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How is the digital blueprint implemented?

Going from strategy to implementation is a major challenge and requires a collaborative, fast-moving engagement model. First, the strategic development process needs broad representation from key internal constituencies and buy-in from senior executives. Having representatives in the room from business groups, marketing, IT, and digital functions will ensure not only that they sign off on the strategy but also give operational support when it comes to implementing the blueprint. Senior executives should provide the focus and decision making authority to propel the process forward and ensure that barriers to adoption and implementation are quickly addressed.

Second, teams working on the digital strategy need a mix of participants who can develop pragmatic strategies and tactics: both generalists who understand digital business models, marketing and media, and emerging trends in the category, and the specialists responsible for implementing the plan. As teams generate insights during the assessment phase, generalists will understand how to prioritize investments and develop business models, feature sets, and programs. Strong user experience professionals, technologists, and creative designers will understand how to translate those insights into experiences, interaction models, workable concepts, and campaign ideas.

Third, there needs to be a balance between rigor and speed. If too much time is spent in the planning phase, organizations lose momentum and it becomes harder to drive to implementation. Wherever possible, teams should look for the existing sources of data and research that usually exist in large organizations. There are also myriad ways to get customer or prospect insights quickly through online data and tools, such as blog searches, buzz tracking, and live Q&A. In the hands of a good account planner, these methods can provide robust insights and may make it unnecessary for more traditional and time-intensive primary research.

Though implementation will differ by the type of organization and the complexity of the work, teams are normally structured into “tiers,� with different roles and responsibilities to ensure the right inputs at the right points in time.

Teams should be in place at the start of the engagement and will continue in their roles after the initial phase is complete to guide the work and engage in ongoing planning cycles. There are usually at least three teams: 1. Core digital strategy development group. This group does the work, sets the agenda, and aligns the rest of the organization around the initiative. It includes generalists, digital experts, the head of digital strategy, and other key people who are part of defining and developing the strategy.