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Digitization is the process of changing business processes with the advent of new technologies to appeal to new markets and create more value to their customers. 

Why should you digitalize your business?

The speed at which the world has adopted digital practices is a testimony to their effectiveness and business who fail to adapt are at risk of being left behind. One of the main reasons that businesses choose to digitalize their processes is to increase their profits, with companies who have adopted digital-ready networks growing revenue and profits up to three times more quickly than those who remain on legacy networks. But increased profitability is just one of the reasons why digitalisation is sweeping through the business world and the benefits can be seen across the board. 

1. It helps companies to stay relevant
   Digitalization can be seen across all aspects of our daily lives, from the way we socialize online through social media, to the way we shop, the way we communicate via WhatsApp and email and the way we relax using games and virtual reality. To stay relevant, and appeal to their target customers, it’s important that companies digitalize too by maintaining a presence across their customers most used social media platforms and communicating through the channels their customers use most. Companies who fail to stay relevant can alienate their target markets, seeming outdated and not in keeping with the times. 
2. It allows for personalization
   Social media, data and analytics have enabled companies to make use of personalization like never before. They can now create personalized offers and rewards based on their customer’s purchase history and they can predict what they may buy next helping them to maintain consistent sales during down periods and retain customers in a highly competitive market. In addition to offers and rewards, companies can speak to their customers on a personal level by making them feel as though they are heard and understood.
3. It has enabled targeted marketing
   In the same way that social media, data and analytics has enabled companies to offer a new level of personalization to their customers it has also enabled them to be more accurate with their targeted marketing. Companies can now focus their budgets on highly specific targeted advertisements and place them in locations specific to their target market such as at the start of videos they may watch or on the side of website they may use. Whereas once an advertisement may have been placed in a magazine, now it can be placed on a social media site and shown specifically to a person of a certain age, and gender who has shown previous interest in competitors products or has made a similar purchase in the past.
   
4. It helps companies to predict the future
   The tracking and analysis of customer data can help companies to predict future trends and market opportunities and branch out        into new areas in order to cater to their customer’s future needs. Amazon and Apple’s move into the healthcare sector is one example  of this.