Archive for the ‘implementation’ Category

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Regional digital media sector comes of age

Monday, August 17th, 2009

Being based 100 miles North of London - albeit on a very fast train line - and working principally with specialist media businesses and a range of SMEs in the Midlands, I’ve had two main frustrations in creating digital media and marketing strategies for regional clients. Firstly, the digital agency world is overwhelmingly London-centric, and secondly, there is a complete dearth of standard qualifications and accreditations for digital agencies, creating a minefield for regional small or medium businesses seeking reputable providers to implement their digital media and marketing strategy.  So I was cheered to hear two pieces of news, that should help strengthen the regional digital agency sector, and safeguard regional clients. (more…)

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Posted in b2b, consumer, implementation, marketing, opinions

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Building valuable long-term customer relationships

Saturday, July 25th, 2009

I’ve been thinking recently about how media brands can build a valuable community around their content, and even charge a fee to members of that community in return for a mix of content, services, events, networking and other benefits.  See my earlier post on creating profitable communities for more details.  To do this successfully, media businesses will need to nurture their direct relationship with people who previously were passive readers or consumers of their content.  Upgrading the relationship with your readers/audience to that of “members” does mean heightened expectations of service levels.  This will mean media businesses developing a whole new set of skills, or ensuring that their suppliers, contact centres and fulfilment bureaux are set up to meet these raised standards.  Here is a checklist of best practice in nurturing valuable long-term customer relationships for your own team or your outsourced partners. (more…)

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Posted in consumer, implementation, marketing

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Working effectively with digital agencies

Monday, July 6th, 2009

I’ve just completed a series of presentations to about 250 SMEs across the East Midlands on how to select, and build a good working relationship with, digital agencies, whether they build and design websites, enhance SEO and PPC, run an email marketing campaign, or advise on ecommerce or social media.  Digital is a particularly tricky discipline as most business owners have limited knowledge and can feel at a disadvantage. I’ve had plenty of feedback from my audiences both on common pitfalls and secrets of success.  Whilst this is primarily based on the experiences of smaller businesses, I believe many of these five key principles apply equally to larger client-agency relationships. (more…)

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Posted in SME digital marketing, b2b, consumer, implementation, marketing

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How publishers can streamline operational costs

Friday, June 12th, 2009

With advertising revenues still in decline, and increased investment required in digital, many publishers are having to review their editorial, advertising and marketing costs.  The temptation is to simply cut back on pages and editorial content, but this runs the risk of reducing value to readers and advertisers.  The situation is further complicated by the need for editorial, advertising and marketing teams to work across print and digital platforms. I believe publishers can learn from manufacturing and service industries, who have been practising lean operations techniques for several years, and using them to prioritise what really matters to customers, identify the wasteful activities and create new more effective processes. Here’s a simple introduction to lean operations thinking for publishers: (more…)

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Posted in implementation, people and culture

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How to write a great web developer brief

Monday, June 1st, 2009

Whether your web project is multi-millions or barely into four figures (I’ve done both kinds!) I believe the key to success is investing the time in a really thorough brief for your developer.  It forces you to consider exactly what it is you want from your new or relaunched web-site.  You can also use a good web brief to help you decide which developer to use, and it can be enlightening getting several possible solutions to the proposed “problem”.   I often liken web projects to building projects; if you are creating a house from scratch or extending an existing house, you need to spend time working out what you want to do in which room and how you want the whole building to feel, and enlist a good designer or architect to help you create the plans.  You don’t just engage a builder recommended by your neighbour and give them instructions as you go along!  So here is my essential check-list for a great web developer brief: (more…)

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Posted in SME digital marketing, implementation

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How to get the best work from a web developer

Sunday, April 26th, 2009

Business people usually expect web developers to work miracles - to read their mind, know about all current web developments and to create the perfect site in days.  Life of course isn’t quite like that.  The key to creating or updating your web site without tears is to spend time on the upfront planning.  Here’s my own tips on making it a smooth process - I have applied these to large-scale corporate roll-outs and also new sites for SMEs: (more…)

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Posted in business strategy, implementation

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Grow your ad yields with video and audio

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009

A year ago, online publishers could still achieve good yields from traditional banner-style inventory for their core clients, to access a targeted and responsive audience: £15-20 CPM was not unknown.  However, the ad market is now flooded with inventory and the growth of behavioural targeting means that the lifestyle sites can offer tighter targeting, but at far lower CPMs.  So how can the niche online publisher achive higher yields?  With the growth in editorial video and audio, there are now opportunities to create more interactive, engaging ad formats.  I recently met with one company, Adswizz, who offer a range of video and audio adserving technology that can integrate directly into publishers’ existing video serving and ad serving systems, so you don’t need to change your supplier.  Here are some examples of the formats they have developed for other online publishers: (more…)

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Posted in advertising, implementation, news

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How to save on your manufacturing, paper and print costs

Thursday, March 12th, 2009

Publishers who are prepared to think laterally about how their product is created and consumed by its readers have the opportunity to make savings on their manufacturing costs.  After a short meeting with David Foakes, print and production consultant, I had plenty of ideas on how publishers can take advantage of the opportunities available in the market, and transform their cost base. (more…)

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Posted in b2b, consumer, implementation

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Making the multi-platform editorial team a reality

Monday, February 23rd, 2009

Creating an editorial team that works across print, video and web is now not just a long term aspiration, it’s a requirement for survival.  See my recent blog on the Guardian’s web strategy for their take on integrated edit teams.  Many media companies are still being held back by not knowing how to make this change, and how to avoid the pitfalls. I’ve provided some basic hints and tips in this earlier blog.

Simon Penson , a former editor at Emap, has lived this challenge for the last four years. Below he outlines some of his key learnings: (more…)

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Posted in content, implementation, people and culture

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Tips on soft launching a new website

Monday, February 2nd, 2009

Whether your site is brand new or a relaunch, it is best to have a soft launch period before you start to set high expectations for it.  Here are some tips on making the soft launch as successful as possible, learnt the hard way from my exposure to launching and relaunching sites…. (more…)

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Posted in implementation, news

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