Companies Need to See Progress and Value From Technology Investments

Technology change is all around us. Technical innovations, consumer behavior, cost, industry, and regulatory changes — even corporate acquisitions, drive us all to continue to look at different technologies and platforms and evaluate how they will help our business. As the topic of new technology adoption comes onto the decision-making table, the key question that comes up is, “What value will this bring us?”

Value generally comes down to monetary value, which can be seen as lower costs through efficiencies and/or higher revenue through increased sales. When purchasing technology, it is important to know what you expect to get out of the technology and how you are going to get it. The purchase itself generally doesn’t create value unless it is purely for cost reasons.

Therefore, if we look at the more likely scenario that the purchase is intended to add capability and drive sales, we need to think through how we are going to make that real.

So let’s do exactly that.

Have an Actionable Plan

Presumably, when the decision was made to purchase net new technology or upgrade existing functionality, there was some level of a business case that was presented as part of the decision-making process. Once procured, the real task at hand is realizing the expected value and showing progress. And that value will not be realized without a prioritized plan to do so and a means to show incrementality to what is current business as usual (BAU).

The value realization plan is different from an implementation plan. Implementation plans tend to focus on getting the technical setup done properly. The value realization plan is about proving that the purchase and change were a smart business decision and further investment is warranted to move the business forward.

The value realization plan should include the following components:

A budget to move the program forward — It is highly unlikely that simply implementing technology will allow a program to mature on day 1. There has to be budget put aside and included in the business case that factors in resources to change the way the work is being done, develop detailed new experiences, run projects, and measure impact.

Defined use cases showing new and better interactions that you want to enable with the technology — The journey map speaks to the broad journey a consumer can take and the experience map defines the specific experiences within that journey based on the mindset, the task that needs to be accomplished, etc. The interaction we are defining is where the experience map and technology come together to enable the consumer experience.

Prioritization of use cases — There are often many possible use cases to enable and the key is to prioritize them against a series of criteria based on your business strategy. Often, the core criteria are level of effort and impact, but not always. Sometimes feasibility comes into play (e.g., the site team has a roadmap that takes priority over the role they need to play in your project). And sometimes there are key projects in process that get prioritized at a corporate level. Either way, it is important to have a plan and a rationale.

Quick wins — In the prioritization of use cases, there must be quick wins — capabilities you enable that show quick value or tasks you were able to eliminate to save time and money. You will need these to report on early progress using the new tools. Choose projects to get quick wins and continually gain internal support. For companies with sub-brands, they can test on smaller, lower risk brands. By testing with quick wins, you can further explore what the new functionality brings and how to use it, eventually rolling out on a larger scale. Waiting too long to show that you have used the technology to improve and progress will drive hard conversations with leadership about what the value has been. It is important to have an answer, even if it is directional, coupled with a plan to go further.

A measurement plan to show incrementality — This is critical in convincing others that true value is being realized. Incrementality comes from isolating new programs that can be initiated because of this new tech or improvements that can be made to an existing one. In any case, it is important to have a baseline and a measurement plan. It is also important to avoid over-complicating incrementality measurement at first. For example, if there is a new program to put in market where one hasn’t existed, don’t try to over-personalize the program at first. First, prove that the program itself shows sufficient incrementality, then add personalization to prove the incrementality of the personalization itself — this will speed time to market and reduce the initial costs of a project.

A clear and documented plan to move past quick wins — In my business, we work with clients to make something work, make it better, and then make it bigger. If we simply stay in the “make it work” phase and keep making minor changes to the quick wins, we won’t realize the value intended. We need to push out of “make it work” and get to “better and bigger” — which often comes from adding channels, driving increased automation, and changing how we work and market.

Technology doesn’t stop evolving. Are you keeping up? Should you?

Many technologies add features regularly to meet the evolving needs of their customers. At some level, these advancements are reflected in what you pay for the technology, so it is important to understand if you should be using these new capabilities to get the most out of your license cost. As a marketer, you shouldn’t use all-new features, nor should you ignore new features. What you should do is:

1) Stay abreast of new feature releases and understand how they may apply to your business. This knowledge cannot be contained solely with the technology team. You need to know about it and understand it so that, together, you can all determine if a feature is worth testing and using for your business.

2) Consider other technology you have access to that performs a similar function. The existing technology could be something like a recommendation engine that is purchased as a platform or an in-house next best offer model.

3) Evaluate viability and business impact. It is important to weigh the potential end of a technology license to consolidate functionality into one platform vs. two (or more) with the business impact of that change. The license costs may be cheaper, but is that the end goal? Probably not at the business level, which prioritizes outcomes over costs.

4) Understand what has to happen to consolidate onto one platform. Features of value are often widely used so any migration to a consolidated platform has to be evaluated, planned, and budgeted for.

Conclusion

Value realization helps provide a roadmap for what makes sense and package up the features that will bring the most value to the business. By building a plan, you can prove that the purchase and change were a smart business decision and further investment is warranted to move the business forward.

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