Don’t Respond. Disrupt!
In today’s digital marketplace, success is one choice away
By Yasmin Glanville
Fifteen years ago, Domino’s was a leftover pizza of a company, a cold mushy mess nobody wanted, with a stock price well below the cost of a medium pepperoni. New CEO Patrick Doyle knew the company needed a complete turnaround, starting with the product. With daring TV commercials confessing things such as “Domino’s crust tastes like cardboard,” he launched a complete menu overhaul that included new recipes and better-quality ingredients.
But businesses are much more than their products. To thrive, Doyle realized Domino’s had to become a customer-satisfaction machine, dedicated to increasing personal service, simplifying online ordering, and building customer loyalty. Looking at the success of such unlikely role models as Apple and Amazon, Doyle bet Domino’s future on becoming “an e-commerce company that happens to sell pizza.”
Domino’s staff reinvented the notion of service, popularizing real-time tracking that let customers follow the progress of their order, offering cash back for late orders, and meeting pizza-lovers wherever they are – by enabling consumers to order through their smart watches and Twitter, and by delivering to parks, beaches and other offbeat locations.
Equally important, Domino’s embraced data, conducting A/B testing to learn what customers really want, creating robust customer profiles, personalizing their direct marketing, and optimizing store operations and supply chains. They launched a new program to source new ideas from customers, not just as a suggestion box, but to encourage ongoing dialogue that the company could monitor to detect emerging problems or quality issues among their 5,000 stores.
Result: Turnarounds take longer than you expect, but Domino’s digital-first strategy reversed a slide in U.S. sales and generated steady year-over-year growth for more than a decade. Annual revenues have more than doubled since 2010. More importantly, Domino’s annual profit has grown nearly five times. Investors adore such piping-hot results: since 2010, Domino’s stock has swelled from small ($8 a share) to extra-extra-large: over $400 a share.
Domino’s is not an anomaly.
“Companies around the world are reinventing themselves by embracing technology, automation and data – and finding every opportunity they can to digitize their operations.”
We're all aware of the multiple, cascading problems facing businesses today: rising costs, increasing competition, political and economic disruption, climate change and sustainability, advancing technologies, cyber-security, labour shortages and the battle for talent, and ever-changing consumer tastes. Coming all at once, and compounding each other, these challenges can seem devastating, even overwhelming.
“You can’t control what happens to you, but you can choose how you respond. ”
But the good news is, your competitors are also facing challenge overload. It’s an old story made new again:
You get to choose how fast your business changes and adapts. And as Domino’s experience shows, committing your business to full-throttle digital transformation has the power to overcome many of these overlapping problems at the same time.
Properly managed, a digital makeover can eliminate inefficiencies, boost organizational flexibility, speed up delivery times, engage your employees and build customer loyalty, identify emerging problems sooner, strengthen supplier relationships, and drive innovation – a clear recipe for best-in-class growth. Even better, the growing availability of new, affordable artificial-intelligence tools will enable companies to identify even more efficiencies and boost their ability to spot new trends and opportunities, and out-innovate the competition. When companies embrace technology and innovation, they don't lose touch with their roots – they begin to connect with their best possible futures.
The U.S.-based Institute of Internal Auditors regularly surveys its global membership on the biggest risk factors they see impacting their businesses in the coming year. Its 2025 list is much the same as the 2024 list, with one exception: “Digital Disruption” has jumped from fifth place to fourth. Specifically, 48% of North American auditors believe digital disruption is a Top 5 risk right now – up there with Cybersecurity, Human Capital, Business Continuity and Regulatory Change – and 70% expect it to be a Top 5 risk within three years.
What’s most important is that these behind-the-scenes financial experts see digital disruption as not just a threat – but an opportunity for organizations to change and grow.
“A lot of times people think of disruption only from the downside,” says Theresa Grafenstine, the IIA global board chair. “However, disruption often can be equally traumatic if you miss an opportunity. It’s a matter of trying to figure out which one of these technology advancements is a toy or a fad versus one where you had better get on board… or you’re going to be irrelevant or not exist.”
