Business is changing. We probably won’t be spending as much time in an office in the future. More importantly, the way we engage with products and services is also going to look very different.

Whether you provide products and services to businesses or consumers, your customers will interact with you differently. After all, as a consumer, I’m sure I’m not the only one who has now realised I can buy everything from a bottle of gin to a packet of yeast on Amazon, or realise how I can get every bit of programming I need from Netflix. Whilst these platforms don’t truly replace the buzz of a live environment, cinemas and stores are going to have to really consider what makes them a must-visit in the future.

To further emphasise the point, who has been excited when they’ve managed to get hold of a supermarket delivery slot? I know I was at the start of this week! Prior to this, supermarkets have really struggled to get their online shopping businesses off the ground and make them profitable. Not any more.

The way we consume things is changing rapidly, and this expectation around user experience will be brought with us into the B2B world. The way that we create user experiences and engagement needs to evolve to match customer expectations. If you don’t do it, someone else will. We’re entering a period of prime disruption and there will definitely be winners and losers. That’s inevitable. Equally, the way that we keep teams connected and support collaboration will be more important than ever. There’s no hiding from it any more. Digital capabilities will be a massive point of differentiation for retaining and building your customer base as well as retaining the best talent.

But what does this mean for technology teams? I think these teams can be a catalyst within your organisation to drive digital thinking, digital culture and ultimately digital business models further forward. With non-techy colleagues being more open in a period where they have to use remote working tools, this is an opportune time to press home the advantage and for tech teams to lead on digital culture development.

This is not just about implementing technology successfully, it’s about encouraging a digital way of thinking throughout your company, which allows you to innovate and come up with different ways of working, as well as producing, selling or providing products and services.

Every element of your business now has to focus on getting this digital culture right. Whether that’s the technical teams, marketing or HR teams, they all need to be pulling in the same direction and collaborating to make this work. We recently surveyed a group of technology professionals, before and after the start of the pandemic and found that the importance of digital culture had significantly increased, leaping from 3rd place to 1st place as the topic they are most focused on when it comes to digital transformation.

Getting this right will allow your business to quickly adapt to new customer demands, ensuring your business survives and thrives in the future.

So what next? Seize the day and start driving digital culture development now before it’s too late.

You can find out more about building your digital culture at Digital Transformation Expo in October. Pre-register here to take part in a world class content programme including Louis Theroux’s keynote on People, Culture and the Human Response to Change.