Download - Interactive Customer Engagement

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January 27, 2011

Interactive Customer EngagementIs Your Current Marketing Team Up to the Challenge?

Siteworx

11480 Commerce Park Drive

Third Floor

Reston, VA 20191

www.siteworx.com

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Who We Are

Shadee Sedghi, Marketing Coordinator

David Nickelson, PsyD, JD, Director of Digital Engagement

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Featured Clients

Awards

Siteworx Overview

Award-winning Interactive Agency

Specialize in WCM/CMS, Search, and Analytics

Majority of clients are Fortune 1000

Strong qualifying track record for Financial, Media and Nonprofit

Extensive experience with Open Source, COTS and Custom solutions; Microsoft Gold Certified Partner

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What We’ll Cover

1. What kind of interactive marketing department do you have now?

2. What is does the ideal interactive marketing department look like?

3. How do you get from the department you have to the one you need?

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The only constant is change….

An increasingly integrated and networked world, driven by consumers, not

companies.

Current and future role of marketing and advertising is widely discussed and debated

See: “Future of Advertising”, Fast Company, Nov. 17, 2011.

• Many interactive teams and marketing departments are struggling

• Too much or too little authority

• Little strategic direction or prioritization

• Splintered or constrained structures

• Redundant or missing skills and positions

• One NPO has restructured both Marketing group and Interactive team three times in

two years; another twice in two years. Many similar stories from for-profit

businesses….

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What Kind of Interactive Marketing Department Do You Have Now?

Interactive marketing departments continue to evolve from Traditional to Networked

Currently, most departments have a Transitional structure

Traditional

Transitional Centralized

Transactional

Networked

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Case Studies

From Traditional to Centralized to Networked

American Diabetes Association (ADA)

From Transitional (Centralized) to Networked

Rubbermaid

From Transitional (Transactional) to Networked

Meijer

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Traditional

“Creative Brief”

Silo support

Reactive -- not strategic

Four “P’s”? Often just one P anymore….

Example: ADA (circa 2008)

“Internet” team

Marketing team

Communications team

No central strategy or authority

No coordinated practices, procedures or project management

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Emerging Transitional Models

Model 1) = Centralized

Support multiple brands and business functions

Channel experts

Guide programs, not brand

Execute campaigns

Remain together as team that supports other departments on the organizational chart

Example: Rubbermaid

Central team had overlapping skills (and skill gaps) w/ brands and other departments

Frequently built “one-off” interactive tools for one department that could not be repurposed

Closed platforms, few APIs

All responsibility, no authority

Budget was isolated from business goals

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Emerging Transitional Models

Model 2) = Transactional

Drive online transactions and online sales

Integrated into brands and business functions

Web, online acquisition and on-site conversion reside on ecommerce team

Located exclusively within the eCommerce or online Sales division; focus is on driving transactions

Example: Maijer

Interactive Marketing team was part of eCommerce department w/i Advertising group

Prioritized transactions and conversions

Budget priorities were set by department, not by group

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What Does the Ideal Interactive Marketing Department Look Like?

Networked (Distributed) Interactive Marketing Department

Align interactive staff and expertise with brands and corporate functions

Key staff, skills and responsibilities live within the business unit, but are still connected and operate as a team

Team remains connected via a real or virtual (dotted line) arrangement that ensures all interactive digital processes and deliverables are standardized

Develop and maintain standards (forms, data, templates, platforms, vendors, etc.)

Develop and maintain SOPs (intake, project management, etc.)

Team leader assumes responsibility for strategy, integration and coordination of all interactive marketing activities

Responsible for customer engagement strategy and execution

Responsible for delivering unified interactive customer experience (transparent multi-channel engagement)

Team members are responsible for customer contact strategy

No matter what title, role and formal responsibilities, team members also evangelists, educators and business analysts at all times

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How Do You Get From the Department You Have to the One You Need?

Five Steps

Assess

Assert

Act

Measure

Repeat

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Step 1) Assess Start with Business Objectives

Strategic plan: Key objectives

Develop “spill down” departmental objectives

Develop testable, measureable goals:

– Traffic? Transactions? Conversions? Renewals? Memberships? Revenue? Others KPIs?

– NB: Pick Top 3 – 5 with highest impact; stand, crawl, walk, run…

Skills needed

Develop list of projects that are helping/will help meet goals and objectives

Parse projects into skills

What specific skill sets are required to structure and manage the tactics, and complete the tasks?

Are these skill sets available elsewhere in the organization?

More cost effective to use a vendor?

Develop Position Descriptions

Group tasks and skill sets together logically

e.g., do not put “Proficient w/ AJAX” in the same position as “Develop project management plan and timeline with stakeholders”

Collect job descriptions

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Develop Departmental Structure

Focus on tasks, responsibilities and skills, not titles or current FTE allocation

Focus on developing a structure that models the integration you believe the organization would benefit from – that is, LEAD!

