Supporting Business Goals through a Long-Term Digital Strategy

With so much of competition around, we keep wondering what more can we do? Are we lagging behind? We think of coming up with some new idea, create an app or tool to still be a part of the competition. There is no magic rule to get away from these challenges but rather than taking a hasty decision, one should focus on the bigger picture. Something new will keep happening, your competitors might come up with brilliant ideas but there is nothing to worry about. Digital technology advancing at such rapid rate, it might seem next to impossible to keep a tab. Yes, it is true that the development might not stop but one can always have a plan. We have to move ahead of the terms like traffic, views and short-term buzz etc.

Planning the Digital Process

This entire procedure can be divided into two sub divisions –

Understanding – Talking about this phase, it consists of assessing and auditing existing digital assets, competitors and consumer behavior.

1. Know your business objectives

One should be clear about the business goals of their organization. Your future plans, growth and how you want to see yourself in maybe next 5 years etc.

2. Know your audience

Be sure who is your target audience including their wants and digital behavior. Knowing in detail about your audience helps a great deal in overcoming obstacles and form new strategies.

3. Study the competition

With a digital scorecard system helps you to, not only review your competitor’s activities, but even their overall digital performance.

Phase Two: Build

1. Digital vision

Coming to the digital vision, it has a futuristic approach to it and is all about how technologies and digital channels will be used to drive business. It serves as a layout for evaluating what more can be done and what has to be done.

It is not a cake walk to write a good vision statement. With time and a little alteration, one can learn the nuances. One can start by getting the key decision makers from agency as well as company for a workshop and brain storming session to better analyse the initial directions and have a better perspective. At a later stage, it can be dealt with a smaller working team.

2. Digital priorities

Once you are done and ready with the vision statement, move on to figuring out and understanding more about the company’s business goals and other important aspects. Find out answer to questions like, “How digital can help you fulfill your ambitions?” and “What should be your strategies?” etc.

Next, plan what you would want to do each year. Like, in the first year you will focus on customer interaction and engagement and next year maybe the sales etc.

3. Digital creative platforms

It basically denotes an original thought with the motive of determining a voice to figure out the way your brand interacts with consumers online. The idea is to be inspiring and grounded in your brand’s overall positioning.

4. Tactics

To turn your digital vision into realities, one has to form proper strategies and execute them in the best possible way.

5. Metrics

For all the plans and strategies that you have made, you need to know if that is working successfully or not. Go by a proper step by step plan to avoid chaos.

6. Responsibilities

To make sure your plan is implemented and executed, have a clear understanding of who is responsible for what. This way there won’t be any confusion and everyone will know their role and responsibilities.

Conclusion

To sum it up, digital has definitely become a vital part of our lives and is going to stay so for a very long time. Everytime we need some information, want to buy something, we turn towards digital. Hence, for a world like this, long-term strategic plan is definitely necessary.



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