Lately, every time we go online, chances are we will see at least one tweet, one social media post, one news article, or one advertisement that uses the word 'digital'. Like this article. Sure, it has been going on since many years ago, but with the recent global pandemic where almost every organization is forced to adopt digitalization to survive, it has become more prominent.

Articles talk about digital transformation and digital disruption a lot. Government bodies highlight about the digital economy constantly. Financial institutions discuss about digital banking. Many agencies are also offering the digital marketing solutions and there have been many online classes offering the digital up-skilling or re-skilling trainings to current and future workforce. It's everywhere and it can be overwhelming, especially when we are not so sure how does each of this 'digital' something affect our lives and organizations. More importantly, we sometimes wonder if we are missing something that everyone else is doing, digitally. And then, of course there are other buzzwords like A.I, big data, blockchain and so on - which always accompany the 'digital' term and admittedly, could contribute towards more confusion and FOMO (fear of missing out - like you wonder if everyone else is using big data in their business and you are not).

Here, I will try to explain what digitalization means to your business (and why you should care but not be overwhelmed because it really is simple) without sounding too technical.

• If you have a physical store but most of your customers are no longer visiting (or less frequently) because of restrictions enforced by the authority, you need to have a digital store - that is you need to setup an e-commerce website (can be your own e-commerce store using your own website or social media, or you can simply create an account at a third-party e-commerce platform such as Shopee or Lazada).
• Since your customers now spend most of their times online, and they do their shopping online as well, it is only logical that this is where you need to do your marketing too, hence, the digital marketing. It simply means that rather than advertising using flyers or billboards, you now advertise using social media or Google - where most people 'hang' online.
• As when most of your operations are done online, you have to think about how to make sure that your customers can buy from you easily - think about online catalog, payment gateway, shipping, customer service and so on. You also need to make sure that your business processes are done digitally as well so you can manage customer database and track inventory automatically and in real time as customers buy from your online store. In doing so, you may require additional tools and technology accordingly such as CRM, digital planner and so on. This is a tiny part of the digital transformation that many people talk about.

I hope by now you have noticed the trend. Do you need big data? Maybe yes, maybe not yet. Depending on where you are in terms of your business needs. Every organization is moving at a different pace and has different goals, thus requires different technology.

So next time you see the word digital, don't be overwhelmed. Instead, see how it fits to your business. I would advise that we be aware of their existence and what they have to offer, but don't panic if you think that it's too much or if you are missing out on something.

Thanks for reading!