“Digital Hesitation” is a technology business book authored by a dozen experts who interact with and advise the world’s top technology companies every day. It delves into why most B2B companies need to reach the full potential of their digital transformation efforts and outlines the specific actions they need to take on the eight toughest challenges we see at the TSIA. The book covers high-level issues like influencing the board to fully commit to digital transformation and specific topics like the next generation of sales and services operating models.

Businesses face a stark reality: Complexity is no longer a viable strategy. While complexity may have been a friend to tech and industrial companies in the past, enabling them to sell massive, complicated solutions, the future demands simplicity. If you’re leading a B2B company, it’s time to reassess how complexity impacts your business and how you can transform it into simplicity.

For this reason, our book, “Digital Hesitation,” targets technology and industrial product companies serving business customers—commonly referred to as B2B companies. While there are lessons for companies in other industries, our focus is on the B2B industry. This blog will highlight key findings from chapter two of “Digital Hesitation,” titled “Complexity Kills,” by J.B. Wood, Thomas Lah, and the TSIA research team.

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The Downfall of Complexity in Business

For decades, tech and industrial companies thrived on complexity. They offered vast portfolios of products, each requiring intricate configurations, pricing, and maintenance. Your customers might have been willing to endure long purchase cycles, extensive employee training, and continuous upgrades. But as the digital age progresses, this tolerance is fading fast.

Imagine sorting through a massive catalog of products, each with its own rules and requirements. Your customers were forced to take on this complexity just to purchase. They often had to rely on your company’s services or channel partners to operationalize these complex solutions, leading to significant revenue for your business. But at what cost?

The business model of complexity not only made it difficult for customers to do business with you, but it also fragmented your internal operations. Departments within departments, systems that don’t communicate, and specialists who operate in silos have become the norm. This internal complexity only exacerbates the customer’s frustration.

Related: Digital Hesitation: Are You Ready for the Wave of Digital Transformation?

The Shift to Simplicity: The Key to Future-Proofing Your Business

The future is clear: Complexity will not survive. The next decade will dramatically simplify offerings and the overall customer experience. This shift will unite your products and operations into a seamless digital customer experience (DCX). But how do you get there?

Digital transformation (DT) starts with business process transformation. It’s not enough to digitize existing processes; you must rethink and streamline them. Simplicity should be your guiding principle. As Bill McDermott, CEO of ServiceNow, puts it, “Simplicity is the ultimate compliment.” This means that products should no longer be rushed to market full of unnecessary complexity. Instead, they must immediately be integrated into the company’s marketing, sales, and service operations.

The Importance of a Digital Customer Experience (DCX)

In the past, buying a complex business solution could feel like an endless journey through a maze. Customers would visit your website, fill out a contact form, and then wait. They might receive a generic email, only to be passed from one salesperson to another, each asking more questions before finally arriving at a price that might still be subject to change. This drawn-out process is a clear example of how complexity kills the customer experience, underscoring the urgent need for simplification.

Now, consider the modern car-buying experience. Today, you can configure, price, and purchase a Tesla from your smartphone, with the car delivered to your door. The process is simple, streamlined, and enjoyable. This is the kind of experience your customers expect, even when purchasing complex business solutions. If you don’t simplify the buying process, you risk losing out to competitors who do.

Transforming Complexity into Clarity: Streamlining Your Business for Success

So, how do you transform your business from a maze of complexity to a path of simplicity? It starts with data. By understanding which features your customers typically buy together, you can create packages that reduce the number of choices they have to make. This simplifies the buying process and allows your sales team to close deals faster without involving technical specialists.

For example, if you discover customers who choose a particular package are more likely to succeed and renew, you can focus on promoting that package. By doing so, you can automate installation and integration, reducing the time and resources your customers need to invest in getting value from your products.

The goal is to transform your customers’ journey from a complex maze to a straightforward path that leads them directly to value. When you simplify the customer experience, you accelerate their time to value, making them more likely to renew, upsell, and cross-sell. In turn, this increases each customer’s total lifetime value.

Related: How to Drive the Greatest Customer Lifetime Value Using AI

Embracing Wave Two of Digital Transformation

As your business evolves, embracing “Wave Two” of digital transformation is essential. Wave Two isn’t just about implementing one or two digital projects. It’s about creating a neural network of interconnected projects that build on each other to eliminate complexity and develop new business capabilities. This is the path to future success in the digital age.

For instance, a project that improves your sales operations can enable new capabilities in your service department. When your service department collects better customer data, your sales team can upsell more effectively, reducing the need to add more salespeople as your company grows. This kind of synchronization across departments is crucial for a successful digital transformation.

However, it’s essential to avoid micromanaging every aspect of digital transformation. Instead, focus on the big picture and allow individual departments to drive their transformations. This approach ensures progress without stifling innovation.

Your Wave Two strategy should focus on these goals:

•  Remove friction from your growth engine.
•  Develop offers that deliver measurable value.
•  Reduce cost to serve.
•  Defend profitable price points by linking to business outcomes.

Your Wave Two strategy should involve employing tactics like:

•  Low-friction land and product-led growth.
•  Signal liquidity and analytics-driven insights.
•  A fully digital customer experience.
• Clear links between product and service capabilities and customer business outcomes.

Wave Two of digital transformation is not about executing one project, and it is not executing a bunch of independent projects. One project enables the next one. And that enables two more. They get progressively more powerful as they build new business

capabilities and eliminate previous complexity.

Related: The Intricacies of Digital Transformation with Deloitte

Funding Your Digital Transformation

One of the biggest challenges in digital transformation is securing the necessary funding. This requires the support of senior management and shareholders. Transparency is vital—don’t try to hide the costs of transformation. Instead, make it clear that these investments are necessary for long-term success.

Consider allocating research and development (R&D) budgets to each department, not just product development. As the lines between product features and operational capabilities blur, every department must innovate and integrate into the digital customer experience. By making these budgets visible, you can demonstrate your company’s commitment to innovation and customer success.

Ready, Set, Go: Your Digital Transformation Journey Awaits

Remember that the stakes are high as you embark on Wave Two of digital transformation. Born-in-the-cloud companies are racing to scale, while legacy companies are working to transform digitally. The first to achieve both will likely dominate their market.

To succeed, you must be ready to rethink everything. Digital transformation is not just about technology; it’s about reimagining how your business operates at every level. By simplifying complexity, creating a seamless digital customer experience, and securing the necessary funding, you can position your company for success in the digital age.

Are you ready to transform your complexity into simplicity and lead your industry into the future?