Understanding Omnichannel The Next Generation of Content Strategy Kevin P. Nichols Director & Global...

Understanding OmnichannelThe Next Generation of Content Strategy

Kevin P. NicholsDirector & Global Practice Lead, Content Strategy, SapientNitro

@kpnichols

Rebecca SchneiderPresident, Azzard Consulting

@azzardconsult

@kpnichols • @azzardconsult • #intelcontent

AGENDA① Introductions & Expectations ② Key Concepts③ Considerations④ Roadmap⑤ Roadmap: Workshop Exercise⑥ Lunch!⑦ Cross-Channel Journeys (Including Workshop Exercise)⑧ Break!⑨ Metrics & Analytics⑩ Governance & Tools


1 Introductions & Expectations


Hi There!

Peter GabrielBig Time


About Your Presenters


Kevin Nichols Director, Global Practice Lead, Content Strategy, Sapient/Nitro 18 Years experience in the Web Development Industry Key Clients: MIT Open Courseware, Hewlett Packard, Sprint, Intel

Rebecca Schneider President, Azzard Consulting, a content strategy consulting & staffing

firm. 19 Years experience in Information Management Industries: Retail, Auto Manufacturing, Financial Services,

Telecommunications, Luxury Goods

What is your experience with omnichannel? What are your expectations for this workshop?

About You


Everybody has a say Parking lot for tangents Limited electronic interruptions please!

Ground Rules


2 Key Concepts


If someone likes you, they'll buy what you're selling,

whether or not they need it.Gene Simmons


KEY CONCEPTS

① Intelligent Content ② Omnichannel & Multichannel③ Personalization④ Content Marketing⑤ User Journeys⑥ Performance-Driven Content


“Intelligent content is structurally rich and semantically categorized and therefore automatically discoverable, reusable, reconfigurable, and adaptable.” – Ann Rockley

Understanding Intelligent Content


Source: https://www.eiseverywhere.com/ehome/69264/137386/

Enables you to create one instance of content and publish to many different channels with optimized content per channel.

Using Intelligent Content


Desktop Experience Mobile Experience Packaging

Builds logic into the content experience to support personalization, cross-sell/upsell, recommendations based on previous content viewed and contextually relevant content experiences.

Using Intelligent Content: Benefits


Recommendations’ Logic Cross-sell & Promo Logic

Omnichannel content assumes the overall user engagement with a particular user journey, and serves up content to each step in the process, optimizing channel experiences. Think Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia!

Multichannel considers more than one channel.

Understanding Omnichannel and Multichannel


Understanding Omnichannel and Multichannel


Makes content contextually relevant and builds the consumer relationship Provides singular view of the customer & integrated product inventory across

channels

Using Omnichannel


Home In-store Commerce Experience

Personalization is contextual content targeted to a user based on his or her needs and behaviors.

Understanding Personalization


Content is served up to a user based on any of the following:

Who is the user Where the user is Why the user engages What the user engages with How the user engages with the

experience When the user engages with the

experience

Understanding Personalization


Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AN_OREGON_PERSONALIZED_LICENSE_PLATE_WITH_THE_LETTERS_%22WET%22_HOWEVER,_LACK_OF_RAIN_CREATED_A_SERIOUS_ENERGY_CRISIS_IN..._-_NARA_-_555432.jpg

Develops a deeper relationship between the user and brand, providing specific value or use to the consumer.

Using Personalization


Ratings, Personalized Selections Contextual Targeting

“Content marketing is the marketing and business process for creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.” – Joe Pulizzi

Understanding Content Marketing


Source: http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2012/06/content-marketing-definition/think

Increases consumer loyalty and sells more products through meaningful and timely communication.

Using Content Marketing


Related Narrative Crowdsourcing Enriched Content

“User journeys include the end-to-end processes a user follows to complete a particular task.” – Kevin Nichols & Donald Chesnut

Understanding User Journeys


Source: UX For Dummies, Page 62

Maps out the path of a user to ensure his or her needs are met by serving up the most useful and relevant content.

Keeps the solution and content user-centered. Helps the business make decisions around end-user needs and motivations. Increases conversion and success metrics (when done well) because user is

able to complete tasks seamlessly and easily. Provides insight into cross-channel user behavior; can set a baseline which

can be further tested for validation.

.

User Journeys: Benefits


Performance-driven content is content an organization measures and evaluates after publishing in order to make decisions on future content priorities.

Understanding Performance-Driven Content


Drives the best, most effective and relevant content to a user.

Optimizes the work from analytics, insights and competitive assessment so organizations can respond to a user’s content needs.

Helps an organization build a publication model around performance.

