The confusion arises from the term ‘digital’ in DT. Many CMOs (chief marketing officers) assume that implementing AI-powered chatbots, personalised email campaigns, and automated customer interactions equates to a full-fledged transformation. But as Mehul Gupta, co-founder & chief executive officer (CEO) of SoCheers, aptly puts it, “Finally, someone called it out. There’s a real tendency to equate ‘doing digital things’ with ‘being digitally transformed.’ But that’s like putting a new coat of paint on a house with a cracked foundation. You can automate a broken process, but it remains broken—just faster.”
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Gupta warns that CMOs are at the risk of being blindsided by short-term automation gains, mistaking incremental improvements for fundamental change.
“A company might see a 5% increase in email open rates from AI personalisation, but if their overall customer journey is fragmented, that gain is superficial. True transformation requires mapping the entire customer experience and leveraging digital tools to create a seamless and dynamic journey.”
Automation Enhances, Transformation Reinvents
Automation is about refining processes; transformation is about redefining them. A business that merely automates existing workflows—without reconsidering its value proposition—risks falling into a trap of superficial progress.
Saurabh Varma, founder of Wondrlab Network, points out that companies investing in true transformation significantly outperform those stuck in automation.
“Companies that fully embrace digital transformation are 23% more profitable, according to McKinsey. Meanwhile, Gartner found that while 90% of CMOs use some form of marketing automation, only 30% have integrated AI into a broader business transformation strategy,” he says.
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Varma also stresses that automation alone does not unlock new revenue streams; true transformation involves rethinking business models.
“BCG found that digital leaders achieve 1.8x higher revenue growth than laggards because they don’t just automate workflows—they create new value propositions through digital capabilities.”
The Automation Trap: Learning from Nike’s Misstep
Amitesh Rao, CEO of Leo, points out that even the most iconic brands have fallen into the automation trap:
“It’s natural for the pendulum to swing towards automation—it’s a complex process to implement. But in aggressively adopting automation, brands sometimes forget their core identity.”
Nike serves as a prime example. The company leaned heavily into performance-driven strategies, automating everything from distribution to advertising. But in the process, it lost sight of why people buy Nike in the first place—not just for a shoe, but for a belief. This shift led to declining sales and a falling stock price.
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“Nike is one of the greatest examples in marketing history of people buying into a belief, not just a product. But in adopting an extremely rapid digital transformation, that belief system took a backseat,” Rao adds.
Digitisation vs. Digital Transformation
Many executives also fail to distinguish between digitisation and transformation. Gaurav Ramdev, chief growth and marketing officer at Protean eGov Technologies, draws a clear line between the two – “Digitisation is about efficiency and customer experience—it’s the hygiene factor for businesses today. Digital transformation, on the other hand, is a revenue growth lever. It allows for sharper segmentation of consumer funnels and deep optimization of offers to drive higher sales.”
Ramdev argues that while digitisation helps businesses stay competitive, transformation is what drives exponential growth.
“The difference is clear—digital transformation is about incremental business or revenue delivery, whereas digitisation simply optimizes existing workflows. CMOs must take a hard look at whether their efforts are truly transformational or just maintenance.”
CMOs Must Think Beyond Automation
Sreeraman Thiagarajan, adjunct professor of digital transformation at IIM Tiruchirappalli and co-founder and CEO of Agrahyah Technologies, warns that automation alone is not enough.
“Marketing automation can personalise emails, automate campaigns, or run AI-driven chatbots—but that’s not transformation. True DT is about rethinking business models, value propositions, and growth strategies.”
He emphasises that while automation improves efficiency, it does not future-proof a business.
“The biggest mistake CMOs make is thinking that rule-based automation is equivalent to transformation. But merely improving engagement doesn’t protect a company from disruption. Real transformation demands vision, strategy, and a commitment to redefining how a company delivers value,” he adds.
The Road to True Transformation
For CMOs looking to lead their brands beyond automation, the focus must shift from tactical efficiency to strategic evolution. The goal should not be just to improve marketing execution but to fundamentally reshape how the company operates in a digital-first economy.
True transformation requires aligning technology investments with long-term business goals, not just marketing tactics. It’s about moving beyond vanity metrics like email open rates and focusing on deeper measures of success—customer retention, revenue growth, and new market expansion.
AI should not just automate processes but enable real innovation in product offerings, customer experiences, and business models. Companies that truly embrace transformation don’t just digitise existing processes; they create entirely new ways of engaging with consumers and generating revenue.
The difference between automation and transformation is fundamental: automation makes processes faster, but transformation redefines the game itself. The future belongs to CMOs who understand this distinction and push their brands beyond simply ‘doing digital’ to truly ‘being digital.’
