A journey towards digital marketing

[olivia25]

It's true that many organizations are implementing all kinds of digital technologies to improve operational efficiency and create a better experience for their customers, distributors, employees and members. I ask you, how is your digital transformation going? Recently, at Base22 we offered several workshops for our clients on branding and marketing. One interesting thing about transformation, whether digital or otherwise, is the need to have alignment across all functions of the organization. We are bombarded by messages about the need to transform ourselves, about the need to implement the latest and greatest digital technologies to make us more agile, more productive and more relevant to the audience we serve. But what do these messages actually do? They instill fear in the organization. And if we don't act now, our business could be relegated philippines b2b leads to the dustbin of history. Maybe I’m being a bit dramatic, but the point I’m trying to get across is this: In our rush to stay up to date and adopt the latest game-changing technologies, the transformation that organizations desire can turn into a series of departmental initiatives that aren’t aligned with any kind of overall digital strategy. This can result in a set of investments that become counterproductive for the entire business. With this as background and context, let me suggest something to consider: a digital marketing workshop. By just setting aside two or three days, and inviting your organization’s stakeholders, you’ll be able to reset and re-establish your goals and priorities in your digital marketing plans. In addition to this time investment, you can establish a strategy and work plan to keep moving forward. Maybe you’re already well on your way to digital transformation, so this workshop can also be seen as a health check for your company. On the other hand, if you feel like you’re already late to joining the digital transformation, this could be a great first step to get started.
The approach of the digital marketing workshop
We highly recommend that you get an external facilitator to run the workshop. We know it's very tempting to try to do this entirely with company staff, but it's better to get someone external because they don't have an internal agenda, or internal knowledge. Plus, a good facilitator will stay focused on helping you achieve the outcomes you set for the workshop. They need to have experience in digital marketing and branding. Marketing experience across different industry sectors is a real plus, and will provide you with insights and lessons learned that you could apply to your own initiatives.
Workshop participants
Cross-functional participation is critical, including C-level colleagues who are ultimately responsible for the strategic direction of the organization. Your stakeholder list should have representatives from:



Sales
Marketing
Operations
Channels / Alliances
Advertising
Compliance
Finance
Legal
Expected results
You will need to agree on specific expected outcomes for your own workshop, which should have been discussed, agreed and communicated well before scheduling. We have included some example outcomes to help you develop your own.
A clearly defined brand promise that will be communicated to all employees
A marketing and communications work plan with a focus on generating revenue
A defined set of metrics/KPIs for each of your marketing campaigns
An unprecedented customer experience across all devices and channels
This workshop is not about products or technological solutions, but about laying the foundations for your digital marketing strategy. By the end of the workshop, you should have established a high-level work plan to address your omnichannel marketing strategy.


Agenda of topics and previous work
Please note that a successful workshop requires some pre-work from the facilitator and several participants. This task should include updates on all current and planned digital marketing initiatives, as well as related lessons learned. The workshop agenda should be tailored to your organization, but I will provide you with topics to help you get started preparing yours. For planning purposes, we are using a three-day workshop model.
Day 1

Validate the workshop objectives and expected results
Get updates on current brand and marketing initiatives
Group exercise: Validating current brand and marketing messages
Team exercise: Are we a brand architecture (House of Brands) or a monolithic brand (Branded House)?
Each team presents its case
Debate: What is our brand promise?
What is our purpose?
What is our vision for the future?
Can we describe our brand promise in a few words? What is our elevator pitch?
Day 2

Discussion: Develop an action plan and roadmap to communicate our brand promise to all stakeholders/employees
Review current and proposed marketing/campaign plans and challenges, as well as expected results (revenue growth metrics)
Customers, distributors, other partners
Discussion: What can we do to complement current marketing plans to accelerate revenue growth?