The Content Development Culture – Creating the content rich organization.

Posted by Ron on February 20th, 2013

A friend and client who recently took over as head of a large technology company recently wrote to me with the following:

“I have found a lack of skills on content everywhere – marketing creatives, sales collateral, product documentation, even on-screen text on product pages. We’re not even sure what the right sort of person is to hire, but we know that the position is important – mere ‘tech’ is not enough to make world-class products!”

I responded with a power point covering the following:

1. Lets define ‘content’

Content is

  • collective learning,
  • nuggets of experience,
  • technical information,
  • how-to-guides,
  • marketing spiel,
  • stories and humor

that reflect the company’s thought processes and culture to customers, vendors and employees.

2. Why content development is all about culture

  • No business can generate good content solely from external sources
  • Best content includes inputs from tackling day to day issues
  • Content from energized and engaged employees boosts morale
  • True learning can only come from hard earned experience
  • Good content is always emotional, poignant and from the heart.

Therefore…

If employees are not engaged in the process,  sooner or later the initiative will fritter out.

3. A two pronged best strategy for content development

contentstrategy

 

4. Important inputs for your content development plan

Identify…

  • Key areas to focus content on
  • Types of content that can be created reliably.
  • Modes of delivery which provide the best coverage.
  • Best internal and external sources
  •  Best technology for delivery

5. Great Sources of Content are everywhere

  • Interviews with clients & employees
  •  Coverage of events and seminars
  •  Commentary on technology and world developments
  •  Technical articles & manuals
  •  Collaborations with guest writers
  •  Contests within the organization
  •  Problems, issues and break down events

6. Distributing the content through different channels

  • Company Blog
  • Company Newsletter
  • Slideshow Presentations
  • Videos & Multimedia
  • Product Handouts
  • Books & Magazines
  • Training Sessions & Special Events

7. Internal setup for content generation

  • Assign a content champion
  • Identify a core team or editorial board
  • Assign roving reporters
  • Hold short seminars to spread the word
  • Develop an incentive plan to reward good effort
  • Ensure buy in from top to bottom
  • Apply, rinse, repeat

8. External setup for content generation

  • Assign an agency
  • Clearly identify and quantify deliverables
  • Setup a quality control mechanism
  • Ensure allocation of funds in budget
  • Involve agency in internal initiatives
  • Apply, rinse, repeat

9. Keeping it going

  • Aim for national and international awards and competitions
  • Benchmark content to competitors
  • Benchmark content to best cases across industries
  • Invite motivational speakers to pump up morale
  • Start a toastmasters club within the company
  • Recognize employees for outstanding contribution
  • Get a virtuous cycle going.

10. The most important thing

Link good content to sales growth and profits. Nothing succeeds like success.

Cheers,
Ron

For a great content development programme…contact us

The Zen of Web Design from MiracleworX

Posted by Ron on February 18th, 2013

Book Reco: Understanding Micheal Porter by Joan Magretta

Posted by Ron on February 13th, 2013

understanding-michael-porterMicheal Porter is a legend in the field of competition and strategy and every business student will have read all about his five forces at some point or the other. However Micheal Porter is never light reading and his work can be intimidating for many.

Hence Joan Magretta’s book is a welcome change for understanding Porter’s work. Written in a no-nonsense to-the-point style, its an easy read but at the same time it does not lose  any of the importance of Porter’s work.  For the busy executive looking to brush up on his Porter, this is an excellent book.

The biggest plus point of this book is Joan’s attempt to clear misconceptions about Porter’s work and try to explain it in a jargon free manner. Porter’s work has always been open to interpretation and misuse. This book debunks many of the myths surrounding his theories and gets to the heart of the actual learning.

In Joan’s own words, “Too many managers get thier Porter second hand, and what they usually end up getting is both inadequate and inaccurate.”

The book covers 10 practical implications of Porter’s work

1. Vying to be the best is an intuitive but self-destructive approach to competition.

2. There is no honor in size and growth.

3. Competitive advantage is in creating unique value for customers and not in beating rivals.

4. A distinctive value proposition is essential for strategy.

5. Don’t feel you have to “delight” every customer out there.

6. No strategy is meaningful unless it makes clear what an organization will not do.

7. Don’t overestimate or underestimate the importance of good execution.

8. Good strategies depend on many choices, not one, and on the connections among them.

9. Too much change can be as disastrous  for strategy as too little.

10. Committing to strategy does not require heroic predictions about the future.

It is always difficult for an author when they are piggy backing on  the work of a legend but Joan Magretta does full justice to Porter’s work. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to any student of business, entrepreneur or business person.

