Five Reasons Your Digital Strategy Will Fail
Since 2012, brands have started to realize that they need to have an actual plan in place when it comes to how they are approaching online platforms. In the latest market research, only half of businesses actually have a defined digital strategy in place. Being completely transparent, that causes me to personally feel a combination of utter confusion, anger and early feelings of a panic attack. I am not here to talk to the 50% of you that don’t have a plan. You are already losing. I am here to help the 50% of you that are doing something to hopefully help you improve your digital marketing efforts.
Here are five important lenses you should look at your digital strategy through that will help improve any strategy on any platforms for any type of brand or business.
#1 You Aren’t Honest with Yourself
Until recently brands were dictating the narratives and it was a one-way conversation. Brands were telling people what to think and feel and for the most part people listened and reacted. Then the internet and social media happened and everything changed. If you are only listening to what the people inside your building are saying about your brand and are not listening to what the market, and more importantly your customers, are saying about you you are vulnerable. The fact is that someone out there is, and that person will win their business. You are doing yourself a disservice if you are not completely honest about what your strengths and weaknesses are, because I guarantee you that your competition is and they are going to use it against you.
#2 You Don’t Actually Know Your Customer
Every brand has a target audience, and if you don’t stop reading this right now and figure out who your customer is because I am not sure how you are still in business. For those of you still reading, ask yourself how segmented your audience is. Are you painting with a wide brush and assuming that the person that wants to buy your product has the same wants, needs and attributes on the website, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc? If you do then the simple answer is that you do not know your customers. All of those platforms provide very detailed analytics about your fan, for free I might add, and I suggest you go over them with a fine toothed comb for each and adjust your strategy based on your findings.
#3 It Isn’t Fun or Memorable
The middle is a safe place to play. You will limit the amount of crisis situations that are possible and you won’t turn off potential or current customers. You also won’t be remembered. Brands that only care about the brand want to play in the middle. The campaigns that stick with us (Old Spice, ASPCA, Skittles to name just a few) are something that takes us out of our normal routine and demands our attention. When this happens your brand has entered the opportunity to win someone’s business.
#4 You Don’t Know What Action You Want to See
You know your segmented audience, you have a great strategy in place and memorable campaigns planned. Then what? Do you know what you are ultimately hoping to see your audience do? If you don’t know what action constitutes as a win for your team then it was all for nothing no matter how great it was. Clearly define your goals so that you have something to mark against to determine what is or is not working and adjust accordingly. And adjust quickly.
#5 It Doesn’t Scare You
If you are looking at your digital strategy and do not have any fear, then it is not ambitious enough. You need to go back to the drawing board. Every great digital strategy should scare your boss just a little. In fact you should have been nervous to present it to him. That means you are pushing the brand out of the middle, and that is where your brand will begin to separate itself from the competition.
