by Randall CraigFiled in: Blog, Communication, Digital Strategy, Make It Happen Tipsheet
Does the trend to digital mean that traditional communications are effectively… dead? That all of your traditional communication tools (newsletters, magazines, brochures, booklets, etc) are destined for the trash heap?
One only needs to look at the sorry plight of the newspaper business to see that the future doesn’t look rosy. The world has changed.
Or have we so bought into the inevitability of technology that it has blinded us to what we are giving up? And have we left many of our key target audiences frustrated, disengaged, or abandoned? Consider your own behavior:
For many people, the answer to many of these questions, sadly, is no. Digital is not the solution to every problem, and sometimes it creates completely new issues.
Most sophisticated organizations understand it is the synthesis between digital and the real-world that creates connection and opportunity. And for this reason, any digital initiative needs to be planned not just from an “implementation” perspective, but also a “process integration” perspective as well, with the key audiences at the center of every effort.
While today’s hot topic might be Digital Transformation with a capital D and capital T, some of the heavy lifting is surprisingly easy, and just plain common sense. Consider the evolution of a simple monthly “print” newsletter or magazine:
Has your rush to digital been centered on the desire to reduce internal costs, the desire to be on the tech bandwagon (eg an event app, social media, a shiny new website) or on the requirements of your key audiences? This week, go back five years, and re-look at the traditional communications that you no longer do. Has anything been lost? (And if so, welcome to stage four.)
Marketing insights: Stage Three – Process Change is special because it improves internal efficiency, in this case changing the editorial process from a batch mode to a continuous one. Stage Four – Measurement and Awakening is important because it speaks to the importance of market research, measurement, and alignment. Stage Five – Audience-centered is important because it puts the focus on delivering value to key audiences. Digital Transformation is not about websites, mobile apps, or databases: it is about using these tools to achieve the benefits of Stage Three and Stage Five, with an always-on Stage Four. And more importantly it is about moving beyond incremental change – and getting to Stage Six. This is what builds sustainable competitive advantage.
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