Cheers,
Ron

Why buy books when you can borrow them at your door step – visit www.librarywala.com

 

 

Applying Micheal Porter’s Five Forces Model to the Web Design Industry

Posted by Ron on February 4th, 2013

Micheal Porter’s Five Forces industry analysis and strategy development is a staple in most business schools. Having come across it again in book I was reading I decided to apply it to our web design industry to see what kind of analysis we get. The result was not promising.

Here are the five forces in a nutshell.

fiveforces

Now putting these forces in the web design industry perspective we get the following.

Bargaining Power of Customers – High

In our industry I would have to say that bargaining power of customers is very high. We are frequently pitted against each other for pricing and delivery concessions. Most customers have the luxury of interviewing over a dozen web designers for a single project. They also have access to freelance websites where literally thousands of designers can bid for projects.

Bargaining Power of Suppliers – Moderate

Suppliers to our industry including web hosting companies, software companies, subscription service providers etc. Since its a fragmented industry and most web designers rarely band together to demand a better price, so suppliers usually exert moderate pressure.

However the good news is that our suppliers are themselves in a competitive market hence web designers still do retain some clout. There are of course exceptions such as Google Apps who have refused to lower prices or provide flexibility.

Threat of New Entrants – Very High

The barriers to entry in our business is very very low. Any person with a laptop and a little knowledge of html can promote themselves as web designers. Everyday, hundreds of new companies,  tiny and small, jump into the fray.

This usually leads to two problems – they drive down prices and they drive down industry reputation. This hurts the long term players like us.

 Threat of Substitute Products – High

The threat per se is not to websites themselves but comes from an internal source. Ready-to-use off-the-shelf do-it-your-self cheap websites are the threat. A great web designer can add tremendous value to a website and the client’s business but this is now being seriously undermined by quick fix solution providers.

Of course these providers are filling a need for low cost, fast solutions but they are also bottoming out the market in terms of cost and quality. You can compare them to fast food like McDonald’s whereas we are the fine dine gourmet restaurants. I suppose there will be place for both in this industry but for high value solution providers like us, its a constant threat.

Competitive Rivalry within an industry – Very High

This is a highly competitive industry. It is not common for web designers to be pitted against 5-10 other rivals.  Web designers are notorious for under cutting each other. In this scenario no one wins, not even the client. This is a very tough industry to survive in, let alone thrive.

Conclusion – Stick to your value proposition.

Surviving in an industry where the 5 forces are so strong and prevalent is about choosing a strong value proposition and sticking to it. Changing often or trying different positions will kill you. The survivors will be the ones who successfully build and defend a value position. This is a marathon not a sprint. Stick to your knitting, try and build a unique position and you might be one of the winners when the dust settles.

Cheers,
Ron

Interesting presentation on the perils of content marketing.

Posted by Ron on January 31st, 2013

An interesting presentation on the deluge of marketing content we are all exposed to. Enjoy.

Is your web designer like a bull dog? Tenacious and persistent?

Posted by Ron on January 21st, 2013

bulldogrunWhat an odd question you might say, but after 15 years in this business, the one quality I would say that is the most important for any web designer especially in India is – bull dog like persistence.

Here are some of the challenges web designers have to often face when trying to complete a project on time:

  • Client is never available, always travelling, or always busy.
  • Client is available but key person with important information is not available or busy.
  • Client off on a 2 week vacation without letting the web designer know (it happened!)
  • An important approval remains pending as the client canvasses 15 people in his organization
  • An important event or seminar takes up all the client’s time and energy.
  • A client simply does not care and puts the work on the back burner, leaving you stranded.
  • Too many other urgent issues take up the client’s priorities.
  • Client wants to take it slow and pace the project according to his timeline.

Throughout all this the web designer lays siege to the client’s office with countless phone calls, smses and even visits.

If the web designer is persistent and determined, he will eventually break through and get the project done but many times what was as a short term project stretches on and on.

In today’s day and age it takes mettle and guts to stick it out in the face of persistent rejection and delay. The heroic web designer sees it through to the end in the face of all obstacles and against all the odds.

From an heroic web designer.

