Many web managers and consultants agree that having a web strategy and governance structure in place would make their job much easier and would provide benefits for the organisation.
However, most web managers also agree that moving from the day to day tasks of maintaining a website to thinking strategically is an overwhelming task. It requires the influencing of various stakeholders, changing work processes, obtaining the right data, setting up measurable goals and much more work. How do you find the time? And is it actually worth all the effort?
We researched this issue in the report on Best Practices for Creating a Web Strategy. It also came up at our conference in Philadelphia in May, where Martin White, British information strategy expert, offered the advice not to tackle the entire organisation at once when you are developing a web strategy. Rather you should address one individual or department at a time. Find out how you can make their job easier through the web activities. That way, you slowly build the support of internal stakeholders.
This task could turn out to be a marathon exercise though. Lisa Welchman, the US-based guru on web governance, argued in favour of another approach in order not to wear yourself out: Start at the top, not the bottom. Find a sponsor, and then promote the web heavily to him or her.
A mix of both approaches will be necessary. As I’ve argued before, you need to communicate strategically about web to both management and peers. A good web strategy has executive support in order to ensure funding and a basis for governance. It also has support from internal stakeholders at different levels in the organisation, since they are critical to both the definition and the implementation of the strategy. Without consulting internal stakeholders, you wouldn’t know how your web activities could best support the organisation.
Still, you might question if all this effort will actually provide the necessary results. As my colleague Janus has pointed out previously, sometimes you don’t need a strategy. Too often strategy work ends up being a costly, time consuming exercise involving too many meetings and e-mails, and very little action in the end.
This is a real problem. However, instead of dismissing strategy altogether, I would advice you give your strategy work a clear focus. All too often web strategy projects are abstract and large in scale, making them overwhelming and futile exercises.
Divide your strategy work into phases, instead of trying to do everything at once. That will make it easier for you to communicate to management and other stakeholders. You will have one message and one desired action. Also, you will be able to show successes faster, which you can then use as an argument in later strategy phases when you need to deal with the more difficult strategic issues.
What are your experiences with creating a web strategy? Is it worth it?
