Starting the house from the roof is never a good idea. In the world of digital marketing, wanting to strategize without a solid, optimized website also often results in wasted time and effort.
Wanting to move towards conversion scenarios without a cross-cutting and detailed communication plan is problematic. Everything is due to the fact that nowadays websites are the basis of any digital presence, they become a kind of headquarters, the Batcave of your marketing and digital communication strategy. We do not detract from the Batmobile and all it can do for the dark knight, but without a safe place to take refuge and plan his steps, Batman would have a very difficult time.
When some of our new clients come to NAL3 with the intention of carrying out paid media campaigns or a complete social media strategy, we have to pause to ask the right questions before launching into action. Falling into disorganization from the beginning does not usually lead to anything good. At NAL3, before we start working with new clients we evaluate their digital assets and check how they interact with their desires and objectives. At this stage 0 of analysis we often find ourselves with websites that are obsolete or sustained with technical patches on the verge of giving up. At that moment, our sense of commitment and transparency drive us to offer new roadmaps to our clients’ strategy that go through the creation or renewal of the website.
Nobody likes to have their plans changed, especially when it has to do with our business. That’s why it’s normal that the first reaction is confusion, frustration or fear: “Now they’re coming up with this? But I just wanted to do Ads campaigns, I want something easy and fast. I want something easy and fast, why do I have to renovate my website now? What if they just want to make money off me? At NAL3, we understand these insecurities and, at the same time, we trust in our capabilities and in the potential of your business. With more than 25 years in this industry, we have seen too many Anakin Skywalkers turn into Darth Vader, but we also have enough experience to recognize hope amidst the fear. We invite you to let us guide you through this process and, like Luke Skywalker, avoid falling into fear and, little by little, into the Dark Side.
How do we fix this?
Yoda-style and (possibly) to your disbelief: “the first step another analysis is”. This sounds like Groundhog Day, doesn’t it? And it is that part of our job as a digital marketing agency is to put our clients in crisis with a complete questionnaire where questions such as:
Do you know who your hosting provider is?
Is there a style manual?
With which members of your team should you agree on decisions and changes to the website?
First of all, the technical aspects are the skeleton of the website, the structure of the building we are going to construct. Without that resolved, there is nowhere to start. In the same way, the building cannot be left with an unpainted façade and bare wires. What is your corporate image? Do you know everything that is involved in the visual and narrative section of a brand nowadays? If it is not well defined, it will be necessary to open another layer of this cursed matrioshka that seems to be a project with NAL3. At this point we make a call for calm because all this narrative can be intense and dramatic. Through this “sincericide” we do not intend to scare or demotivate. On the contrary, we want to show the reality and complexity of a digital marketing and communication strategy today. Everything is related, all your communication routes drink from each other, they are all transversal and, fortunately or unfortunately, the website is the ring road that connects them.
We want to move away from the “yopuedism” that some web creation services sell. In the complex system of digital communication, it is not possible to do everything without a specialized department or an agency to support you in the process. The peculiarity of NAL3 is that we have a wide variety of in-house services and we coordinate internally to make your website a success. In our team you will find the development part, the web design part and much more. Yes, we usually have the presence of several professionals who take care of everything from the technical configuration to the branding renovation, including the development of content following a SEO optimization strategy. We also take care of the undervalued collection of resources and, if necessary, the audiovisual production needed to accompany the words that describe what your company does, how and why.
In the end, a website should be the safe space to display your brand narrative. Together with the information of your business objectives, this narrative will not only be useful at a brand awareness level, but also at a commercial level. At NAL3 we not only work for you, we work with you. As we said before, we are not here to reduce your workload -or, at least, not at the beginning of the strategy-. Think of us as a love relationship. If we want this to work, we need to agree and work together in the same direction. You may be surprised by this approach where the agency also demands commitment, but we’ve had our hearts broken a few times and we know what can happen. That’s why, when we propose schedules, we not only try to adjust to our responsibilities but also to our clients’ own rhythm. In that sense, one of the most common and least talked about setbacks is the lack of internal coordination when making decisions, which leads to avoidable changes and delays. It is possible to agree to disagree and, if necessary, to give more time to the generation of the new website if we are going to be on the safe side. For NAL3 it is also our duty to show you that we deserve your trust and that we can make something happen that will make a difference in your digital presence and in your business.
End?
Let’s make a flashforward! The new website is published with all the quality criteria. The organic positioning is underway, the rebranding has helped us to rethink the aesthetics in social networks and the paid campaigns are paying off. The credit titles can start to appear… can’t they?
We are sorry to tell you that this movie is not over, because you can’t just make a website and leave it there. Learning from the mistakes of the past when it comes to websites involves monthly maintenance. Even Neo needs an “operator” in the human world to load the fighting programs and look for the entrances and exits of the Matrix. From NAL3, we make sure that the WordPress that supports your website is healthy and up to date.
As you can see, starting a digital marketing project can involve more work than planned, especially when it involves the creation or renovation of your website. If you belong to the industrial or B2B sector and want to carry out your communication strategy but don’t know how or where to start, at NAL3 we will help and guide you on this journey. Even if the starting point is ignorance and mistrust, we will transform them with consulting and tactical information for you to move forward in a world as changing as the digital one. Of course, the last word is up to you.
You take the blue pill: you believe what you want to believe and look for patches to more complex solutions. You take the red pill: you treat your digital marketing and communication strategy as what it is, something global and transversal. Remember: all we offer is our experience based on 25 years of work in the sector. Nothing more.