Written very very late at night,
Ron

Quick Reads – A collection of interesting posts I came across in the last week.

Posted by Ron on January 21st, 2013

Some links to very interesting articles and posts I came across in my daily browsing. Enjoy.

 

Cheers,
Ron

Book Review: The Wave Rider by Ajit Balakrishnan

Posted by Ron on January 16th, 2013

thewaveriderWhen I worked at Rediff.com from early 1998 to mid 2002, Ajit Balakrishnan (AB as we affectionately called him) was my boss’s boss’s boss. I was very junior at that time and remember looking at AB with awe and fear. Although I never knew him well personally, he has always been an inspiring figure in our industry.

I picked up this book expecting to get into the mind of a genius and learn about the way he thinks but I was a bit disappointed. A large part of the book  reads like it’s been ghost written by some historian and AB’s personal  anecdotes and experiences are few and far between. Although the historical information about economics and evolution of the web was somewhat interesting, its not why I would want to read this book. This book should have been more about AB and on that count it dissappoints.

But whereever he has shared from his personal experience such as the 9/11 terrorist attack or the class action suite, the book comes alive. What was amazing was how much he seems to worry and care about his business and how much time he spends in introspection. That human dimension to him was what we were looking for in this book. He also quickly glosses over some critical periods and challenges in rediff’s growth which would have been quite useful for today’s younger generation.

Overall, if you haven’t met AB or worked at Rediff.com this book would be quite interesting but having seen the man in action my expectations were much higher.

I would still highly recommend this book to all students of the new age of technology and see the world from the perspective of a genius that is Ajit Balakrishnan.

With the deepest respect,
Ron

E-commerce re-targeting – Good idea or invasion of privacy?

Posted by Ron on January 14th, 2013

targetImagine you walk into a store and select something you really liked but at the last moment change your mind. After a day or so you are walking on the road and look at a poster or banner to see that very item being advertised specifically to you – that’s re-targeting.

These days with increased competition and shrinking margins, e-commerce players are not letting any sales go easily. And that’s where e-commerce re-targeting comes into the picture.

What is E-commerce re-targeting and how does it work?

Whenever you visit an e-commerce website and put something into a shopping cart a piece of information called a ‘cookie’ is stored on your PC. This cookie carries with it information about what item you put in the cart, when etc. In case you did not complete the purchase and left the site, the cookie still remains on your PC, lying dormant.

When you go onto a site where re-targeting scripts are running they will detect that cookie and through some sort of banner mechanism will remind you about that item which you discarded in the shopping cart. In effect prodding you to complete the purchase. In effect re-targeting you.

Cookies have been a bone of contention for a long time.

Cookies have always been controversial as a semi-permanent pieces of information lying on your computer which can be accessed by any site you are visiting provided they have the cookie identifier/name. All browsers provide functionality to either block cookies or remove them from your computer. So we do have control over them but most of us do not have the knowledge or time to monitor cookies on our PC.

Cookies do play a vital role in our browsing experience by remembering sites we frequently visit  or in storing vital information for site functionality. So the debate continues on the privacy issues of cookies.

Does e-commerce re-targeting raise privacy issues? When does it become spammy?

Anonymity is very valued in our online world as we navigate through our favorite  websites. When an e-commerce provider can track our behaviour outside their site then it may cross a few lines. How far are they allowed to monitor our browsing?

They might argue that by visiting their site and adding products to the cart (or even just viewing a product) you have tacitly given them approval to track and sell to you.

Or does the fact that you did not go through with the purchase indicate that you are not interested in the item and should be left alone.

Being an e-commerce developer I feel it comes somewhere in the grey area. It’s not that black or white.

Does e-commerce re-targeting really result in sales? Is it worth the effort?

Statistics from various sources say that re-targeting has around 10% conversion rates. That is significantly higher than normal banner advertising or email advertising. The fact that the customer might be partially committed or in two minds might help. Since the re-targeted ad will be very specific to you it works better.

A strong re-targeting enabled marketing network is required for this effort.

Re-targeting needs very specific banner technology to catch the cookie and serve the ad specific to that cookie. Most banner networks may not be able to handle re-targeting. But many new networks have come up with re-targeting functionality built-in. And these networks are seeing tremendous growth due to the various e-commerce sites in India and abroad. This might be one of the defining trends in e-commerce for the coming years.

