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Starting with Digital Strategy

As the new year begins and the unSTRATEGIC podcast is starting soon (coming out January 25th!), I want to take a moment to quickly talk about starting with strategy.  If you’re new to the business of digital strategy and have questions like “what is strategy?” and “how do I start doing strategy?” then hopefully this post will bring some clarity to an ambiguous discipline.

Strategy, to me, is about making decisions.  But for those of you who are just getting into it, it can be a bit confusing. Let’s define it in a few different ways.

Defining Strategy…

Strategy can be confusing because of its complexity. I see three different layers of strategy that can be defined.

  1. Strategy Disciplines: Disciplines come down to your area of expertise. This could be business strategy, brand strategy, web strategy, mobile strategy, and the list goes on.  You could be a social media strategist or a content strategist. The different disciplines are the top layer.
  2. Strategy Processes: Diving a bit deeper, the second layer is the process we’ll use for strategy. I often use decision looping as my process in account management.  But there are many different processes including waterfall, agile, scrum, adaptive path, critical path, etc.
  3. Strategy Tactics: This third layer is the one I think most people are concerned with. These are the tips, tricks, activities, and exercises that you can do on a project or engagement. One example is doing a competitive analysis. Mapping quantitative and qualitative data to see where you (or your client) stands against the competition. I’ll go into how I do a competitive analysis in one of my podcasts. But activities are the tactics you use to execute on strategy.

As we can see, there are a few different layers to strategy, which I refer to as the strategy object. You can go even further when you start talking about its relation to the entity, which is a business, brand, company, project, etc.

Taking the complexity out of strategy

If you want to get started on digital strategy, then decide on what area or discipline you like the most. Or what area or discipline this particular engagement requires. Are you setting up social media accounts for your clients? Are you building them a website? Social media strategy and web strategy respectively. But also business strategy because these things ultimately help your clients’ business (the entity).

Then decide on what process you’re going to follow. Look at all the data, this includes your client’s business, their users, their competitors, the marketplace, and influencers/best in business in their industry. There are ways to compile this information that I’ll touch on in my upcoming episodes. Interpret the data by looking for recurring themes or anomalies. Make a decision, take the action.

Within that loop is where you’ll be doing your strategy tactics. Discovery, documenting discovery, understanding their culture and business model. the list goes on.

Depending on the project I like to do a typical run through of tactics:

  • Intake on client: business overview, history
    • Goals, project mission, success metrics
    • Systems, 3rd party technologies
    • Content inventory
  • Competitor analysis and social listening review
  • Research the market; disruptor/influencer list of companies/technologies
  •  Google Analytics analysis
  • Information architecture testing
  • UX site review

There’s still a lot more to cover because the reality is that when it comes to digital projects or products, your job as a strategist is never really finished. You need to iterate on your process time and time again because of the shifting tides of the technology space. But that’s okay, we’ll cover all this and more in upcoming episodes. Stay tuned!!

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The Loop

Digital strategy is hard to come by. So, I’d like to share this one tip I learned from the unlikeliest of places — Spy novels. It’s called the Loop.

Apparently it was made famous by Air Force and F-15 fighter pilots. The OODA Loop is a decision cycle that stands for Observe, Orient, Decide, Act.  When pilots are in mid air immersed in ‘life or death’ dogfights, the pilot who can cycle through this decision loop the quickest is the winner. Or, the one who lives.

I read about the DADA Loop in John Braddock’s short book A Spy’s Guide to Thinking. It stands for Data, Analysis, Decision, Action. This is an easy way to bring linearity to a non-linear discipline.

I’ll break it down in terms of digital strategy

Data — understand your environment (most likely your client’s environment). Look at their users, competitors, the best in business, and the marketplace. There’s a lot of really great trend reports and surveys out there that can be used for secondary research.

Analysis – analyze the data. You can look at both quantitative (objective measurements like numbers, followers, market-shares) and qualitative (subjective observations) data. Look for recurring themes in observations, anomalies in metrics, or interpret social comments.

