UX actions to do BEFORE you redesign your website - part 2

Here's the second part of my thoughts on the UX actions to consider before redesigning your website. Part 1 is available here.

4. Benchmark
So who in your competitive market is doing a better job of things than you online and who isn't? What does great look like for your digital customers and why? If you cannot answer these two questions, then you clearly haven't assessed the competition and understood what makes other sites better.
Action:
Review at least a handful of competitors websites to understand how they solve the same problems you have. Assess the features that make them easy to use (you might even want to look further afield at organisations that aren't necessarily in competition with you, but just have similar goals).
Note: For a small cost you can even point your usability tool at these competitive sites and give users the same tasks you give your own site.

5. Map out the customer journeys
Not all goals are the same on each site. Whether your aim is to generate leads or to directly convert users to buy a good or service, the path to acquisition can be difficult and dependant upon a huge number of factors. Action:
Map out the journey through your site for each of your key personas, ideally from initial awareness and acquisition through to them converting and beyond (e.g. into being a brand advocate). These functional flows will explain to you, your stakeholders, your developers and your testers what is happening to your users.
Note: Remember to include the situations when things don't go exactly according to plan.

6. Build your sitemap
It's not all about functionality, you also need to map out your content and the site's information architecture.
Action:
Draw up the hierarchy of your primary content pages and understand how each of your topics is delivered (if necessary for each device).

7. Wireframe the key templates
Producing a schematic or blueprint of every key page will create a visual guide of what your online users will experience. Wireframes will explain: the kinds of information displayed, the functions available, the priority of the information & functions, any display rules and effects of personalisation & other scenarios.
Action:
Create your wireframes based upon your customer journeys and the sitemap. But remember to test your creation before going into design.

  

The first 90 days of the Chief Digital Officer

The first ninety days in any job are important. But in such a new and exciting industry as online & digital, the first 3 months in the role of Chief Digital Officer are key.

Here are my thoughts on what should be the main areas to focus of the CDO during this period:

1. Understand the overall business strategy
   Any digital strategy created must be completely aligned to what the business is planning (Commercial aims,  new products, marketing, etc.)
2. Learn the culture
   Every organisation has a "way of doing things" and seeing itself. This doesn't have to perpetuate, but it is good to know what sort of people your peers and team around you do and think. Most important is the appetite for change... which can either be a critical success factor or a big nail in the coffin of a lot of the most forward-thinking digital plans.
3. Set a benchmark
   Recognize which of your competitors (if any) are doing innovative things, or just doing the same stuff but better! 
4. Identify your stakeholders and make friends
   From marketing and customer insight through to IT and Operations... if you are going to be an agent for inevitable change, you will need to build allies first.
5. Research your customers
   It's no good setting yourself up to digitize everything if that's not the correct way forward. And it's no good rolling out smartphone apps if all your potential business is using tablets. You don't have to know everything about every one of them, but being able to classify and segment them into target audiences will help you create the most relevant products and experience for them.
6. Build your vision
   Create an idea of what success looks like. What is the end game of all this change and how does it help the user and company? (Tip: Then give this vision to your strongest critic and ask them for feedback - this will iron out a lot of the wrinkles)
7. Create the roadmap
   Draw up and digital roadmap of short and longer-term projects & tactical changes that move the organisation forward towards your vision. 
8. Justify investment
   Where necessary develop businesses cases that explore the investment required to realise the roadmap.
9. Deliver something quickly
   Nobody is realistically going to wait for you to see out your initial 3 months without some business improvement. This shouldn't be too difficult for any CDO new to the role, as there are always quick wins to be had
10. Have fun

Have I missed anything?

Where are all the Scottish eCommerce Consultants?

I've lived in Scotland for around 6 months now, having moved here from London. I've therefore been doing all I can to promote and develop the eCommerce market north of the border... I've met with quite a few prospects, clients, industry leaders, agency folk and anyone else I can to increase my business network in Glasgow, Edinburgh and further afield.

However, there's no getting around it, the ecommerce market in Scotland is on average) less mature and smaller in scale than that of London or The Midlands.

This also means that I've not found many eCommerce consultants knocking about, who do what I do:

• Strategic advice (incl multi-channel retail)
• Business analysis and benchmarking
• Programme Management of large / complex projects
• User experience best practice and conversion improvement
• Digital analytics and insight
• Online marketing optimisation

In fact, a search on Google for "Scottish eCommerce Consultant" just tends to mainly bring up old job adverts for roles that are neither really eCommerce or Consultant focused.

So if you are a digital or eCommerce consultant based in Scotland, or just want to know what one does in more detail, please get in touch.

Hayden

Social Media Maturity Matrix

Yesterday I posted on Social Media Maturity and that someone needs to come up with a matrix, a one pager that answers the various questions about the maturity levels of different organisations and their Social Media activity.
Well, rather than wait for someone else to do this, I've taken the initiative and put my own together.
This is not supposed to be the finished article, but merely 'work in progress' and a concept I would like feedback on so that it can be developed, etc.

Social Media Maturity Matrix

View more presentations from Hayden Sutherland.

Social Media Maturity

Where is your company or organisation along the path to maturity when using Social Media for business use?
How do you gauge your activity with those of your competition?
What's the next step on from what you are currently doing online?
What Key Performance Indicators should you be looking to measure at each stage in this evolution?

I think someone needs to come up with a social media maturity matrix. A one page diagram or similar that starts to answer the above questions...

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