Tried and tested ideas for using customer data to make digital transformation worthwhile

In Change Management, we work on lots of different types of transformation. But technological advancement drives a lot of change. Millions can be spent on a new technology solution, platform or application and it begs the question: how do we know it was worth it?

If you’re in my Leading Successful Change program, you’ll know I share a laundry list of change success measures in the “Measuring Success and Embed” module of the course. Some of these are your regular run-of-the-mill project and change metrics, but some are very unique and come from my wide and varied background in a range of industries and professions - like the customer data I know about because of my years working in Marketing and alongside Brand Managers, Sales teams, Category and Insights professionals, and User Experience and Customer Journey Mapping experts. 

Types of customer data

If a digital transformation isn’t helping you make money, save money or help people, I’m not really sure what the point of it was. And making money comes from one place: customers (or in your industry it might be clients). So it makes sense that to measure the true success of the change, we need to measure our success with the customer. 

It could be things like:

• Net Promoter Score (NPS)
• Sales
• Transactions
• Basket size
• Share of wallet 
• Brand loyalty
• Brand trust
• Customer compliments and feedback
• Customer complaints and feedback

Customer Metrics are probably one of the best pieces of evidence for a change, because so often a change is focused on the internal team, and on delivering the thing, but ultimately the flow on effect is always going to hit customers. And that could be whether your customer is a client, a customer, community, government, whoever your customer is. Suppliers could even be “customers”.

These cool customer metrics can show how well the change internally has been adopted and embedded and just because you’re not in the Brand Marketing Team or the Customer Experience Team or similar teams who would look at these customer insights, doesn’t mean you can’t go and have a conversation with them and find out what kinds of metrics could link to the change that you are delivering. 

Starting to transition to change advisory

Sometimes part of your role in Change is to gently nudge people to think about bigger-picture, longer-term holistic things that they probably should be thinking about but just aren’t, or connecting teams that don’t normally or naturally collaborate together. Some companies have built their whole offering around being customer-focused, but still so many have not and it's a big missed opportunity in tracking the real results of the change. So by nudging your project to start thinking about the customer experience, you can start positioning yourself as a trusted change advisor and playing a more strategic role rather than a tactical, delivery-focused role in the change and in the business. You start to have a seat at the table, to have your influence heard, your impact made, and your expertise valued. You start to move from being a Change Manager to being a true Change Leader.

Lata xx

P.S. If you’re keen to step up into your leadership and your light, here’s 3 ways I can help:

1. Download my free Creative Launch Ideas Guide with 53 ways to bring your Transformation and Change to life: click here to download
2. If you’re a newbie to Change, join my Leading Successful Change program to find flexibility, freedom and financial abundance in your career, leadership and life. Our next Monthly Coaching Call is tomorrow on Wed 3 May: click here to join in time for the May Coaching Call
3. If you’re an experienced Change professional, come along to my free Change Advisor Bootcamp on Wed 24 May with brand-new information, ideas and tools to grow your impact and influence so you can get a seat at the table, build strong relationships and lead complex change to success: click here to register