Decision — based on the data and your analysis of that data, make the most informed decision

Action — the plan or product of your decision making. Execute.

Rinse and repeat — this is an important step. The fighter pilot who just escaped the missile needs to cycle through this loop again…and so do you.

The reality is this: you’ll continue to gather information as a web project or digital product engagement goes on. Use that information to always make the best call, the most informed decision, and iterate on that.

More to come about data, analysis, decisions, and actions.

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Strategy in Context: Mining for Opportunities

Watching the tides turn in the digital age is as quick as the ocean currents. These microscopic movements that all feed into a bigger pool are advancing technology at an unprecedented rate. In fact, 58% of corporate execs say it will develop at an increasingly rapid rate over the next 5 years. Check out Accenture’s 2016 trend report. With all that in mind, what’s your agency’s plan to keep up-to-date with all this new technology. What’s your agency’s plan to take advantage of the opportunities they can bring? Let me show you how I got started.

Living in the Age of Information

We live in the age of information. It’s almost too much because it’s coming at us from every single direction. Accenture, Hewlett Packard, Deloitte, and more are all putting out new reports, trends, and surveys. You can find these reports just by searching “2016 tech trend reports” 0r some variation of that. To give you a little tip that I use, I will always append “pdf” to my search queries in order to find reports that you otherwise might not be able to. It amazes me how many PDFs are out there right now. After searching, you’ll need to categorize. Now I have a folder in my Google Drive that breaks down into more folders comprised of only PDFs. I categorize them as such:

  • Industries: health, travel, nonprofit, media, B2B, Agency, Consulting. These could be different for you
    • Market Intelligence: you can find these reports by searching “market intelligence ‘your industry here’ pdf” I separate these by year
    • Trend Reports: pretty self-explanatory; usually having to do with some sort of survey
    • Misc. Whitepapers: Because these are always fun to read and have, you can use them as sales collateral when talking to a prospective buyer, and even client.

Once you’ve compiled a number of relevant reports, now it’s time to start reading them. Now, with all the PDFs I have it would take, literally, close to 6 months to read (I’m a slow reader), don’t read them. Skim them, graze them, pluck them, don’t peruse them.

Mining for Information

There is obviously a reason why we have headers and titles and large print. When you are skimming over these PDFs, just look for the headlines, quotes, sidebars with numbers in them. Pick off the statistical data and write it down some place else. You’ll eventually use this information to mine for opportunities. If there’s a headline that interests you and it’s followed by 5 paragraphs, read those paragraphs. I’ll always use a speed reading technique by Tim Ferris that has increased my words-per-minute by 25%. Or check out tips on how to read faster. But remember, you still need to comprehend what you’re reading for it to be valuable in mining for opportunities.

As you continue to gather information, you need to start categorizing it so it’s digestible for your client. I separate my information into a few areas:

  1. Market Intelligence:
    • Usually in the form of surveys, I’ll state what has significantly changed in a sector or industry. For instance, the Agency of Record (AOR) lasts less than 3 years according to Agency Spotter’s 2016 Report. And the average project-based fees for agencies have increased. Now, put the cost of living aside, this tells me that brands and companies are seeking out agencies that fit their specific projects, not necessarily their ongoing needs.
  2. Disruptors & Influencers:
    • Who is making a big splash right now in tech or what technology is outpacing all the rest.
  3. Competitors & Users:
    • What is the competition doing, what are your client’s users doing
  4. New Trends, Technology, and Terms:
    • Things that are trending. New technology that your client might be able to leverage. New terms that people in the industry are using.

All this info will eventually lead into Insights & Opportunities.

Finding…and mining insights

An insight is the capacity to gain an accurate and deep intuitive understanding of a person or thing. Wow!! Intense, right? Yup, it sure is. So, here’s essentially what I mean when I say strategy in context. Out of all the information you’ve gathered, it won’t make a bit of difference unless you understand who you’re gathering it for. I’ll give you an example. I work with health and wellness clients, nonprofit, media, agencies, and more. The info that I gather have something to do with these sectors and markets. But insights are relevant only when you understand who you’re gathering that information for. Which brings me to intake sheets.

