Why we don’t sell websites, but goals
The last digital project took quite a long time and was much too expensive in the end. Can this be avoided? And if so, how?
Not every briefing shows at first glance that a customer has something serious in mind with his digital project. Often it seems as if the website, the integration of digital services or the social media project is a tiresome compulsory exercise with no discernible added value. The performance of digital communication and sales instruments is still not clear to many people today.
The website is “getting on in years”, the design is “no longer up to date”. One wishes an examination whether an integration of Social Media Share Buttons on the starting side is recommendable, and how one can correspond to the European data security right.
DIGITAL IS HARD TO SELL INTERNALLY
The website must be responsive to work on mobile devices. By the way, one learns all kinds of things about the composition of the target group and what IT has to say about the requirements. It quickly becomes apparent that the website usually has an end in itself and thus a difficult position vis-à-vis sales and management.
A business website is tuned like for Formula 1
WHEN THE ADAC MAN SAYS “RUNNING”, THE CUSTOMER IS SATISFIED!
It often seems as if many companies have stopped with their websites, like the private individual with his car at the roadside. They then call an Internet agency as if it were the ADAC to get the car back on the road. The mechanic then fumbles here and there, at the end he presses the start button and realizes with a stoic expression:
“Runs again. Ugh, then we exhale with relief and say, “I wouldn’t know what I would have done without you. Thank you very much!” Then we finally drive on again – only, nobody cares but ourselves.
Anyone who works professionally with their digital project does not wait for the ADAC and is happy that the engine is even on. Like in Formula 1, it tunes its racing machine to special targets. For example, maximum acceleration on short sprints instead of permanent top speed, a chassis for fast load changes in many very tight bends instead of the most stable steering behavior possible when driving straight on the motorway. But these strategic considerations are individual – perhaps your Formula 1 will take place off-road, and above all, you need a lot of torque, indestructible tires and a high suspension.
Why it helps to think in terms of goals
The digital world appears in a completely different light and far less mysterious when it comes to pursuing concrete goals. Surprisingly, however, in addition to the many abstract terms used in the briefings mentioned at the beginning, the simple but specific demand for more distribution rarely appears.
THE GOAL IS THE WAY – NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND
Instead, many think alike in terms of measures. In doing so, they are leading the way but putting the goal in the background.
Some people do it right now. One of our customers literally named the goal of the new digital strategy: “Leads, leads, leads.” That’s exactly what he got. Now he has the task of implementing this strategy for the entire group of companies.
Goals are mobile
SPEED IS DECISIVE
Thinking in terms of goals is a dynamic process. Because goals move. And in the digital age, they move fast. A goal set a year ago may already be irrelevant, unnecessary or even risky. Such rigid monolithic
“Elbphilharmonie projects” do not even permit a sensible digital strategy. It must be able to respond easily even to complex conditions and with a new plan that can be implemented quickly.
The prerequisites for this only exist if your digital agency has internalized the corresponding way of working and the technologies used permit a driving style in 10th gear.
You can expect something else from thinking in terms of goals: tangible results, measurable in indicators, performance indicators or KPIs. After all, nobody on the Nürburgring just drives around in circles. All drivers are only interested in one thing – being the first to cross the finish line. Suspension and engine tuning, pit stops, tyre changes and team tuning are all part of a highly agile strategy that is adjusted immediately when it rains or the sun burns.
Up to the chequered flag – up to the finish line!