Build direct and “dotted-line” teams that both consult and produce

If more than one team, the teams should complement and not compete

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BEWARE! During the “Assess” DO NOT:

Create objectives that do not “roll up” to a key organizational objective

Publically identify gaps in the department that you are far from having the ability to fill

Discuss with current staff

Assess whether current staff do or do not possess needed skills

It’s “Lonely Manager” time….

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Step 2) Assert:

Put findings in a written document or PowerPoint

Share your findings “up”; seek support and sponsorship within – and outside – of current structure

If major changes are possible (e.g., eliminating or significantly changing positions), consider sharing your findings with Human Resources department

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Step 3) Act

Once you have the support of your supervisor and any other required executive staff:

Talk with HR about best practices/ preferred approach for communicating to staff and stakeholders

Schedule necessary staff and stakeholder meetings

Set short, clear, appropriate and very public deadlines for transitions

Move quickly and fairly through the process

Execute list of projects created at “Assess” step

Evangelize and educate

Try new things

Fail fast

Learn what works (and what does not)

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Step 4) Measure

KPI’s: developed during “Assess” phase

Build team business cycle that complements and supports brand and corporate unit business cycles

Measure (Benchmark)

Analyze

Recommend

Develop

Repeat

Add new KPI’s only after you understand impact of current KPI’s

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Step 5) Repeat

Never stop reassessing current structure and positions

NB: Revisit every 24 months or risk not evolving fast enough

Anticipate the future and look for development opportunities for current staff

Regularly scan and assess skill sets in other departments; is there duplication, or could there be a logical collaboration that benefits both departments, and the organization as a whole?

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Case Studies

American Diabetes Association: From Traditional to Centralized to Networked

Was…

“Internet Services” team

+ Marketing team

+ Communications team

No central strategy or authority

No coordinated practices, procedures or project management

Is Becoming…

Merged Communications and Marketing; Online Services became Internet Strategy & Operations w/i MarCom group. More recently, IS&O staff and responsibility redistributed into other departments, coordinated by virtual “dotted line” teams.

Allowed Marketing and Interactive to mature before distributing into and across business units

Director of Digital Marketing

Responsible for interactive strategy, standardization, and project management

Reports to SVP of Marketing

KPIs: traffic & transactions acquisition & engagement loyalty & LVPC

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Case Studies

Rubbermaid: From Transitional (Centralized) to Networked

Was….

Central team had overlapping skills (and skill gaps) w/ brands and other departments

Frequently built “one-off” interactive tools for one department that could not be repurposed

Closed platforms, few APIs

All responsibility, no authority

Budget was isolated from business goals

Is Becoming…

Now an executive overseeing interactive marketing; reported to CIO w/ dotted line to CMO; create a blend of technology and marketing with credibility

Continually streamlining technology resources and processes

Leading development of enterprise-level web strategy, determining how and why each brand should be online.

Supporting an open web platform for all brand sites -- reducing costs and improving third-party collaboration

Standardizing campaign templates and processes to make execution easier across brands

Share cost and accountability with brands

Brands and corporate share costs of development of function and platform

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Case Studies

Meijer: From Transitional (Transactional) to Networked

Was…

Interactive Marketing team was part of eCommerce department w/i Advertising group

Prioritized transactions and conversions, not customer experience

Budget priorities were set by department, not by group

Now Becoming….

Interactive group now organized to support brands and corporate functions, from single location – for now…

Allowing Interactive to mature before distributing into and across brands

NB: Core groups ½ digital and ½ traditional, focused on “lead generation” and “customer retention”

Created dedicated Digital “leader” position

Responsible for interactive strategy, projects and operations.

Reports to Director of Advertising

Demonstrate digital “wins” and insights that inform offline activities

Project budgeting is shared w/ brand or corporate function

KPIs: Loyalty, brand engagement, community and social media measures

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Surviving the Transition

Challenges between traditional and transitional

Legacy….

Org Charts (silos)

Politics

Systems

Staff

Digital Assets

Budgets

Challenges between transitional and distributed

Channel more important than the customer

Not strategic

Skills are “force fed”, not aligned

Understaffed

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Success Factors

Initial and ongoing benchmarking

Integrate with Customer Intelligence groups

Customer Experience Management (CEM)

Business Intelligence (BI)

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Other analytic and analysis groups that provide insight about customers

Educate, educate, educate

Try and fail fast

Develop internal team skills

Create “talent pipeline” – interns, etc.

Empower all departments to embrace interactive

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Contact Information

David Nickelson, PsyD, JD

Director of Digital Engagement

Siteworx, Inc.

[email protected]

703-657-1280

Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/DrDNickelson

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin/in/DNickelson

Skype: DrDNickelson

Delicious: DrDNickelson

Download - Interactive Customer Engagement

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