07.01.09
What does the success of my organization look like? (BAOWP2)
“The real winners in life are the people who look at every situation with an expectation that they can make it work or make it better.” Barbara Pletcher
Redraft of second essay from the ‘Black Art of Web Publishing’ site http://www.blackartofwebpublishing.com/
What are you trying to do?
What is your organization’s objective? How will your organization achieve this objective? How do you measure this success - what will it look like? Sound’s obvious, but like much that is obvious, it is also often forgotten or ignored as we let detail and complexity derail us.
Write down your answers and check everything that you do back against objectives and measures - make them a mantra. Even producing the answers is probably not as obvious, or as easy, as you may have assumed. Lets spend a short amount of time looking at ‘Business Strategy’ and why understanding it is so important to effective online publishing.
The ‘top of the pyramid’ - a nice view!
The temptation with online communication is to start in your comfort zone. Most authors start writing, most designers start designing, most developers start cutting code and on and on we go. As the saying goes, if you’re a hammer, most problems look like a nail!
You may not be the source of your organization’s strategy. You may not even be able to influence it in any significant manner, however, if you are going to be an effective online publisher, you had better take more than a passing interest in the strategy you are aiming to implement and deliver. So before we jump into the ‘middle of the pyramid’ - design, structure, content and message - let’s set the goal posts, so that when we get to measuring effectiveness, we have a clear understanding of what the objectives, measures and signs of success are.
Practical first steps
There is a host of material available on business strategy and planning if you are starting at the beginning, otherwise, if you already have a business plan, objective statement or marketing material, grab hold of them as a place to start. You can go the whole way and do market research, competitor analysis and apply business theory such as Porter’s 5 Forces, SWOT analysis, Gap analysis and so on. The determination here should be on the size and scope of the project you are undertaking.
If you are just looking to make sure you are heading in the right direction, then take the time to cover the basics:
1) Primary Objective(s) – What is the primary aim of the organization?
2) Target(s) – The organization knows it is successfully achieving its objectives when?
3) Method(s) – The organization fulfills its objectives by doing / producing / undertaking?
4) Market – To be successful, the organization needs to communicate with?
It is also worth documenting where possible:
5) Audience – Everyone, specific segment, geography, age, profession, or defining characteristic.
6) Stage of Development – Start-up, Early Growth, Established, Mature, Multiple/Complex.
7) Target Metrics - Such as revenue, profit, customers, growth rate, production, market share.
All of this information will assist with cross-checking online publish activity and defining tactical objectives for actions taken. Time spent in the strategy phase leads to time saved in implementation and of course a much better chance of achieving operational goals.
Now that we covered the importance of strategy (BAOWP1) and documenting business strategy (BAOWP2), the next post will be specifically discussing the crafting of a website publishing strategy that delivers on the organization’s objectives. Hold onto your strategy information and answers to the questions above, you are going to need them.