Intake sheets are information about your client. You’ll want to gather info on them. Keep a record of the following:

  • Client: contact info; organizational structure.
  • Company overview: what do they do, what are their values, etc.?
  • Products/Services: what do they provide?
  • Major Markets: where are they doing business, what countries?
  • Value: what’s their value proposition?
  • Strengths/Weaknesses: what do they do better than anyone else; where could they improve?
  • Account/Project Objectives: what are the things they want to accomplish, major goals?
  • Competitors: keep a list of at least their top 3 competitors, I would even list the best in business in their industry.
  • Users: user personas are a huge part of this insight gathering, I’ll post more on personas in another one of my Strategy in Context posts.
  • Partners: who is your client partnering with in the market? Are they complimentary?

As time goes on you’ll pick up the idiosyncrasies that make your client who they are. You’ll learn things about their culture that will provide more insight into them as an organization. Hence, providing more insight into how you can mine for opportunities.

Mining for the non-opportunity

I want to clarify that mining for opportunities is not trying to find just any project you think your client wouldn’t mind doing. It’s adding real value to their organization. In order to do that, you have to look at all the possibilities. And as a sidenote, it sometimes means you may not be providing the solution.

Let’s say you are working with a nonprofit and they are in the process of building out a donation platform for their donors. This platform is something that you helped design on the front-end, but the back-end was built by another firm. Essentially, this platform almost works like a banking platform. Donors can store their money and make donations to the organization or cause of their choosing. And let’s say the other firm is having a difficult time securing the platform. Well, if you kept up-to-date on the latest trends, you could give them an insight into what people are talking about right now in the security space. Which is Blockchain.

Today’s financial institutes operate on a central ledger where money is passed from one entity to another. The ledger is monitored and kept by one authority, leaving it susceptible to attack and corruption. Blockchain is a transactional database that decentralizes the ledger and allows for complete transactional security, it’s also lower in cost. You’d probably have to refer the nonprofit to a blockchain expert, but the value you’ve given them is high.

Mining for the real opportunity

To mine for the real opportunity depends on your client’s goal, their users’ needs, and where they sit on the spectrum of innovation. If they are at the lower end of the innovation spectrum, there’s probably a lot of opportunities to mine for. If they’re more toward the middle, it starts to get a little harder. Brands and organizations that don’t keep up with the latest trends and technology are they ones who have the most options. The ones who are at the top, are the ones who are paving the way for everyone else, and the options narrow.

Let’s say you’re working with that same nonprofit and their goal is to get as many donors as they can using this platform. If you knew that the retention rate of first-year donors was only 29% or that roughly 50% of donors do not renew their gifts the following year, what would you do with that information? You’d dig in….why are donors not renewing their gifts? Then you’d probably find out that donors like to feel connected. They like to see the impact that their donations have on communities and the lives they’re helping. Well…what opportunity can we find there?

My suggestion would be to offer to build a website that connects donors with donees. But also shares the stories donees have because of getting donations. It could be anonymous, but having a platform that could show where a donor’s donation is going and in what way it’s helping the donee could be really cool. People are attached to stories, we love them. Build a website that tells the story of donee’s or add a section to an existing site. There are a lot of possibilities in that one particular insight. Get creative!

Mining is a continual thing

In closing I’ll say this. Mining for opportunities is a continual thing. You’ll be getting new information as time goes on, you’ll be learning more and more about the needs of your client as the months/years pass. Always be adding value. That’s the best way to mine for opportunities. If you can show your client that you offer these insights and valuable opportunities, you’ll be seen as a strategic partner and an invaluable one at that.

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Strategy in Context: A Bird’s Eye View

Today is an auspicious occasion! It marks the first of my Strategy in Context series. As well as my first try at micro-blogging. I have a lot of information on topics like strategy, research, account management, user experience, and more. I’d like to get that information to the public as quick as possible while still posting good, quality content.  Now, I’ll most likely expand on this series in an eventual strategy whitepaper.

