One of the key components of Digital Transformations is how to use technology as a means to better understand the customer and improve the end-to-end experience. In a recent webinar, Brendan Witcher, Principal Analyst at Forrester Research shared some startling facts about how companies are defining and executing against their digital strategies. He shared that although 48% of firms have a limited digital strategy, only 21% believe they have the right people setting strategy and only 16% have the right skills to deliver.
These metrics suggest that even if organizations successfully define a digital strategy and invest in technology to support execution, they will fall short without the right culture and skill set to support the long-term implementation. And for those organizations that are striving to be customer-centric, it means changing to a culture that puts the customer at the centre of everything they do; from vision to values to metrics.
Enabling cultural change starts with creating a shared need and a desired future state. If an improved customer experience is the end goal than these needs and desires must also be reflective of what your customer end goals are. A deep understanding of the customer journey, pain points, and expectations will be necessary to ensure the culture you create is 
truly meeting the needs of your customer.
In order to transition from the current to future state, it will then be necessary to understand the gaps in achieving the desired state for both the customer and the organization. This analysis must be more than just the opinions of the leadership team. It must include a robust consideration of support systems, capabilities, and structures required to deliver on the change. As with any change management initiative, the next key step will be to gain commitment to the ‘why’ behind the journey and the ‘what’ behind the vision and create actions to mobilize the teams toward their goals.
Lastly, and often a key missing piece in the process, establishing customer-centric metrics to measure progress against and evolve from will be essential to success. In doing so, these metrics must be fact-based, consistent and aligned back to the digital transformation and cultural shift you are trying to achieve.
For more information on how to align your cultural transformation to your digital strategy, contact the Lighthouse NINE Group.
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