Planning a new website or app? Think strategic

I talk to a lot of individuals and organisations about improving their digital experience.

Most want to redevelop their website or mobile apps to be more usable, commercially beneficial or compliant (e.g. to web accessibility standards).

I have therefore found myself using this diagram to explain the different dimensions to consider before going any further.

Strategic aims:
What are the top-level objectives of your organisation? To grow market share? To innovate faster? To delight your customers? 

Commercial goals:

How much is a prospect worth to you? Do you prioritise long-term customer lifetime value? Or just to make as much short-term revenue as possible? 

Personas & channels:
What are the archetypal features and mindset of your different target users? Which of these personas are the higher converting & higher value ones? What digital channels and devices do they use and which ones convert better?

User needs and top tasks:

What problem are they trying to solve (and what would stope them doing it)? Why are they doing this task now? What path(s) to conversion does each different target group take?

"As Is" analysis:
Why are you replacing your current site / app / platform? Why doesn't it perform or help you meet your aims & goals? What data or insight are you not getting right now? What volume or performance do you need / want?

Usability testing:
What elements of your site help users and what hinder them? Is your navigation & on-site search usable and useful? What components to customers miss out or not understand? as they browse Why do they leave your site half way through your main goal funnel? Why do users not like, trust or believe your content?

Benchmarks & standards:
Is your site / app fully meeting all legislation?  Is the front-end fully compliant with all coding standards? Does your content's tone-of-voice align with that of your brand? Is the site optimized for search engines? 

Competition:
Which of your competitors delivers a better digital experience and why? What features or content do they have that sets them apart? How is your competition able to be faster or more innovative? (In other words... what tools and processes in your organisation make you slower or less agile?)

The 5 steps to creating a successful Digital Strategy

Here’s my 5 steps to creating a successful Digital Strategy

1. Understand …

…. not only the commercial goals, but the stakeholders & team involved. Take time to then walk through the current digital requirements (priorities & dependencies) and all the relevant internal processes that you have to work within  (there will be some, even on a ‘green field’ project – or as I recently said to one senior marketer, who said there were no restrictions: “every green field has borders eventually”. 

2. Review …..

all existing projects, including any project interdependencies with the work done by other departments (e.g. IT),  current suppliers of online services (e.g. Digital Agencies) and make sure you know what KPI's (Key Performance Indicators) are reported against across the business. 

Note: You should also take the time to identify the immediate wins (e.g. is there something so obvious and easy that is can be done now?)

3. Document…

Key Deliverables. This means writing up what has to be done and when it is expected. Focus both on commercial optimisation (operational efficiency) and innovation to gain competitive advantage. Consider all digital touch-points, where possible adopting a user-centred approach and cover all lines of business, such as: B2C, B2B, Back office (e.g. purchasing).

4. Plan….

for success by creating a rolling 30 day plan that keeps delivering wins and fixes over the short and medium term. From this build up a longer-term roadmap that integrates functionality with marketing activity (content, campaigns, etc.). Where necessary develop robust justifications (business cases) for large pieces of work.

5. Future-proofing…

means considering all changes likely to occur over the roadmap timescales. I use the “STEP” acronym as a handy way to classify the different innovation drivers:

a.       Social (what will individuals and groups do differently?)

b.      Technological (what new software or devices are expected?)

c.       Economic (how will and increase/decrease in household income affect you plans?)

d.      Political (why legislation is due that could cause an impact to the organisation?)