How do I develop a winning ongoing Web strategy?
A Web strategy that continues to perform is an ongoing process of planning, executing, measuring and adjusting.
Planning your Web strategy is often the most intense and most crucial exercise. Again, your website goals are your litmus test for identifying, evaluating and selecting the tactics you will use, as well as how and when to measure their successes.
A great rule of thumb is to be readily able to answer:
- What goal you are furthering with a tactic.
- How it influences or causes this progress.
- What metric you are using to gauge it.
In addition to the core functionality and flexibility of your website that supports this iterative process, it is key to have talent on board that understands the balance and interdependencies of different Web marketing tactics. This allows you to best execute to achieve your goals.
When measuring your Web marketing performance, focus on metrics that are tied to achieving your goals. An example of this is to look at not just the number of leads a tactic generates, but also the cost per lead and the percentage that converts to proposals and sales. This perspective will keep you from getting lost in the metrics, which is easily done.
Regular analysis will guide the critical fine-tuning of your Web marketing mix. This is an ongoing effort, customized to your business and the evolving conditions of your marketplace. When done right, your Web strategy can be made of very different elements from one year to another, and for good reason. It needs to be a moving arrow locked onto your moving target.
Taking this disciplined approach to crafting your Web game plan is how the consistent best performers separate themselves from the competition.
A constant of the Internet world is change. Very often this is rapid change. Having your core and flexibility in synch puts you ahead of the game. From there, it is vital to put in place the processes and the people who are skilled and equipped to keep the strategic cycle of Web marketing in motion and delivering best results.
For a snapshot of Bayshore Solutions’ Web marketing methodology, visit www.BayshoreSolutions.com/method.
Kevin Hourigan is the president and CEO of Bayshore Solutions. Reach him at (877) 535-4578 or www.BayshoreSolutions.com.