Here's a look at other companies that have succeeded in digital transformation:
Nike developed mobile apps and AI-driven features to personalize the shopping experience and analyze customer data – boosting digital revenues to 26% of total sales.
Retail giant IKEA has invested in Augmented Reality tools to create digital showrooms and “virtual” furniture placement designs. It uses AI chatbots to grow its ecommerce channels.
AUDI used augmented reality to create digital showrooms where potential customers can examine every detail of their dream car, in any configuration. Prospects can view all these options from anywhere in the world.
Retirement-home giant Atria Senior Living offers retirees lives of fun, comfort and safety using an innovative CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system developed by its own digital subsidiary, Glennis Solutions. The system has boosted Atria’s sales and marketing efficiency, from lead capture to community engagement – all while generating personalized communications with clients and prospects, and giving management data-driven insights to improve their decision-making.
Construction-equipment maker Caterpillar has moved into the software business. The software that runs its sophisticated equipment now uses AI and “Internet of Things” sensors to help customers optimize preventative maintenance, assist in automating complex tasks, and warn when specific parts should be replaced. The same data helps Caterpillar better understand its customers and improve product quality.
Coca-Cola has transformed its traditional beverage business through data and innovation, using AI and advanced analytics to optimize nearly every aspect of its operations. For instance, Coke collects massive datasets on sales, weather patterns and social media sentiment to better forecast customer demand.
In Canada, TELUS has improved infrastructure efficiency by moving to cloud technology and IoT for telecom services – while subsidiary TELUS Health has used automation to become the country’s largest healthcare IT provider.
The stats suggest that the future of business belongs to those who master the opportunities of information technology. “From streamlining operations to unlocking new revenue streams, innovation is a defining trait of market leaders,” says Zurich-based Rready, a startup that helps organizations leverage employee innovation. “Businesses that invest in new ideas, technologies, and processes consistently outperform those that stick to the status quo.”
According to McKinsey, 90% of major companies have launched some type of digital transformation – but they’ve achieved, on average, only a third of the expected financial benefits.
Here are seven ways to get your digital glow-up on track.
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Clarify your goals (e.g., reducing costs, improving the customer experience, breaking into new markets).
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Make this a positive journey. Establish a common digital language.
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Assemble an enthusiastic, cross-functional team. Learn from other companies further along the journey. Track the data that matters most.
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Train employees on digital tools and mindsets. Prioritize new hires with digital experience and success. Make sure everyone knows how to access and interpret data. Focus on customer needs. Reward creative thinking.
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Automate repetitive manual tasks, such as invoicing and scheduling. Digitize paper processes with cloud tools. Collect, clean, and integrate your business data.
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Run pilot projects in one department or process. Measure results, refine your processes, then scale.
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Digital transformation isn’t a project, it’s an essential, continuous capability.
In an era of disruption, it’s easy for businesses to feel discouraged. Don't give in. Remember that today’s breakthrough digital tools give you the power to disrupt back.
Yasmin Glanville is the Futurist and Chief Strategy Officer of CTR Inc., a Change Management and Communication consultancy that helps leaders future-ready their business as a competitive advantage to thrive now and for the long term!
Epilogue.
One more trend from the IIA survey mentioned above is worth noting. When internal auditors in the U.S. were asked what business disruptions will become more significant three years from now, the No. 2 response was Climate Solutions/Resilience. This is a sector in which U.S. companies have long lagged behind – and now the auditors are saying it can't be avoided much longer. Their consensus suggests that non-U.S. companies will have an advantage when American business leaders finally start coming to grip with climate change – and that ambitious companies in the U.S. should be preparing now to lead!
5 Big Questions to Consider
Infosight, a Boston-based consultancy specializing in strategy and innovation, says these are the five major questions every business leader should be prepared to answer as they embark on technology transformation.
What is the potential for further technological advancement to enable growth and drive productivity for our business?
How does technology change the competitive context in which we are operating? Where do we stand relative to our “known” competitors?
How about our “unknown” competitors? How will technology change who we compete against, and how?
How should we approach new technologies like AI and machine learning? What is the potential positive or negative impact on our employees, customers, and other stakeholders?
How do we ensure that we are using new technology responsibly to mitigate risk to our business and other stakeholders?