Companies that invest in their digital capabilities can expect to see rapid revenue and profit growth, according to PwC's 2015 Digital IQ Survey, which included responses from 2,000 executives, in both C-suite and IT positions, across 51 countries.
“Everyone talks about digital, but few understand the specific leadership behaviors that drive performance,” said Chris Curran, PwC advisory principal and chief technologist. “We are seeing signs this is changing, with leading digital practitioners looking to how today’s investments can improve tomorrow’s business results. This is a critical mindset, especially as digital technologies become more pervasive.”
Executives seek more strategic value from their digital investments, with 45 percent of them stating that their No. 1 expectation from these investments is revenue growth. Twenty-five percent seek better customer experiences and 12 percent seek improved profitability.
Adding to the connection between digital investment and business success, 31 percent of survey respondents said they are investing more than 15 percent of revenue into their digital strategies.
Based on the survey results, PwC identified 10 critical behaviors related to digital strategy that result directly in improved revenue and profit margin growth.
The No. 1 behavior is the company's CEO becoming a champion for digital. Among survey respondents, 73 percent of business and IT executives said that their CEO was a champion for digital, a significant increase over the 57 percent who said they had a CEO champion in 2013.
Learn more about the importance of digital investment at MDM's free 60-minute webcast, The Case for a Comprehensive Digital Strategy, on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 1 p.m. ET. If you can’t attend, register now to be able to access a link to the recording to listen when you can.