Using Performance-Driven Content


3 Considerations


Falling in love was the easy part; planning a wedding -

yikes!Niecy Nash


CONSIDERATIONS

① Planning for Omnichannel② Content Strategy & Omnichannel③ Omnichannel Challenges


Considerations


How does omnichannel further your business goals? Do you understand your customer and know how omnichannel will benefit

them (and by extension, your company)? What channels do your customers use? What if omnichannel is not the answer?

Considerations: Business Goals


Who are your target audiences? Do you have any developed personas and/or user data? What do they need/want? What is the plan to provide your audiences with what they need/want?

Considerations: Target Audiences


Executive Support Budgetary Support (over multiple years) Who needs to buy in? What are the political ramifications?

• Marketing Plan (internal use)

What else is going on? (IT initiatives, budget cycles, marketing campaigns) What is a realistic high-level timeline for rollout (staggered is best)?

Considerations: Operations


What do you need in terms of technology support? Integration with systems and collaboration with IT will be important. What is the technology infrastructure costs and ongoing maintenance needs? What sounds great in theory, may not work in real life.

Considerations: Technology


What are your content priorities? Channel priorities? How will the content be created?

• Externally (e.g. agencies, content creators)• Internally (e.g. publication units, content authors)

Have you done a content inventory and audit?• Findings & Analysis?

Is this effort dove-tailing with a website redesign or CMS implementation?

Considerations: Content


Personalization – do you have the data you need?• Customer Profiles (active, passive)• External Data (e.g. Axiom)

Can data be shared across systems?• Do you need a data warehouse?

How will you measure results (positive or negative)• Metrics are more difficult to put in place after the fact.• Baseline metrics are very important

Considerations: Data Needs


Customers are sensitive to data use (e.g. creep factor) Any regulatory or compliance rules specific to your industry? Privacy laws differ from country to country

Considerations: Legal Issues


Technology Staff Time

• Project vs. “Day Job”

Consulting/Agency Costs Ongoing funding needed (not just implementation)

Considerations: Costs


Big things to consider: Understand your content gaps and needs

(inventories!) Content production costs and timeline System integration Prioritize your channels (bring on additional

channels later)

Content Strategy & Omnichannel Planning


Siloed business units Conflicting incentive structures

• If a purchase was started online, but completed in-store – who gets the credit?

Organizational acceptance of omnichannel (why bother)

Challenges: Operational/Business


Cost to create and maintain content• This is not a simple short-term marketing campaign.

Additional staffing (or different) staffing model may be required. UX does not always consider all content types. SEO requirements can twist content.

• E.g., Keyword overload, Synonyms in navigation

Challenges: Content


Single View of Customer (SVOC) may be difficult due to system integration issues.

Integrated cross-channel inventory is costly Product metadata is often not consistent across back-end and consumer

facing systems. Metrics definitions may not be consistent across systems

Challenges: Technology


4 Roadmap


Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the

axe.Abraham Lincoln


ROADMAP

① Overview② Team Planning & Goals③ Current State④ Stakeholder Interviews⑤ Omnichannel Personalization Roadmap⑥ Roadmap Exercise


Plots prioritized and scheduled approach to achieving the short- and long-term omnichannel recommendations.

Identifies bottom-up projects to feed it, and immediate opportunities to improve processes and demonstrate value.

Start big, not small Revisit roadmap and course correct as needed

Roadmap: Overview


Start with a multidisciplinary team• Content Producing Group(s)• Information Technology (architects)• Sponsoring Business Unit Representative(s) (with budget authority)• Marketing (MarCom)• Subject Matter Experts (as needed)

Establish core group members, meeting intervals Each meeting should have clear goals and action items A RACI or similar tool may be useful

Roadmap: Team Planning


What is the long term vision for the company? What are the business goals within context of corporate strategy? What are the objectives in place to meet those goals? How will omnichannel advance business goals? Who are your audience(s)? What channels are important to your business?

Answer the above as part of a discovery phase.

Roadmap: Business Goals


Conduct a content inventory • Content-producing systems, customer facing systems• Metadata-producing systems

Evaluate Content• Gaps• Overlaps• Overall Quality (Keep/Kill/Edit)

o Currencyo Voice & Tone

Roadmap: Current Content Ecosystem


Meet with key stakeholders (cast of 1000+ not necessary)• Business Sponsor(s)• MarCom• Content Producers• Information Technology

Ask same/similar questions (interview protocol) Provide findings & analysis report Use report to inform roadmap

Roadmap: Stakeholder Interviews


Use workshops to define high-level roadmap that plots strategy for next 2-3 years

High-Level Example: Omnichannel Personalization Roadmap (next slide) We will go through a workshop exercise today.

