Online Strategy

Develop a Meaningful Online Strategy

In the fields of strategic management, marketing strategy, and operational strategy; Online Strategy is the process of specifying an organization’s vision, initiatives and processes in order to deploy their online assets which may include: web sites, mini-sites, digital audio and video content, community groups, banner ads and search engine marketing, in a manner which attempts to optimise the business benefits they provide to the organisation.

A company may use the term online strategy to describe the development of plans to amplify and project public awareness of the company and to deploy their products and services online and to maximise business results.

Online Strategy -vs- Available Online Budget

A company will appropriate online budgets dependent on:

• 1. Level of vision and business savvy
• 2. Motivation to dominate genre or local
• 3. Available funds

There are four core steps to conducting online strategy:

1. Identify the key opportunities in a business where online assets could provide a solution
2. Identify prospect and customer needs that most closely align with business opportunities
3. Develop a vision around how online assets could fulfil business and customer needs, and
4. Prioritise and execute the online initiatives to deliver the vision.

Within each of these stages, a number of techniques and analyses may be employed, however Business Start-Up’s and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s) will lack the funds necessary to take advantage of them all.

Further: SME’s will have an abundance of motivation but will lack sufficient knowledge of online assets and this almost always leads to unrealised revenue, inefficiency and the venting of money and time into the proverbial pit.

The Online Time and Money Pit

The World Wide Web (www) is littered with millions of examples of terrible websites that at best have lost their owners lots of valuable time and money whilst most have also:

• Damaged the website owners professional credibility
• Delivered a negative perception of a quality business
• Squandered new business opportunities
• Lost much needed new business revenue

Over the lifetime of a DIY or non-professional online strategy the SME business owner will:

• Waste thousands of pounds
• Sacrifice hundreds of hours
• Force prospects into the open arms of their competition

Conversely, when the SME commissions a professional agency such as ours to carry out an online business development consultation prior to engaging in an online strategy the business owner will:

• Receive clarity of vision and purpose
• Save thousands of lost pounds/dollars
• Save hundreds of lost work or leisure hours
• Amplify and project a major-brand image
• Attract new clients and new revenue

Please see the online consultation page

Only when you have clear vision and purpose should you embark securing vendors to build your website/s and advise on online opportunities and platforms. We welcome enquiries from all business sizes regarding any online project.

Contact Mick Say direct or register with us to stay in touch.