salsify’s “2024 Consumer Research” report, 49% of consumers prefer an omnichannel journey that marries in-store and online shopping.

Capturing these consumers' attention is becoming increasingly challenging, making accurate data syndication essential, says Maier.

“The consumer journey is not just a sales event. It’s not just the experience on the retailer network where they shop. They research, they put in their card, and they check out,” says Maier.

“It starts at the marketing event. Microsites, pop-up events, content sites, promotions, and anything related to marketing to captivate the consumer's attention is the start of the journey,” he adds.

The retail system is the next step in the customer journey, followed by customer care. Maier says providing accurate data at every customer touch point is essential for customer satisfaction.

The way to achieve this, Maier and Schneider say, is to combine tech consolidation with data expansion.

2. A Data Strategy Is Essential to Staying on Top  

“The data program, or the data journey … is becoming complex and very important,” says Maier.

Consumers play a large role in influencing this journey, he says. “In the past, the consumer would influence the very end of a data journey … Today … the consumer … influences pretty much every aspect of your tech stack,” says Maier.

Take the product detail page (PDP), for example. “The PDP is the brand experience,” says Maier, and enhanced content (product images, videos, etc.) creates a full-funnel experience that helps suppliers stand out on the digital shelf.

Data expansion allows for more data to be created and supported, which in turn improves the PDP. But if your systems are outdated — you’ll fall behind.

Schneider says that resistance to change in the data architecture often comes from two sources: First, it comes from those who want to keep profit margins at the status quo. Second, it comes from IT, which owns many of the pre-existing applications, some of which are “hanging on by a thread.”

A marketing/IT alliance is the best way to align technology choices with business goals. This will help avoid “half-baked solutions” and improve the customer experience, marketing productivity, team collaboration, omnichannel enablement, and more.

3. Tech Consolidation Streamlines the Transformation

“When we think consolidation, let’s not think about it as the old way of, ‘Let’s reduce costs, let’s remove what we can remove at all costs.’ Let’s simplify but still keep in mind that there will be satellite systems working around it,” says Maier.

Product experience management (PXM) is an excellent way to consolidate tech. It can increase tech stack simplicity, allowing for rapid test-and-learn with emerging generative artificial intelligence (AI) GenAI technologies. Tech consolidation can also help companies prevent duplication and increase automation wherever possible. 

Achieve Digital Shelf Excellence

Consider implementing a PXM solution to help you consolidate tech, streamline the customer experience, and improve data consistency.

Align your IT department with marketing to ensure everyone is on the same page. Both teams will feel like they have a common goal and not like they’re working against each other.

Examine your outdated systems to ensure the most seamless data architecture possible. These steps will ensure that you advance your digital program and achieve digital shelf excellence.