An organisation’s digital strategy needs to\u00a0align\u00a0to their business strategy.\u00a0Unfortunately in a lot of organisations digital strategy is forgotten about and the approach\u00a0tends to be\u00a0ad hoc\u00a0at best.\u00a0It\u2019s important to look at business goals and problems with both a digital and a business head on in order to find the best solutions which deliver maximum business benefit. There is a simple formula to help this. While it is simple in\u00a0itself, implementing it requires discipline and focus.<\/p>\n
What problem are you trying to fix?<\/strong><\/p>\n Often the problem is not fully understood before solutioneering happens. We are all under pressure, and time is precious, so the first solution that pops into your heads is often the one you go with. When this happens, the results can be unpredictable,\u00a0inconsistent\u00a0and often fall short of the original business goal.<\/p>\n For example a sales manager at ABC Company wants more sales leads to launch a new product into the market and he also wants a lower lead acquisition cost than previously achieved. The marketing department run digital campaigns to drive more traffic to the website. They even throw in a competition to encourage people to connect with them. The results are poor and the campaign’s objectives are not met. The first instinct is to blame the digital campaigns, as\u00a0they\u00a0are not working.<\/p>\n What are the causes of the problem?<\/strong><\/p>\n Understanding the causes of the problem will give insight into what they are trying to achieve.<\/p>\n In my example, the client is not getting many sales leads through their website, despite having run several digital campaigns to generate inbound leads.\u00a0Whilst\u00a0they are getting some inbound phone leads, they don\u2019t know where they are coming from, and as a result deem that the digital campaigns as not delivering. On investigation, the website is poorly designed, has no clear calls to action\u00a0and\u00a0the messaging is confusing. The problem is their messaging, the performance of their website and\u00a0no\u00a0useful analytics.<\/p>\n What are the possible solutions?<\/strong><\/p>\n It’s\u00a0important to come up with several solutions in order to fully explore the options. In today’s busy world, we often jump at the first solution which sounds like it will work.<\/p>\n To continue the example, the sales manager at ABC Company wants to return to what has always worked in the past, which is employing a telemarketing company to make outbound sales calls to generate leads. While this will produce some results, sales leads will stop as soon as the\u00a0contract ends.<\/p>\n What should be happening is that several possible solutions should be looked at before\u00a0making\u00a0a decision.\u00a0ABC Company\u00a0decides\u00a0to\u00a0appoint a digital partner to help them formulate some potential solutions.<\/p>\n What is the best solution?<\/strong><\/p>\n Choosing\u00a0from\u00a0a well thought through list of options is far easier than being pressured into making uninformed decisions. While\u00a0this\u00a0process may seem longer, it is much quicker than trying things which don\u2019t work and then trying something else.<\/p>\n To conclude our example with ABC Company, the digital partner recommended several options. Each included costs, timings\u00a0and a measurable\u00a0ROI.<\/p>\n This\u00a0decision was informed and relatively painless to make.<\/p>\n In summary.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n