The secrets to digital success – a brand perspective
Everybody is talking digital; agencies, marketers, consultancies, technology firms and consumers. Information, content and services can be accessed from a multitude of platforms, from mobile to gaming consoles and touch screen kiosks to web connected TVs.
Many brands want to improve their digital presence whether it is to improve internal efficiencies or the customer experience. But the digital landscape is constantly evolving as is consumer behaviour. Brands therefore often find they are chasing a moving target and are behind on one digital-related curve or another.
What makes a digital initiative successful in a commercial sense is quite often similar to non-digital initiatives. There needs to be a clear and attractive market niche which brands have yet to recognise, fulfil or lead. The market opportunity firstly needs to be assessed properly and a business case created. The opportunity needs to be tackled with a clear vision, proposition, strategy and objectives from which realistic success measures can be drawn. But in an increasingly competitive and converged media/technology landscape, competition and consumer attitudes are in constant flux. Michael Porter states that in order to achieve a leadership position in a market place, brands have to lead by competitive differentiation or by price. But in the digital world these do not remain stable for very long. From a digital perspective, brands can increase their chances of competitive differentiation and ultimately success by considering the following:
- Make the digital proposition compelling. Combine product innovation with an engaging cross-channel user experience and content from initial awareness right through to service. Good examples include Amazon, which has a personalised multi-channel shopping experience and BBC’s iPlayer for its multi-channel delivery and consistency. Brands should plan for continual improvement to stay competitive and attractive to consumers. A strategic roadmap for development and regular competitor evaluation are key activities to help maintain a compelling offering.
- Extend reach. Although a digital proposition should be targeted at specific audiences with identifiable characteristics, brands should aim to reduce barriers to engagement, to ensure they are not limiting their addressable market. Key opportunities to extend reach include improving access (eg, removing or softening the requirement for logging in) and reducing or even eliminating price. Brands need to consider whether they really have permission to charge consumers for access.
- Build a following. Brands should not focus too hard on achieving ROI in the short term; rather, test the core proposition with the market and then develop it further whilst identifying opportunities for future revenue generation. Brands should focus on understanding their consumers and use this insight to help develop the proposition – test and learn on an on-going basis.
- Focus on long-term profitability. Brands should aim to lower cost of sale and other transaction costs where possible, as this is one of the main benefits of doing things ‘digitally’. This is in addition to maintaining strong control of ongoing development and support costs. All long-term benefits and costs should be included in the business case, as we are still in an era where proving ROI is critical.
- Build consumer trust. Brands should look to turn their most engaged audiences into advocates and reward engagement. For example, brands can develop their loyalty program to reward consumers for writing a product review, recommending a product to their friends on social networks, or making the brand’s site a favourite bookmark, etc. Ultimately, brands need to listen to what their target audience says and incorporate its feedback in future development. Long gone are the days of broadcast marketing; now it’s all about ongoing and relevant conversations.
Don’t be fooled, the digital marketplace is constantly evolving and long-term success is difficult to guarantee. Digital is not like other sectors as ‘test and learn’ is more commonplace and a product/service being in ‘beta’ for a while is perfectly acceptable.
Having developed successful digital strategies for several clients across various industry sectors, we have learned that long-term planning combined with ongoing development is necessary to maintain success. Talk to our Strategy and Planning team to help you develop and deliver a successful digital proposition.
By Paresh Gandhi
Tags: brand, digital, digital strategy, profitability, proposition, reach, ROI, success, trust