I’m a Jim Collins fan. One of his books, "Good to Great", is a shining light for business management. The concept of good to great is extremely powerful and can be easily applied to a company’s web presence and digital communication.
We constantly ask ourselves: What differentiates a good corporate web presence from a great one?
This is a loaded question, as there are literally hundreds of working parts that combine to create something truly great. We've distilled this down to four essential, aligned groups: a roadmap, a quality user experience, and an optimisation and participation programme.
You must have a roadmap
It sounds obvious, though every great web presence begins with a strategic roadmap. This takes into consideration the broader business strategy, your audience, marketing and IT plans, and often ventures beyond the ‘website’.
Importantly, this consultative process is as much about challenging the brief as it is responding to it. Great roadmaps eliminate assumption to ensure that no opportunity is overlooked.
An effective roadmap ultimately provides a strategic vision for the future and a clear (and unique) channel proposition, supported by a holistic group of measurable tactics aligned with the broader business objectives. Without one, your wheels may be turning, but you’re driving without direction.
A quality user experience is hard work
The best experiences appear simple to the end user, but are incredibly well-planned and crafted.
Highly respected sites, such as Apple, the Guardian, or AustralianSuper, all deliver an experience that is intuitive and effectual for both business and end user.
Achieving this is challenging and requires a genuine commitment (borderline obsession) to the end user.
Everything is driven by insight – from customer feedback, site analytics and consumer behavior studies. Great digital design begins with the knowledge that users rule.
Another essential element is harmony between design and technology. With a great experience, functionality always exists (to help you achieve your goal), though it’s always unobtrusive. Have you purchased an album in iTunes lately? If so, when was the last CD you bought in store? The great experiences are powerful enough to change consumer behaviour.
Providing a great experience is multi-faceted. Every aspect of an experience needs professional consideration, from architecture and interface design, content, interaction, accessibility and functionality. Crafting these together requires time and effort – up front and ongoing - though it’s only through this investment that you can differentiate good from great.
The beginning
As a digital communication agency, it’s tempting to think we’ve nailed it at the end of every design phase. This is disingenuous and dangerous, as a web presence can rarely be great first time around. Even if it is, it won’t last long without analysis and optimisation.
The agency and the client must work together to ensure an optimisation programme is established. The site must continually improve and evolve with the business. Thinking back to the roadmap, an optimisation programme plays a fundamental role in measuring and monitoring performance. It’s about maximising effectiveness and driving a return on investment.
Data and analytics are the backbone of optimisation. But it’s what you do with it that really matters. It’s only actionable data that can inspire and lead to positive change (read Stephen's blog post for more detail).
Ultimately a great web presence does not stand still. It’s constantly changing from a marketing, communication and functional perspective. Evolving based on real insight.
Once the brand has established its digital presence, ongoing success is achieved by focusing on continual improvement. This involves making both small and large changes and measuring the results against the organisation’s goals.
Participation
Markets have always been about conversation. The web has super-charged this behaviour, with conversation regarding your product or service now more accessible than ever. If you’re in the business of selling something, the channel can no longer be underestimated. The internet has changed marketing forever.
Whether top-down, two-way, or customer-to-customer, conversations are increasing in frequency and location everyday. Customers are firmly in control.
How you respond to this is your decision. The great examples (eg. Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Skittles, Dell, Starbucks) have embraced this changing behaviour. Participation, engagement and dialogue are now part of the PR and marketing plan. Social media is an increasingly important element of the digital brand experience. It’s no surprise 75% of Fortune 100 companies plan to undertake some sort of social networking initiative in 2009 (Gartner Group).
A good website can deliver reasonable results on its own. However if you want it to be great, as in business (and life), there are no short cuts. Creating a high-performing digital presence, with long-term effectiveness, can only be realised with a strategic approach, professional execution (design and technology) and a commitment to continuous improvement.
It’s difficult, but that’s what makes it exciting and the spoils all the richer for those who get it right. It’s all real and within reach. You just need the vision and determination to make it happen.