To harness the potential of these substantial changes, Zeald partnered with BNZ to create the Digital Cluster Initiative. The initiative aims to help whole business networks, by transforming them digitally. Digital transformation or digital adoption is a critical factor for business continuity and scalability, especially with customers spending more time and money online.
The pilot groups have been announced, read more here.
The Digital Cluster Initiative Pilot has now concluded. Thank you for your interest and support.
The genesis for the Digital Cluster Initiative goes back to the first lockdown, where we saw radical change happening within the New Zealand economy. A rapid move towards ecommerce took place, which was consumer-driven - but this change happened quickly and it wasn't being matched within the business community. As a result a lot of businesses were left on the wrong side of the digital divide, which continued to widen quickly.
- 170,000 Kiwis shopped online for the first time within the first half of 20201
- 9 out of 10 New Zealanders use the internet daily (89%)2
- 70.9% of Kiwi internet users have purchased a product online3
- Online spend within New Zealand was recorded at $1.52 billion in Q2 of 20214
- NZ businesses are currently making limited use of productivity-boosting digital tools and only 51% have an online presence5
Digital transformation | Huringa matihiko
/ˈdɪdʒɪt(ə)l/ transfəˈmeɪʃ(ə)n noun
The process of adopting digital tools to improve your business processes and increased revenue.
Marketing and sales opportunities
Digital capability provides a way for your business to project your services or products outside of your local area. An online store or service website ensures that your customers can find you when they start looking for you on the world wide web. You can also use various digital platforms such as social media and email, for community-building and improving your customers' brand experience.
Increased business intelligence
Being online allows you to gain data on almost all aspects of your sales processes. This allows you to acquire insights about your business and customers, and helps you create strategies that are informed and backed by data.
Business resilience
Being online can enable businesses to continue operating through restrictions imposed as a result of the pandemic. Early digital adopters have higher chances of survival as they have the means and knowledge to conduct their operations online.
Marketing and sales opportunities
An online store or service website ensures that your customers can find you when they start looking for you on the world wide web. You can also use various platforms such as socials, email, etc., for community building and improving your customers' brand experience.
Increased business intelligence
Being online allows you to gain data on almost all aspects of your digital systems. This allows you to acquire insights about your business and customers, and helps you create strategies that are backed by data.
Business resilience
Being online offers an opportunity for businesses to continue operating in case of unexpected events like the pandemic. With travel restrictions in place, early digital adopters have higher chances of survival as they have the means and knowledge to take their operations online.
The Four Stages of Digital Transformation
Now more than ever, it's important to optimise your business' existing online presence and maximise the full potential of each platform to deliver to customer demands. This creates more opportunity for you to sell, increases your business' intelligence and allows your business to more efficiently scale. Digital tools also allow you to gather data and insights into how people are interacting with your business and their sales cycles. There are four main stages to every business' digital journey: Foundations, intermediate, advanced and mastery. The Digital Cluster Initiative is designed to leapfrog the business group straight through to the advanced stage of digital adoption, and support them to grow to mastery.
Foundations
Businesses at this stage of development either have minimal or no online presence. Often these are Start ups, older businesses that have never needed a digital presence, or firms that invested in getting online but found digital systems too complex to manage.
Businesses at this stage aren't utilising digital tools to their fullest potential. Therefore, they tend to be more vulnerable during an unprecedented crisis. If your business is at this stage, it is critical that you move beyond the basics. Explore new tools and devise a strategy to get people towards your business.
Intermediate
Businesses at this stage have set up a website and some basic online tools, but are left with a range of disparate digital systems. These are usually businesses with basic online presence that don't have enough support to continue, or businesses that have invested in digital transformation but are struggling for Return on Investment (ROI). Often businesses are really struggling at this stage and give up. Getting ROI can be a challenge at this stage as having disparate systems often lead to spending more resources such as money or time. The key is to bridge the gap between all digital channels by having a streamlined processes and strategy that is in line with your business goals.
Advanced
If you're at this stage of digital transformation, your business may already be getting returns from your digital efforts and you're looking to refine your current system. Businesses at this stage are starting to use technology to save time and money. This results in increased accuracy and sharing of data allows for real time business insights. Replicable tasks become automated which increases the quality of service to customers.
At this stage, the priority for your business is to refine your current technology to create seamless integrations between systems. Having smarter sales and marketing strategies is also important to ensure that you convert more leads to customers.
Mastery
Businesses at this stage have sophisticated websites and tools with advanced integration and automation at their disposal. They have good control over tools that govern the bottom of their sales funnel and are more open to initiatives that will help them engage better with customers at the top of the funnel. Businesses at this stage have technology fully integrated which gives the business flexibility to scale. Complex content marketing and lead nurturing can be configured to build long-term sales funnels. Campaign metrics include lead values, ecommerce and customer lifetime values to allow for Return on Ad Spend measurement.
Businesses during this stage have a stable system that helps them scale and maintain profitability. Mastery level allows for the flexibility to run multiple marketing initiatives at any time with detailed measurement and consistency of service.