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Web Strategy
Analyst: Steve Telleen
Issue:
How to start measuring the Web site's value?
Response:
Web sites matter for two reasons: today's customers expect a company to have a Web site, if only to provide contact information or locations, and at least some parts of most companies have discovered that Web sites can cut costs, generate additional revenue, or both. However, even a simple Web site comes at a cost, so it is important to make certain that the business value is known and optimized.
For example, if a company spends an average of $20 supporting each call in their call center, and the... Read Publication
Analyst: Steve Telleen
Issue: What are the pitfalls to avoid while aligning the Web site with business objectives?
Response:
For most companies, Web sites have quietly evolved into the integrator of all their communication channels. When the sales reps call on prospects, where do they tell them to go for more information?
Where do the physical brochures and fact sheets they leave behind direct the prospect for additional detail - or for that matter the media advertisements, the product packaging, and the telephone "hold" messages?
Conversely, where do many customers go on their own... Read Publication
Analyst: Steve Telleen
Issue: How to effectively facilitate a Web strategy meeting?
Response
During a consulting engagement, I discovered the power of using the Web site as a tool to keep business strategy discussions on track and make abstract concepts more concrete.
A colleague and I were facilitating a policy and strategy discussion attended by representatives from several divisions of a large insurance company. There was a history of frustration and animosity among some of the participants, and frankly, the meeting was not going well. One of the vice presidents was even threatening... Read Publication
Analyst: Steve Telleen
Issue: Is it better to have a bad Web site or no Web site at all?
Response:
Is your web site running on executive autopilot, created during the excitement of the Internet wave then left behind as executive attention focused elsewhere in the business? If so, it is time to decide what to do with the resources being expended to keep your web site alive.
While web sites are cheap compared to other channels and media, they are not free. The amount of money spent to keep them running is significant, ranging from tens of thousands of dollars annually for small sites, to... Read Publication
Analyst: Steve Telleen
Issue: Who to include in the initial Web team to kick-off a Web project.
Response
The first question in setting explicit web site objectives is: who should be involved? Clearly, the process needs to include all the stakeholders who have an interest in the outcome. Even if you are the owner of only one of the business functions supported by your web site, you will benefit by knowing, and if necessary championing cooperation from all the business areas in setting business objectives for your web site.
Depending on the size and complexity of the web site, and the... Read Publication
Analyst: Steve Telleen
Issue: How to objectively and effectively discuss design implementation?
Response
Web site redesign meetings can be challenging, particularly in large organizations with complex Web sites. Different stakeholders, representing different organizational interests, discuss, debate or argue over the aesthetic designs before them. Everyone is willing to express her or his personal likes and dislikes, but intermingled with the aesthetic discussion are parochial business interests that often are covered.
All organizations have internal conflicts that are tolerated... Read Publication