A Digital Strategy for NewCo’s Interactive Properties

Strategy Goal:

Support Concepting and PlanningFor New Projects and Projects on the Boards

Marketing Goal: Sales and Service Optimization

Acquire Contact information of Prospects

Contribute to the Acquisition of Customers Later or Elsewhere

Retention and Growth of Existing Customers

Gathering prospect contact info via forms needs to be weighed against better overall user experience.

We warn of balancing tactics too far toward obtaining email addresses when other forms of content and interaction may contribute just as strongly to sales and retention. Interactive media is a new world and while the ultimate bottom line is important, many participants argue that the greatest benefits of engagement do not draw a straight line to the cash register.

Building a better interactive experience, designing a better brand, offering better tools are softer benefits of interactive engagement that skeptics often don't see when they presume that old-school methods of pushing calls to buy is what should be done on these new channels.

Modified from an article by Read, Write, Webhttp://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/social_media_roi_dells_3m_on_twitter_and_four_bett.php

The greatest benefits of engagement might not draw a straight line to the

cash register.

Other forms of content and interaction may contribute just as strongly to sales and retention as registration

forms

Better Brand. Better Tools. Better Leads.

Digital Branding Goals

Messaging

Build awareness for NewCo as an innovative leader

Build awareness for the Widget as groundbreaking and unique

Improve perception of Widget as “more than just backup”

Simplify NewCo product messaging

Get Attention of Business Level Decision Makers

Build belief in NewCo as long term industry player

Digital Branding Goals

Interactive

Make working with NewCo a good career move

Improve perception that NewCo is [insert brand attributes here]

Increase credibility by showing NewCo “gets it” better than competitors

Assessment needs to be done by entire team

Messaging

Brand

Product Marketing

UX

Client side needs refinement

What defines the interactive Brand and Brand overall?

Is this a suite? What are we selling? Widget? NewCo?

Site Structure, Navigation and IxD need to be refined.

What are the Next Steps?

Support Existing Projects and Campaigns

Advance the Digital Brand

Build up our Customer Insights

Improve Usability

And Do What?

Where?

Rebuild Information Services (IS) Section Rebuild Partners Section

Site Refresh

Where our Customers can receive messages 

Where our Customers are already doing things

Support Existing Projects and Campaigns

Where?

“Methodical and analytical does not always mean rational. This is why your brand is critical in the B2B buying cycle. A strong brand addresses unspoken concerns.”B2B Buying Cycle-The Shattuck Group

Where our Customers can receive messages 

Where our Customers are already doing things

Advance the Digital Brand

Next We Need To

define that brand so we can share it with the team

put this brand into every customer experience

We already have a powerful brand that can stand up against the competition

Advance the Digital Brand?

Finding the Tactics that Support the Digital Brand

So...

Do we have self knowledge?

Have we defined the emotional style of engagement?

Do we make it easy to see the larger team we are part of?

Can our customers see each other?

Do we help people create winning recommendations?

Are we in touch with the moment when our customers’ jobs become meaningful to them?

Brands mean something on six fronts:

Our Audiences Look at Us

Our character means something

How we relate to our customers means something

When we stand in league with partners who mean something,

we stand for something more

Our Audience has Feelings about all of This

It means something to stand next to others who work with us

It means something to be the person who won by using us

It means something to a person to make good choices

-Interpretation of Noel-Kapferer Brand Identity Prism

Where?

Evolve Personas Find Opportunities within Buying Cycle

Where our Customers can receive messages Where our Customers are already doing things

Build up our Customer Insights

On a continuing cycle…

Primary Personas

BackUp Administrator Focused on Technical Requirements of Current Project

Looking Across Multiple Projects and Focused on Business Value

Senior Level Technology Planner – CIO, VP IT

Focused on Smaller Systems such as MS Exchange and MS Sharepoint

Systems Admin Operating Outside of IT Dept

Vendors Aware of Who Will Synergize with Their Products

CIO’s Vendor Table

Interested in products contribution to Corporation’s Value

Financial Analysts

Secondary Personas

Technical AnalystsInterested in Capabilities and Competitiveness

InvestorsLooking for Reasons to Invest and Status of Corporation’s Value

The MediaLooking for Resources for Stories

PartnersLooking for Ways to Engage

Primary Persona

Steven – A CIOSenior Level Technology PlannerHe could also be a VP IT

Strategic Business Questions:Does this support to my vision for business outcomes and directives?Will this increase productivity inside a tight IT budget? Will this enable business growth?How does this affect long-term business performance?What is the balance between price and performance?What is the balance between time and value Is this going to reduce operation costs?How much will it cost to replace our old system?

Strategic Technology Questions:Does this align with my initiatives and strategies?How will this be part of my plans over the next three years?Will this increase our ability to gather information/intelligence?will this help us to move from sprawl to real-time infrastructure?Will this increase our agility by sensing needs earlier and responding faster than

we do now?Questions based on presentation by Dave Russell of Gartner

Big PlansWe will be re-architecting back-up in next 18 months

Big ConcernsIT productivityAgilityCost benefit of changeI need to radically change who we do IT with, with the

minimum of risk

Primary Persona

CIO’s Vendor TableServerNetworkStorageApplication

Strategic Technology Questions:Does this? Will?

Tactical Project Based QuestionsI needWill this?

Big PlansI need to ensure my position with the company moving

forward

Big ConcernsWill this product compliment our solution?

Primary Persona

Julie – Backup AdminShe could also be a Systems Administrator

Strategic Technology Questions:Does this work within a tight IT budget? Will the vendor be around as long as we need support?

Tactical Project Based QuestionsI need answers to my specific configurationWill this software meet the unique requirements of my industry?

Big PlansI need to increase the speed at which we are backing up

our VMs

Big ConcernsMy Job – I need to make choices I can defendI need to choose the best solutionWhat I choose needs to work with everything else we have

Primary PersonaDarin – Systems AdminTechnical Admin Operating Outside of IT Dept

Strategic Technology Questions:Does this work within a tight IT budget? Will the vendor be around as long as we need support?

Tactical Project Based QuestionsI need answers to my specific configurationWill this software meet the unique requirements of my industry?

Big PlansI need to ensure the backup of both MS Exchange and MS

Sharepoint

Big ConcernsMy Job – I need to make choices I can defendI need to choose the best solution

Buying Cycles

We Have Chosen to Focus on Four Buying Cycles

Large overhaul by IT group

Small implementation within the IT group

IG support for legal

Small implementation outside of the IT (e.g. MS Exchange Server)

Six Stages

Problem Identification

Buying Cycle

Personas

Definition and Requirements

Search Evaluation Selection Procurement

Business realizes ithas a problem it must address

Decision-makersand influencers render opinions onwhat they think will solve the problem

Search for solutionsand providers based on theirestablished criteria

Decision makersand influencers evaluate whichsolution will best solve the problem

Some type of test or limited useof the solution will lead to a final selection

POs are cut and thefinal implementation begins

Where?

Better Content Strategy

Better Interface Design

Better User Testing

Improve Usability

Use intelligent Suppositions, Heuristics and Testing to create…

Refresh

Staging Server

Time Line

Planned Projects

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar

Personas and Sales Cycle

Usability

Personas and Sale Cycle Round One

Personas and Sale Cycle Round Two

Personas and Sale Cycle Round Three

1

3

2

IK

Partners

Heuristics User Testing User Testing

25

25

Plan and Schedule First Iteration of Customer Insights gathering

Plan and Schedule Refresh taking the opportunity to advance• Brand

• Design

• Usability

Next Projects