In conclusion I think there are equal advantages or disadvantages to re-targeting. But for now I feel its a valid marketing tactic which should be explored fully but should also be done tastefully and non intrusively.

Cheers,
Ron

Planning multi-region websites – centralized or decentralized approach

Posted by Ron on January 10th, 2013

Recently we had a meeting with a client with divisions across several countries and we were discussing how to plan the website architecture. This client has chosen a centralized integrated approach i.e. all site updations for all regions will be done from a single head office. This will be done through a customized hub content management system which allows seamless updates to any region.

Centralized versus distributed website management – a debate.

Business gurus and planners have been debating the merits of centralized versus distributed systems for years. Of course there is no single solution and it all depends on the business and it’s decision processes. Now this debate has come to website design. This decision has to be taken early in the design process when the website architecture is being planned.

Shifting from one model to another after the site has been setup can be time consuming, costly and disruptive. It can also lead to ego clashes and silo mentality if not planned and executed well. No one likes to lose power or control.

Factors to consider when planning a multi-region website are

  • How to maintain uniformity and brand continuity across all regions?
  • Who decides what information goes online for each region?
  • How much customization can be allowed for each region?
  • What are the common functionalities we can leverage  to avoid redundancy and duplicated effort?
  • Is language a factor in this decision?
  • How can we keep regional employees motivated and interested in their own region’s website or section?

Advantages and disadavantages of a  centralized web site operation

Advantages

  • Better control and version tracking
  • Quick decisions process with minimum oversight
  • Uniformity in branding can be maintained
  • Minimal duplication of resources and effort.
  • Customers find all information at one location easily.
  • Data is more secure from disgruntled employees or other malcontents.
 Disadvantages

  • Discourages initiatives taken at a local level to be put on the site due to chain of command issues.
  • Difficult to tailor content for idionsyncracies of the particular region
  • Regional employees might not feel very vested in the website

Advantages and disadvantages of a distributed website operation.

Advantages

  • Each region can take advantage of local competitive factors
  • Faster updates as the information does not have to be vetted by a central office
  • Employees feel better ownership of the website
 Disadvantages

  • Difficult to control branding uniformity
  • Duplication of resources and efforts.
  • Might lead to unnecssary information or unauthorized information going online
  • Scope for disgruntled employees to steal or tamper with the information.

Size of the organization and number of regional offices play an important part.

It is easier to have a centralized website development centre when you have limited number of hubs and the information and requests flowing in can be controlled and action. But having too many regions requesting too many things can derail the whole process. Building up of pending website change requests can lead to frustration and later indifference. The best approach is to judge the number of reasons and the changes requests versus resources available at the central office to make an intelligent decision.

Languages can be an important factor in deciding on the model.

Sometimes it is just not feasible to have language experts in the central office just for website updates. In such cases it makes more sense to localize the website updates with proper controls in place. Language optimization brings with it challenges such as translation, transcription and proofing which needs a language expert as well as technical people who are able to support languages.

A hybrid model can work but in the long term it might get messy if boundaries are not set properly.

A good idea is to give partial control to local or regional offices and retain some of the control at the central website office. This requires some clever programming setup and clear delinienation of responsibilities. Any ambuiguity in this regard will lead to paralysis as people will not be sure who has to actually update the information.

What happens with long term models is that responsiblities are easily switched between local and central staffs as per convenience. This throws uniformity out of the window and creates a ‘you scratch my back ill scratch yours’ kind of setup. This is not conducive to a good website operation.

Geographic targeting should allow customers / visitors to reach the right regional site nearest to them.

IP address based redirection of visitors can allow customers / visitors to be redirected the nearest regional website or section. This helps them to get localized information fast and easily and avoids a top down approach which has to be filtered through layers. Of course an option should be given to switch regions in case a customer / visitor wants information about another region. Geo-targeting allows for localized results while still maintaining global branding.

 At the end of the day it has to be about the customer

Centralized or decentralized, at the end of the day it has to be for the customer. The customer should be able to find relevant information, whether it is general or regional, without having to jump through hoops. The entire website system should be fast, efficient and useful for the customer no matter how many systems have to be put in place at the back. After all its the customer who pays the bills.

As more and more companies are expanding globally thier web operations are getting stretched and the marketing messages are getting garbled. Sites remain stale and no one knows who’s responsible for what. This can be avoided with proper command and control systems and technologically smart websites.

Cheers,
Ron

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