Digitalization Isn't a Miracle Cure: Process First, Software Second
The biggest "downside" of digitalization is that it requires processes and structured operations. Without them, it won't deliver the results you expect. Yet many companies walk straight into this trap. Why?
A typical scenario
Say a company wants to improve its sales efficiency and decides to implement a CRM. The project kicks off: market research, requests for quotes, demos. Software vendors do everything they can to make their product the winner.
But the client's real need often gets left out of the equation. And that need isn't a CRM. It's for "something" to bring order to the sales process.
The Holy Grail effect
The CEO assumes the CRM will fix it, because that's the message coming from everywhere. YouTube, LinkedIn: get a system and you'll have a self-running billion-dollar company. That's true, but only if there's a solid process behind it.
Most companies treat digitalization as a Holy Grail that changes everything. Roll it out, done. Everything will run, everything will be better.
In reality, this is exactly why so many digitalization projects go wrong. What's left afterwards is a painful struggle with a system that doesn't fit the company's processes. Which, of course, it can't, because there are no processes to fit.
What helps?
Before you commit to any investment:
Write down the process. Even on graph paper. Who does what, in what order, with what information. Model how it works. A spreadsheet is perfect for this. Test it in practice. A process is mature when everyone actually follows it and uses it well. Only then bring in digitalization.
Choosing software gets easier too: it's no longer the slickest demo that wins, but the one that fits how you actually work.
Digitalization brings efficiency, not order
Software accelerates what already works. If the process is good, digitalization multiplies the results. If there's no process, it just makes the chaos faster.
That's why we always start with the process, not the software. If you're planning a system rollout, let's talk before you begin: digitalizaltmukodes.hu