Understanding the Big Picture

“Why do you want to know that? Why does that matter? Isn’t this just a website discovery?” You’d be surprised at the number of times I am asked these types of questions. 

A website is more than just a website. It’s the central hub of online marketing, often the first place a consumer starts to learn about a brand. It’s just one tool (albeit an important one), in a much larger toolbox of marketing efforts. A website can complement, support, or be the leading driver for your overarching strategies. 

It’s key your development partner understands the bigger picture. This ensures that everything you do for your website, every decision made, functionality and features incorporated, all work cohesively and maximize your marketing spend. After all, it’s rare that someone will simply stumble across your website. 

Know What’s Coming

What does this mean? Well it starts with asking the right questions. It can be something as simple as knowing when a contest runs to ensure you have adequate server capacity to handle traffic the potential influx of traffic. 

It could also be something more nuanced: 

• Content tone: If there’s a defined style of writing, or “voice,” then how can that be integrated or translated onto the website for a consistent experience?
• Imagery/style: You want all your properties to “feel” like they’re coming from the same ecosystem. Though it may not be a direct parallel, your imagery and assets should provide a similar experience both online and off
• Branding/calls to action: Again, what you say offline may not be directly translatable online, but it’s important to work with the creatives on your site to find messaging that effectively complements your branding efforts.

After all, the last thing you want to do is run a promotion or a commercial and drive high traffic to your site, only to have it crash.

How to Make it Work?

Ask questions! Knowing the strategy, understanding the full marketing plan, being aware of media buys, having brand and visual guidelines. I said it in my last blog post and I’ll say it again here - everything you do should ladder back up to, or support your overarching strategy and goals. 

Communication is also just as important. Getting all parties together, understanding the scope of the project, key deliverables, and outlining dependencies very early on in the process. Though we all may work at different companies, we’re all in the same boat and should be rowing in the same direction. 

With over a decade of marketing experience, I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of not getting the big picture. It’s not easy. And it can often feel like you’re juggling multiple needs and priorities to find that happy balance. Feel to reach out to chat and let me help guide you through the process.

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