What is a digital strategy?

Andrew Borland, Industrial Engagement Manager for the Virtual Engineering Centre

Defining what a “digital strategy” is can be difficult. Unfortunately, many companies hear digital strategy and think digital marketing, social media, e-commerce and mobile apps. This can then often be delegated or overlooked.

Digital strategy is about the business, and by definition, it should be strategic. It is a board-level task that cannot be delegated down or out. Digital Strategy is about your businesses and your vision for the future. Where do you see the company being in five years and what do you want to achieve?

Whether you want to grow sales, increase margins, reduce costs or introduce new products or services, you need to consider how digital tools and technologies can help or hinder those ambitions.

Questions for your Digital Strategy

• Exactly what digital tools are available to you and how can they support your business?
• How could AI be used in the businesses?
• What threat does your competitor’s new predictive maintenance service present to your market share and how are you going to respond?
• How can your professional services businesses automate more back-office functions to give staff more time with clients, doing the things that add value and generate more revenue?

Digital Strategy is about your individual businesses value proposition and how digital can help you secure, scale and shape the businesses you want in the future, now.

A good digital strategy gives you a new dimension from which you can start planning your Digital Roadmap – getting you from where you are today, to where you want the businesses to be.

START your journey by speaking to us

The Virtual Engineering Centre, University of Liverpool are leading new initiative, LCR4 START to provide support to SMEs across the Liverpool City Region, develop their own Digital Strategies and Digital Roadmaps. The VEC are working with project partners at Growth Platform, Sensor City, Liverpool John Moores University and Science Technology Facilities Council (STFC) to offer fully funded support for companies from all sectors.

With the help of our previous LCR4.0 project, Liverpool has led the way in Industry 4.0. Over the last three years, the LCR4.0 project helped 303 companies, create 61 jobs and add £53.3 million to the local economy.

Get in touch today

Message hello@lcr4.uk or call us on 01925 864 857.