DelviniaBrands have been adding the latest and coolest digital touchpoints to their portfolio in the last few years – Facebook, blogs, Twitter, mobile, Pinterest, you name it  – often because they do not want to fall behind their competitors. The rationale of adding digital touchpoints is a reactive one – “our competitors are there so we must be there too,” without much thought into how the additional members in their digital ecosystem interrelate with one another.

With such modes of operations, many brands are challenged with their digital activities, overwhelmed with the insatiable content appetite of the channel, and are not seeing the return on investment in fragmented touchpoints (e.g. websites, mobile, social).  Many brands turn to Delvinia for help with this dilemma.

Through Delvinia’s customer-centric, insights driven approach, we have worked with brands to collaboratively craft a cohesive digital ecosystem that is deliberately designed to support the customer through their decision making journey from discovery, purchase research, through to conversion and post-purchase support. At Delvinia, our take is that each digital touchpoint has a specific role(s) to play in the grander scheme of things and if done right, the sum is greater than the parts.

Here are three common challenges our clients face at the beginning of our process:

1.    Lack of Integration

Many times, our client organizations have fragmented digital operations. Different groups are responsible for different touchpoints, which results in tunnel vision towards digital and an insufficient focus on the customers’ needs and decision making journey.

For example, a leading hospital foundation recognized this problem with a weak return on investment from their 20+ websites and presence on multiple social media channels. They enlisted Delvinia to help them define the right vision and digital ecosystem to move forward. By bringing together the various digital stakeholders and applying Delvinia’s customer-centric and insights driven approach, we were able to arrive at a common digital vision that is donor-centric and transaction focused. From there, we were able to design a digital ecosystem focused on converting and deepening engagement with donors.

2.    Measurement Without Context

The second common challenge we see is measurement in isolation – a symptom of fragmented digital operations. At Delvinia, we believe success is ultimately measured by the digital ecosystem’s ability to convert and retain customers. We believe metrics (e.g. likes, followers, visits) should be looked at in an integrated approach to provide context.

For example, if one of the purposes of Facebook, in your digital ecosystem, is to generate awareness and interest for your products, then the key metrics could be how many referring links is it pushing to your product site. This example demonstrates the importance of an integrative approach to measurement where the success of one touchpoint is measured elsewhere.

3.    Working Hard vs. Working Smart

Finally, many brands are working very hard with their digital activities, feeding the insatiable content appetite of the channel yet not seeing sufficient return on investment. With our hospital foundation engagement, Delvinia designed a digital ecosystem that can do more with less. In other words, Delvinia designed a digital ecosystem that enabled the foundation to work smarter where fewer digital touchpoints and activities were required to accomplish the business objectives.

Digital and data are powerful business enablers. By taking an integrative approach and by mapping against the needs and decision journeys of your customers, you will have a better chance to find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. With Delvinia’s proven customer-centric, insights driven methodology, we have led many clients to the pot of gold and we’d love to help your brand too!