(Originally posted October 2011, contributing blogger)
The digital world is evolving at a rapid pace, and as many businesses are jumping right into setting up a Facebook page or creating a mobile app, they are failing to comprehend the big picture; consequently falling short of their business objectives and deliverance of a relevant customer experience.
With smartphones and tablets, individuals now have a world of information right at their fingertips, drastically increasing access and overall social capabilities and connection. And with more and more people heavily relying on their digital devices, the expectation for businesses to keep up is on the rise.
The areas many businesses seem to fall short on these expectations are: failing to devise a holistic digital strategy that encompasses their business objectives, and/or failing to remember their customer; only focusing on establishing their brand’s presence within the individual digital channels.
In order to develop an effective digital strategy, organizations must maintain their business objectives throughout. And remember – being relevant within the digital atmosphere doesn’t require you to be present on every channel. With your business objectives in mind, take time to fully understand various digital channels and HOW each individual channel will assist in meeting your goals. If you can’t determine how a channel will serve a purpose to your business in helping to achieve these goals, it may not be worth implementing into your digital marketing plan right now.
As your customers are the critical factor in meeting your objectives, creating a relevant, enjoyable experience for them is a must. As mentioned above, your customers are already digitally adept, and failing to meet their expectations with a relevant solution within your digital channels will yield one less returning customer. Also important, is ensuring a consistent customer experience and relative objective through your various channels. In other words, all the digital channels you choose to implement within your marketing plan should be intertwined, connected and comprehensively supportive of one another.