Creating a digital strategy
Following the launch of new web assets, a key clients digital strategy went into a review period whilst the impact of a variety of initiatives were assessed.
Braid was tasked with assessing this impact, identify opportunities and develop a customer journey plan. The review brought out a wide range of issues, not least how to put results in context to overall activity and a structure to identify new opportunities.
The audit which followed built a picture of the customer journey, and highlighted gaps and opportunities. The process culminated in a model developed by Braid and referred to as Tapestry
The start
New marketing assets had been deployed including a website, call handling functionality, marketing email platform, advertising assets and a large user generated content campaign.
A comprehensive analysis of all digital traffic was undertaken. Benchmarks were established, in part based on experience, as well as research of competitor data, general market data and best practice. Goal association, and the integrated relationship between influencing and final click attribution determined.
Web performance also needed benchmarking to develop a response to the different stages that visitors had reached in their home buying journey. target improvements were based on engagement signals, interpretation of the appropriateness of content and device performance.
Communication plan performance needed reporting structures to relate third party platform data against the reality of final engagement. A campaign generating thousands of impressions, opens, dwells, forms fills may be deemed a success by the agency, but if the resulting database consists of people who just wondered if it looks nice then the funds have not been spent appropriately!
Project approach
Braid’s approach was simple in one sense
- Establishing reporting structures
- Develop user knowledge
- Test, measure, assess current routes
- Identify gaps in the customer stream; from researchers to buyers
- Timeline development of assets and campaigns to maximise market intention
The planning of the process led to a linear format, with a cell of activity for a variety of topical areas. Such an approach also ensured there was no initial hierarchy; all aspects of the journey had an initial weight.
The project
Following the initial research, we developed a process to identify all touch points used, or potentially available, at each stage of the customer journey.
Broadly, we moved from;
- 1
Stranger
- 2
Researcher
- 3
Consideration
- 4
Transaction
- 5
Advocate
At each stage in the journey we mapped all influencing communication options. This included content mapping, contact options and recruitment drivers. Each step included a weighting, based on opportunity and worth.
Once the Tapestry skeleton was ready, all activity was mapped into the structure. The contribution and cost were also overlaid. This highlighted gaps, as well as the relative influence of certain channels over others. Analysis also looked at the ROAS result based against lead, as well as deposit stages and final purchase.
The analysis identified a number of new learnings and led to adjustments in the focus of marcoms spend, as well as the development of new avenues of lead generation, and contact development.
A key element was the formation of a contact plan to nurture enquirers, ensuring the sales managers had more information, and focus on managing visitors and enquirers.
See the Strata website here
Tapestry extended
The Tapestry process has been used with a number of Braid clients to build a detailed picture of gaps in digital strategy, and the relative worth of all elements of the strategy. The process has brought new learnings, better planning and strategic changes to those businesses.
The Tapestry process can be refreshed, and should be treated as a dynamic planning tool, evolving and raising opportunities each time the data is revisited.