I was recently at a tech conference asking people for strategy resources. One person firmly told me that “no one’s going to give me their strategy resources (or process for that matter) because that’s how agencies make the big bucks.” So, okay… that makes sense to me, but it doesn’t mean I can’t give away my strategy resources.

I’d like to address any nay-sayers about publishing digital strategy process, tactics, and/or resources. I come from the open source world where information is shared and the community benefits from that. This is my attempt to give back.  I am more worried about people saturating the internet by building shitty things people don’t need, than I am about someone stealing my strategy process, theories, and thoughts. Plus, I want to spark discussion, so let’s begin.

Strategy in Context

I’m sure everyone is familiar with context-aware design, yeah? It’s when a device (like a smartphone) changes based on the environment in which it’s placed. Our smartphones can make recommendations based on location or auto-adjust the contrast on a bright day. Strategy in context is similar in the sense that we (as strategists) need to take into consideration our environments. And hopefully act accordingly.

Implementing a strategy process can be a daunting practice.

  • A) it’s not a linear process
  • B) it changes at every turn based on new information.

So, how do you conquer a client, project, or product when you aren’t sure how to proceed? You take a step back…and look at things from a holistic standpoint; from a bird’s eye view.

A Bird’s Eye View of Strategy

In order to understand strategy, there is one truth you have to realize: true strategy is continual, it’s not an end-game and never will be. The digital strategy that works for you today, might not be the one that works for you tomorrow, let alone a year from now. And this is why strategists are commodities, because it’s a job that never ends in the web and mobile space.

Holistically speaking, digital strategy is dependent on all its players. It is so entangled with other strategies that looking at it any other way would be a disservice to both you and your client.

The elements of strategy:

  1. The People: your client, their users, the competition, influencers, disruptors
  2. The Assets: things like their culture, their brand, their website, their digital assets are blanketed under this term
  3. The Operations: your client’s business model, their product or service
  4. The Frameworks: from your client’s organizational structure to the technical systems being leveraged.
  5. The Intelligence: the market, the trends, the innovation happening, the economic and political landscapes
  6. The Tactics: different from ‘operations’ – tactics are used to carry out strategies
  7. The Outcomes: the goals, the objectives, the accomplishments, the results

Contingent on each of these elements, strategy will have different meanings depending on its context. It’s too much to take in in a micro-blog post, so as the Strategy in Context series continues, I’ll drill into each one of these areas to give insight into breaking down your strategy process.

The Information Spectrum

At any given moment, there are hundreds of tiny shifts going on in the digital world. Developments that are slowly (or quickly) moving in from the fringes toward the mainstream. A fantastic trend report by Future Today Institute highlights innovation that is making it’s way toward being the established norm. Innovation is often talked about, but overlooked when it comes to strategy positioning.

In order to understand the information spectrum, you first have to understand all the new technologies, trends, and innovation taking place right now. But there are flaws in that thinking as one new technology supplants another. So, first thing you need to do — start building an information database. For all you strategists out there, you need some type of system where you can gather information and access it easily. I’ve built myself TheWebward.com – I call it my morning business review, but it’s really an information database.

You can try RSS aggregators like Digg Reader or create your own. But keeping up-to-date with the technology landscape is your first lesson in strategy. Did you know Baidu is leading the way in conversational interfaces? Or that Blockchain can help fight cyberattacks? Do you know what Blockchain is?

Lost in the Strategy Sky

As you begin your journey into strategy, you may feel lost at times. It happens to everyone and that’s okay. But if you’re lost and can’t find answers, look to other industries. One thing that’s helped me tremendously in developing my strategy process is turning to other sectors that have had strategists for decades. The military, politics, and the intelligence community all have resources on strategy out there that you can research. Then take their core principles and apply them to the digital space. Again, I’ll go into this more in upcoming posts, but I feel like this isn’t really a micro-blog post anymore!

Ok, more to come on Strategy in Context.