Is your business at risk from a lack of digital talent on your team?

When I started working at Google in 2006 the internet was just beginning to have a significant impact on businesses and industries.

Working with many of Australia’s prominent retailers over the next 5 years I witnessed the shift in consumer behaviour and how businesses responded.  While I watched many new online retailers capitalise on the opportunity and achieve rapid growth through utilising Google’s products I saw many traditional businesses stick to their guns.  They continued to do what they always did.

The fundamental risk

To me the opportunity was obvious and always wondered why traditional businesses that have the resources were not capitalising on their position in the market and investing in digital channels.  In most cases it just required a re-distribution of resources.

Working at a senior level within businesses I soon learnt what the issue was.  Senior management did not know what they did not know.

Most CEO’s and senior managers came up the ranks and being older meant they lacked the digital knowledge and were stuck in mindset based on how things have always worked.   This meant their overall business strategy failed to evolve and there was a lack of vision to provide the leadership required to transform how they did business so they could serve today’s empowered multi-channel customers.

But there is a bigger challenge

Not adapting your business strategy is one risk but how you’re able to translate this to your online market strategy and execute well is another.

There are so many facets to online marketing today, each with numerous options (which keep changing!) and you need all the pieces to work together.   Add to the mix the 1000’s of online agencies selling their solutions how do you know what is best and which ones will deliver the best outcomes?

When you add the costs required for all the different pieces it can add up and when you add the time required this equates to business risk…the risk of investing a lot of resources in something which does not deliver meaningful outcomes for your customers.  This in turn results in a negative return on your investment.

Sorry to sound negative, but this is what I have learnt is the reality in my last 18 month of consulting.  I am sure others will say it’s not that hard but the reality is, it is!  The risk of not getting the outcomes you’re after is actually really high and with the investment required it can be a money pit.

What can go wrong?

Here are some examples of what I have witnessed:

• I have seen poor quality SEO work done by agencies which clients are paying too much for.
• Adwords run by someone without the expertise meaning they are burning money due to poor targeting.  Or their agency is doing a half assed job.
• I see most businesses not utilising Google Analytics to measure success so are blindly moving forward with just a confidence it’s working.  Sales may be coming in but how many sales are you missing out on and how much waste could the business be minimising?
• I have seen countless cases of expensive websites that don’t deliver and also under investment in websites which were never going to make the cut. Spending money driving people to a website that does not work means lots of visitors – not new customers.
• I see most businesses without a content strategy resulting in poor content which does not engage customers.
• And in some cases I see businesses without a clear business strategy for how they are going to win sales in today’s market place.  Hence no matter what they do online they are setting themselves up for failure.

The biggest risk in your business?

The internet’s impact on consumer behaviour and the ensuing raft of new online competitors has disrupted and disintermediated industries leaving many causalities over the last 5 years.   What can we expect in the next 5 or 10 years?  I am sure you can think of a business in your industry which is struggling or even worse have gone into administration.

Not understanding the reality of your current situation and what you need to fix is dangerous ground to be on.  Most leaders of businesses don’t know what they don’t know when it comes to digital.  This means they are not able to provide the leadership required and do not create the optimal strategy.

How digital expertise can minimise the risks

Having digital expertise in your business can fill the knowledge gap to help your business create a better overall strategy and reduce the risks mentioned above.

But it seems Australian businesses don’t recognise the need for online expertise.  I see many online marketing roles going for 60-100k.  But is this going to attract the level of seniority or experience that will transform how the business operates?

Senior digital expertise is needed on the management team and on the board.   Business strategy, marketing strategy and digital strategy are now fused together so there’s a need for someone with the digital knowledge to work strategically with the business.    Your digital expert needs to provide education and assist in providing leadership to the business on how things need to change and take the business on that journey.  They need to be involved in the execution in ensuring the right processes, systems and structures are put in place and the right partners are chosen.

Summary

Your digital expert is your key to successfully moving forward. They need to be senior enough to guide the business strategy and provide leadership to the business.  Finding the right person may take some time, but will be well worth the investment given the risks and opportunity involved.