Roadmap: Workshops


Omnichannel Personalization Roadmap


Launch [Foundation]

1. Identify initial personas and segments to target per channel.2. Establish the content needed to support each group (what do you

want to serve up to each segment and persona and to what degree?)3. Establish the rules for serving up content (if User X indicated he or

she is Y in user profile then serve up this content . . .) per channel per user task.

4. Account for taxonomy and controlled vocabularies to enable the experience.

Evolution [9-12 months post launch]

1. Test existing content by running ongoing metrics and audits to see how consumers interact with the content experience.

2. Identify additional content areas, such as enhanced cross-sell, up-sell.

3. Test assumed customer journeys across channels to verify accuracy and optimize content performance.

4. Roll out enhanced personalization per channel.

Enrichment [18+ months post launch]

1. Integrate omnichannel for all channels.2. Continue to create immersive content.3. Leverage new or emerging technologies and techniques.4. Optimize per business needs, analytics and consumer trends.

Sample Company: All Dressed Up (Salad Dressing Company)• See company information handout

Use Roadmap Grid Poster with Roadmap Cards to define your strategy, focusing on channel

Careful, there may be a few roadblocks placed in your way!

Roadmap: Workshop Exercise


5 Cross-Channel Journeys


A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong

is to think you control it.John Steinbeck


CROSS-CHANNEL JOURNEYS

① Overview② Creating a Cross-Channel Journey③ Journey Exercise


Places the consumer and customer at the center of the experience

Allows content decisions around user needs

Helps to create a publishing model centered around end-user needs and content types, as opposed to internal business silos

Keeps the focus cross-channel

Why Journeys?


Cross Channel Journey - Example


Start with tasks the user would need to complete a particular objective or goal

• Review business goals, objectives, etc.• Define key consumer objectives (Purchase a product, download a paper, create a

profile) Ask yourself: what is everything a user would need to do based on our

objectives

Creating Your User Tasks


Use personas and user states to plot out which users perform which tasks. User states could include:

• Anonymous—we know nothing about her• Repeat visitor—she comes to our site or properties• Existing consumer—she has used our products or services and created a user

profile with us• Influencer—she writes about us

Determining Which Users Complete Which Tasks


Start with persona, user state and high-level user journey task

Turning Tasks Into Journeys


Persona User State User Journey

Soccer Mom Anonymous Buy a Product

Soccer Mom Anonymous Buy a Product

Soccer Mom Anonymous But a Product

Create a set of steps that drive the user to complete it



Persona User State User Journey

Soccer Mom Anonymous Buy a Product – Step One: searches for product in Google

Soccer Mom Anonymous Buy a Product – Step Two: clicks on product in carousel goes to product detail

Soccer Mom Anonymous But a Product – Step Three: Add to cart

Map Channel to each task (Answer the question: which channel is the user in?)



Persona User State User Journey Channel


Website (Desktop)Mobile (App)





Map content to each channel by content type or function



Persona User State User Journey Channel Content



Product information in home page carousel



Product detail page



Shopping cart

Validate exercise with key stakeholders May require user testing to document assumptions Refine as needed

Complete the Mapping


6 Metrics & Analytics


However beautiful the strategy, you should

occasionally look at the results.Winston Churchill


METRICS & ANALYTICS

① Overview & Definitions② Metrics for Omnichannel③ Workshop Exercise


Metrics: Tangible measures of inputs and outputs.

Analytics: Conclusions drawn from metrics.

Don’t forget to create a baseline!

Metrics & Analytics: Overview


“Web analytics is the objective tracking, collection, measurement, reporting and analysis of quantitative internet data to optimize websites and web marketing initiatives.”

– Avinash Kaushik

Source: Web Analytics: An Hour a Day

Understanding Analytics and Metrics


Quantitative measurements: numbers, facts. It’s the “what.” Examples:

• Web & Mobile o Conversionso # Visitso Time on Site

• Mediao Click-through Performance on Advertisements/Banners

• Searcho Internal, Organic, Paid – keyword usage

When to use:• There is a need to demonstrate a quantifiable return on investment.• Too much anecdotal information is being used to make decisions.

Metrics & Analytics: Hard Metrics


Qualitative: stories, feelings/motivation. It’s the “why.” Examples

• Primary Researcho Focus Groups

• Secondary Researcho Marketing Trends

• Social Listening – Digital Anthropologyo Online Behavioral Analysis

• Surveyso Customer Satisfaction

When to use• Trying to understand customer behavior (needs, motivations, perceptions).• Further understand the hard metrics data.

