Would you invest $100k in an
asset and forget about it? Amazing to me is the fact that many CEOs would
invest $100,000, maybe $250,000, in a web site plus an equivalent amount
on staff salaries, with no plans to measure ROI, growth, effectiveness, etc.,
over time. What other corporate asset would warrant such reckless use of
the precious resources of money and time?
The Non-Techie CEO
Further, what executive would drop
such money and not strategically leverage that asset to its fullest? The
answer to this question is: the executive who believes “I.T. is handling
it…” – the executive who thinks it’s all about “technology”. Such
executives find it easier to hide behind the statement of “I’m not very tech
savvy…” rather than taking the time to plan, organize and direct (the basic
tenants of management) resources around the company’s investment in web
assets. You need not be a “techie” to take such ownership of corporate
web strategy.
Build It, Forget It
It’s time the executive suite
own, leverage, manage and expect results from your web—related assets.
It’s no longer acceptable to build it and forget it. Failure is certain
when you don’t use such assets strategically, rather waiting on the proverbial
Marketing vs. IT battle to shake out. Seldom, after 16 years, have I seen
a productive, effective, efficient nor healthy Marketing vs. IT collaboration
around a company’s web site. When I have seen it, the executives are in
the game, setting strategy/direction and ownership, not leaving such to just
happen.
End of Projects
It’s time to stop thinking about
your website or application as a “project”. Projects have a start, an end and iron-clad
targets that are established at the beginning of the project. Most web
site projects require several months, and multiple iterations to
complete. Unlike a project, a website or application should be a living, breathing,
effective, ROI-focused, analytics-backed asset that is dynamic, flexing with
the changes in the business climate. Traditional project management
methodologies work great for static targets, not living websites and applications.
Pajamas to a Party
Finally, my dear friends…
Some of you are simply wearing your pajamas to a party. So many web
sites, I submit because too many executives follow the mindset outlined above
in this post, are tragic. The designs are dismal, the messaging is off
key, the content is from the Renaissance era and the functionality is missing
in action. Stop fooling yourself into thinking that your prospective
customers and partners aren’t using your web site as one of their first steps
in due diligence. You do it when looking to work with another company,
right?
It’s time to park your pajamas,
get serious, own it and leverage your web assets as you would any other
investment. On June 30th @ 8am at BitWise (Carmel), we’ll be
talking about these points and more, with case studies. Come and
hear how your fellow execs have taken the reigns of their web assets and are
leveraging such for true competitive advantage in the marketplace. Oh
yeah, by the way, even though our event is at 8am, please do not wear your
pajamas. Contact Kim Smith at 317-805-4376 or by email kim.smith@bitwisesolutions.com to register.