Setting The Stage for Great Digital Execution

Easy Targets & Pool Noodles

I was scrolling through my LinkedIn feed a few days ago when I came upon this little chestnut:

I laughed. After all, there is something inherently funny about a pool noodle.

But it wasn’t just the pool noodle that got me chuckling. As an agency veteran, I got the joke instantly. In fact, it hit a nerve. Because, like all agency vets, I’ve lived through the grim disappointment of seeing the perfect plan or the best idea ever either shot down completely or, more often, watered down beyond recognition on the way to execution.

In this situation, it’s easy (and quite fun, I will admit) to heap blame on simple, obvious culprits. Like, for instance, a woefully insufficient client budget.

But let’s be honest — while the blame game may be enjoyable, it doesn’t really solve anything. And it doesn’t do justice to the complexity of the problem, either.

Especially when the plan or idea in question is digitally-driven.

And that’s what I’d like to focus on here. The real barriers preventing great digital execution.

Talent and Tools Are Not The Problem

You could argue (and I would agree, to a point) that competent digital execution is more accessible than ever.

There’s no shortage of digital talent and expertise out there. I live and work in a relatively small agency market and there are, by last count over 60 agencies in town that specialize in one or more forms of digital execution. Not to mention scores of freelancers, talented digital folks on the client side and software companies — including some established heavyweights — offering powerful tools designed to empower modern digital marketers.

All of this reflects a larger trend towards growth and maturity in the digital realm. Digital is not just a channel anymore. It’s how we all live. And it shows.

Across the industry, each of the various disciplines that live under the broad umbrella of “digital” — from UX design to app development to marketing automation to branded content and beyond — have each now grown into mature disciplines served by highly specialized agencies and software providers.

And yet, despite all of the talent and energy, many challenges persist. Challenges that are much more complex and hard to address than simple lack of budget. And, as a result of these challenges, above average digital execution is still very difficult to attain.

Real Challenges Persist

So what are these challenges? I can think of a few. More than a few, actually:

True effectiveness is still very hard to measure and prove.
Yes, you’ve got lots of metrics at your fingertips. But what do they really mean and which ones really count?

Many resources are still being wasted against ineffective tactics.
When you can’t really tell what’s really working, waste is inevitable. But very hard to pinpoint and correct.

The learning curve is getting steeper all the time.
Trying to keep up can be overwhelming, especially if your background isn’t in digital and you have other things to do with your time.

Non-technical marketers are faced with more complex decisions around technology and related tactics.
More options and more new responsibilities translate into less clarity than ever.

It’s really difficult to orchestrate many teams, partners and channels.
Finding and hiring experts may be easier than ever. But orchestrating them all is not easy.

It’s hard to create a single customer experience.
New touchpoints can add value and drive results. But each new touchpoint also makes the customer experience a little harder to integrate seamlessly.

Turning data into value is difficult.
Big data sounds powerful but also a bit unwieldy. And it is. The trick lies in reducing it down to something small and specific enough to drive real results.

Misalignment between marketing and IT.
It’s an age-old struggle and for many organizations, let’s be honest, it’s not getting any easier.

What Do All of These Challenges Have In Common?

I can think of a few things:

First, they cannot be addressed through more execution-oriented tools and talent. It takes more than that to truly tackle these issues.

Second, in some cases they actually become more difficult to overcome if you throw more teams, talent and tech at them. For example, the more partners involved, the harder orchestration, measurement and a unified customer experience become.

And finally, they all make it very hard for digital execution to succeed. Well before the brief is written, well before the budget (adequate or not) has been allocated, these challenges create an unstable environment. One that makes it very difficult for great digital execution to take flight and deliver real impact.

Never underestimate the importance of a good launching pad.

And on the flip side, if these challenges are truly addressed, ending up with a big disconnect between (low) budget and (high) expectations is much less likely.

It’s All About Setting The Stage

So here’s my advice: if you really want to achieve great digital execution, start by taking the time to address these challenges head on. In other words, start by making sure the stage is properly set.

This could include taking any one of the following steps (it’s less about where you start than the fact that you started):

• Defining a clear “north star” and a set of guiding principles for all digital activities — grounded in brand , customer insights and the proven practices of digital leaders.
• Allocating time and resources to defining your optimum digital ecosystem across all channels and supporting technologies, trimming away all “coulds” to focus on a few key “shoulds”.
• Removing assumptions from your planning process as much as possible and focusing instead on insights drawn from real customer behaviour.
• Defining and adopting clear, meaningful success metrics for the entire ecosystem — then tuning out the rest of the noise.
• Using those metrics to assess effectiveness as objectively as possible and then trimming away or optimizing under-performing tactics.
• Recruiting a senior-level digital leader to spearhead a more strategic, unified approach to digital.
• Hiring a partner like Modern Craft to help with all of the above and more. We’re a new kind of agency purpose-built to help organizations tackle exactly these challenges.

Just Don’t End Up A Meme

This kind of stage-setting may feel daunting. And I realize it’s much less sexy than a new viral campaign, a new app or even a new marketing tech platform.

But I believe it’s truly vital.

And well worth the effort in the end … if only to prevent your agencies from sharing a pained laugh over something like this after your next ambitious digital initiative fails to achieve lift-off: