1. Adopt a Digital Mindset
Executives must understand that the digital evolution is not only about the next hot social media tool. Rather, it is an overall shift that demands a corresponding shift in thinking. The digital mindset is grounded in a foundation of openness, flexibility, collaboration, and shared network thinking. The management team needs to adopt a digital mindset and integrate it into how they communicate and interact with their employees, consumers, and the greater community.
2. Build a Collaborative, Interdisciplinary Team
In designing and implementing a Digitally Integrated Organization, We must first harmonize the company’s infrastructure across the traditional silos of sales, information technology (IT), human relations (HR), operations, public relations (PR), advertising, and marketing. Each silo must transition to a collaboration of leaders whose roles (e.g. CMO, CIO) are redefined. Clearly, these departments are not dissolved, but rather are integrated in new ways for more effective decision-making.
3. Develop an Integrated Digital Marketing Strategy
Integrated marketing communications (IMC) refers to combining traditional marketing concepts with the Internet and social media to effectively connect with target markets. Digital Marketing builds on IMC by weaving digital, consumer advocacy, and broad data into a more comprehensive and responsive strategy. It recognizes the changing customer touch points and brings together converged media, integrating online, social, and mobile.
4. Understand Consumer Empowerment
Managers need to leverage the new power of the consumer by gaining input on brand, product, and distribution, and by prioritizing customer service. With the explosion of the Internet, social, and mobile, consumers are expanding their influence as product reviewers and sources of trusted information. We must build a social community of product advocates and brand champions.
5. Build a Powerful, Responsive Social Brand
Social brands need to respond to consumers and generate value to their social communities. We need to combine insights from social engagement and mentions, focus groups, and consumer/employee feedback to develop the brand promise and value proposition. The brand must be aligned with its customers’ needs and feedback.
6. Create Relevant Content
For the brand, as with other brands, content drives the customer experience (CX). For success in this rapidly changing digital environment, the marketing team must develop content that is easy to access and provides value to its target audience. Content is not about broadcasting ads to sell more products, services, but about engaging and involving customer input and creating an unparalleled CX. Regular articles, blog posts on various aspects of product would be considered valuable content.
7. Generate Customers from Social Communities and Global Networks
The shared network lies at the core of Integrated Digital Marketing. Through social network analysis, we can match common interests and buying patterns with digital consumer behaviors, providing access to new communities of potential consumers.
8. Leverage Data Appropriately
Big data is the new digital buzzword for organizations. We need to use it to aggregate and analyze social engagement and use the results into our digital strategy. There are significant sources of “Iow hanging data” that can be plucked and readily integrated into marketing strategies.
9. Monitor Digital Footprint
Listening to feedback and using social tools to monitor company chatter and social performance are the building blocks of responsive strategies. Alerts, analytics, and social mentions can provide us with real-time insight into the organization’s digital footprint and guide timely adjustments.
10. Evaluate Digital ROI
Digital return on investment (DROI) helps brands analyze the performance of traditional and digital tools in achieving company goals. This expanded ROI reflects company-wide performance in the digital environment. It considers the impact of digital technologies on brand engagement, customer relationships, and advocacy, in addition to traditional action metrics of exposure, sales, and profit.
11. Demonstrate the Value of the Social Enterprise
We need to integrate digital technologies to generate innovation and collaboration throughout the organization to ensure our market position and growth. We need to create a social business environment that inspires change and innovative solutions. Doing so will create long-term sustainability.
Have you met any of these processes in your organization?
Let me know!