Metrics & Analytics: Soft Metrics


Channel interactions: is the journey effective?• Trending content• Conversion rates post-content interaction.

User satisfaction: is the customer satisfied with the Omni experience?• Sharing on social• Downloaded content• Survey data• Bounce & exit rates

Metrics for Omnichannel


Allows you to constantly evaluate your content so that you can make decisions on what to do with it.

Helps identify under performing content – which may require rethinking or user experience changes.

Provides opportunity to communicate content success (or content failure) to management.

Using Analytics and Metrics


Metrics by Channel (Favorites)


Desktop Bounce, Exit ratesConversion rates (however defined)Click path

E-mail Response to e-mail CTASign-up for e-mail alerts

In-Store In-Store pickup from online orderQR code usage

Packaging QR code usage

Print Advertising QR code usageCoupon usage



Product/Technical Docs

Number of downloadsNumber of requests (via form)Bounce, Exit Rates

Smartphone/Tablet App

Use of social mediaAcceptance of location awareness promptsUse of specialized app vs. websiteConversion ratesWhat is sold in an app vs. website (mobile or other)

Smartphone/Tablet Web

Orientation changesUse of social mediaAcceptance of location awareness promptsLocation of use (in-store?)What is sold in non-app vs. website (mobile or other)



SMS Number of messages sent (based on message type)Number of SMS CTA responses

TV/Radio Nielsen RatingsSpecialty code usage

Cross Channel/Platform

Use of content between platformsSwitching from mobile to desktop to app experienceCommodity content – preferred method of ingestion

Review business goals/objectives Determine which metrics will best measure an objective’s success Use the SMART approach:

• Specific• Measureable• Assignable• Realistic• Time-related

Metrics Selection


Review your roadmap. What metrics would you use to measure success?

Workshop Exercise


7 Governance & Tools


If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up

someplace else.Yogi Berra


GOVERNANCE & TOOLS

① Governance Benefits② Team Model③ Tools


Provides a structure for content creation and maintenance. Provides a forum for content-related issues. Group members can collaboratively define success measures (reduce silos).

Governance: Benefits


Governance: Team Model


Governance Team

Working Groups

BrandAccessibilit

yLegal Taxonomy ContentStrategy

Operations Technology Marketing Publishing TaxonomyStrategy

Executive Sponsor

Provides central area for content planning and production. Should align with other calendars (technical implementations, marketing

campaigns, product releases, etc.) Include go-live dates, dependencies, responsible party

Governance Tools: Content Calendar


Provides information on content creation (or other) progress. Helps to identify potential roadblocks. Help to plan for future initiatives.

Governance Tools: Dashboards


Can be used in conjunction with a RACI chart.

Provides clear steps in approval process.

Shows hand off points.

Governance Tools: Governance Workflow


Governance Tools: Review Model


8 Workshop Review


Are we there yet?

DonkeyShrek’s Best Friend & Sidekick


What went well? What could be improved?

Workshop Review – Input Needed!


Kevin Nichols

[email protected]: @kpnicholsLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kevinpnichols

Rebecca Schneider

[email protected]: @azzardconsultLinkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccaschneider

Contact Information


omnichannelcontentstrategy.com

THANK YOU!Kevin Nichols

Rebecca Schneider


9 Appendix


LCP Consulting. The Omni-Channel Dilemma. October 2014.http://www.lcpconsulting.com/2014-omni-channel-study/

Trager, Lisa. Stop the insanity! Planning for a Unified Omnichannel Strategy. May 13, 2014.http://www.slideshare.net/tragester/stop-the-insanity-l-tragerfinal5914

Havas Worldwide. Prosumer Report. Building Brands That Matter: The Sweet Spot Between Trust & Dynamism. 2013.http://www.prosumer-report.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2013/11/HWW-Prosumer-Report-Brand-Dynamism-Hi-Res.pdf

Deloitte Consulting. The Omnichannel Opportunity: Unlocking the Power of the Connected Consumer. February, 2014.http://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/uk/Documents/consumer-business/unlocking-the-power-of-the-connected-consumer.pdf

Forrester Consulting (commissioned by Accenture and hybris). Customer Desires vs. Retailer Capabilities: Minding the Omni-Channel Commerce Gap. January 2014.http://www.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/Accenture-Customer-Desires-VS-Retailer-Capabilities.pdf

Retail Systems Research (sponsored by hybris). Omni-Channel 2014: Double Trouble. 2014.Request report at: http://hybris.com/en/downloads/analyst-report/rsr-omni-channel-2014/715

Jones, Colleen. Clout: The Art and Science of Influential Web Content. New Riders: Berkeley, CA. 2011

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