The marketing landscape has changed quite dramatically in the past 10 years. Marketers have always been the gatekeepers of things like brand, segmentation, research, messaging, promotion and sales tools. But today they have to shoulder a whole new set of burdens. Things like crafting compelling interactive experiences, creating intuitive interfaces for different types of screens and devices, making them measurable, shareable, findable, accessible and, dare I say...integrated.

Digital marketing initiatives now need to go far beyond one-way, passive mediums.

This is where things start to get complicated. Digital marketing initiatives now need to go far beyond one-way, passive mediums. They often leverage content management systems, analytics, transactions, response marketing opt-ins and even fulfillment. They also now regularly interface directly into other CRM systems or databases. To put it bluntly, brands seldom need to create “sites” anymore, they need to create “applications.”

Note: I am using the word “applications” holistically to encompass everything from large scale, dynamic websites to actual mobile sites and apps (plus everything in between).

Applications is a scary word for some. It’s definitely not one of those trusty four P’s (product, price, place, promotion) taught by marketing professors back in the day. It doesn’t even fall into the more modern-day fifth P (people, position or participation, depending on who you ask).

Building applications requires a level of expertise from many different disciplines - and each one must deliver against business objectives and the needs of the end user, or things can quickly come undone. It’s one thing to build applications, but it’s still the marketer’s job to ensure they deliver the goods.

Once your business strategy is defined, we recommend our clients focus their attention on three distinct dimensions.

Content Strategy

Content includes the text, graphics, animations, video, and audio that make up a useful, usable and engaging interactive experience. It is one of the most valuable assets in which a company can invest. Content strategy is the practice of planning for content creation, delivery, and governance/curation. Ultimately, relevant, engaging, timely content is what drives successful interactions and compels users to take the next step, like opting in, deciding to purchase or contacting sales.

User Experience

Effective site design takes into account the structure of content, hierarchy and navigation. It focuses on end-user needs and their contexts across all platforms including desktop and mobile. Here’s an example of context - somebody who is using her desktop computer to research what restaurant to eat at on Saturday night is keenly interested in reading the menu and seeing some photos of the interior. Someone who is driving to the restaurant and wants to look up the phone number on their mobile device so he can quickly call in a reservation could care less about the menu or the photos.

Technology

I could write pages about this topic, but I’ll keep it short. From a user’s perspective, websites and apps just need to work. From a marketer’s perspective they need to be hassle-free, work on all the devices their customers use and be measurable in a way that ties back to business objectives. This is where technology choices can make or break your initiatives. As a marketer, you don’t need to understand all of the technical issues, but you do need to be clear about what your functionality expectations are, and how you can effectively measure your digital efforts.

At Toolhouse, these three areas of focus inform everything we do, from our research methodology to strategic recommendations and, ultimately, our creative delivery. As such, they are tightly woven into our process from beginning to end. We’ve found it’s the best way to ensure success on multiple levels and, most importantly, make those successes repeatable moving forward.

If you are considering any digital initiative, make sure you have all three of these areas covered in your up-front planning and keep them in mind as your project progresses. If any one of them fall down, it’s highly likely your project will fail.

Also, engage an agency that specializes in digital. Traditional marketing agencies that attempt to span print, advertising and digital simply don’t have the deep specialization required to do highly effective and accessible work in the digital space. Non-specialized agencies tend to create static extensions of their print and ad campaigns. While this might provide another check box on the launch to-do list, it doesn’t do your product or your audience the justice they deserve.