Why your communications strategy and plan is dead
The new information landscape has changed the way we work. The other day someone asked me - what happened with the “old school” communications strategy and plan, why is there not anything online which is consistent and why can’t one find an example? My theory is that digital came and evaluated (I hate the word disrupt its so negative) the entire marketing and communications game and way of working. For the better. And thus killed communication strategy and plan and left only strategy in it’s wake as it paired itself with marketing and content.
I have my own conclusion and theory base on my experience and perspective and I think it’s because the context has changed so much:
How to start working with data to increase sales
A cornerstone in your marketing activities is to work with the data you have. You don't need to be a senior web analyst or a data scientist to do this. Today a Marketing Manager or CMO need to have the knowledge about key metrics and the competence to harness the power of data to transform it into ROI action for the business they market and work for.
Larger companies have already started working with more advanced techniques, such as Machine Learning, predictive analysis and so forth and every company, no matter how large or small, will have to improve the way and also increase the understanding of data, to be part of the future. Being data driven is now a competitive advantage and in the very near future it will be standard procedure for being able to stay within the competition for a customers attention or will to purchase.
Here is a simple framework that anyone can master that will help you start working with data, to turn it into insight and action. Without being complicated.
Digital marketing strategy
This is my 10 minute digital marketing strategy template. It's designed with questions to take you from your current situation to evaluation of the activities you choose to do. This is a very swift, not that in dept process, which purpose is to get you started.
If you are managing more then one market, simply add a section to cater for that. Of course its also available as a download (word) which you can get from the document s & templates section.
Note that this version requires you to already have done your homework in terms of your brand, it's role in digital (tone of voice, how to communicate with copy, images etc, story, values and so on) as well as product and offering.
Defining the Customer Journey to Online Purchase (Path to Purchase)
A user journey/path to purchase is useful to help you develop communication, content and marketing strategies that are from your customers or potential customers point of view (i.e need based).
I like to simplify, so I have abandoned the classic AIDA model (attention, intention, desire and action) which was used in school way, way back then for: See, think, do and care - which from my perspective is more straightforward and easy to use in the work I do with my clients and more applicable in our current context (remember the AIDA model originated around 1898).