capture2If content personalization was easy, everyone would already be doing it. In reality, most organizations do more talking about personalization than actually scaling the competency. Several reasons contribute to this:

numberThe sheer magnitude of taking on personalization is so daunting that it stops organizations in their tracks.

number-1The failure to adopt an enterprise-wide content strategy prevents the organizational alignment necessary for success.

number-2Organizations underestimate the volume of content required to maintain their personalization strategy.

number-3People confuse technology with strategy and haven’t done the pre-personalization work needed to optimize its technology investments.

In our work, we advise people to “Press Pause” at three key junctures to make sure they are asking the right questions and considering the best options. These “Press Pause” moments and what needs to be considered include:

 

p1
All Talk; No Action: Companies just getting started down the personalization path

 

  • Know your customer before you create any content
  • Define where you are and where you’re going before starting
  • Understand that this is a team sport and collaboration across functions is mission critical

 

p2
Lot of Bricks; No Building: Companies that need to knit multiple personalization pilots or
initiatives into a cohesive strategy

 

  • Find everything that is already being done
  • Get all the owners together to evolve or define enterprise strategy
  • Determine building blocks from across initiatives
  • Fill in the blanks
  • Assure executive leadership to guide and manage publishing strategy
  • Anticipate ownership issues—take a user-centric approach to drive cross-silo collaboration
  • Socialize across business units to assure success

 

p3
Cart Before the Horse: Companies that have invested in technology but still need to optimize

 

  • Use content strategy to drive technology investments
  • Optimize technical investments with the right architecture to support personalization
  • Adopt centralized ownership to align technology and prevent out-of-context one-off purchases

 

The goal is to adopt a strategy that is right for the organization and that can be divided into digestible bites that provide a doable step strategy. It’s easy to be overwhelmed without stopping and setting achievable goals. Critically examining your organization and defining the most logical starting point for adopting content personalization is key. This scrutiny will help determine if personalization is even right for your company.

The Big Content Alliance (BCA), which was formed by ComBlu and AvenueCX, recently introduced a Press Pause webinar series. We formed BCA to bring a SWAT team approach to enterprise content strategy. Our goal is to help clients consider their organizational and operational readiness to scale enterprise content strategy. In many cases, it is imperative to “Press Pause” so that organizations can take the time they need to ensure they can set up their content operations and solutions for continual success.

The first webinar was hosted by Gather Content. It has a detailed list of questions to consider at each “Press Pause” moment as well as insights and considerations for each set of questions. Let us know which “Press Pause” moment your organization most closely identifies with.

Cheryl Treleaven

Cheryl Treleaven

Principal

Engaging your customers is at the heart of successful marketing programs. For more than 20 years, Cheryl has been building and executing content and thought leadership strategies designed to do just that. She is excited to be applying that well-honed skill to a help companies like Microsoft, Cisco, 3M, Intel, Capital One and Barclaycard tap into their stakeholder communities and build sophisticated content strategies.

Her experience base spans a range of industries – from technology and financial services to retail, travel, consumer products and healthcare. Cheryl has served as an integral member of her clients’ marketing teams, providing counsel on marketing and brand strategy, thought leadership, media relations, product introductions, and event management.

Prior to joining ComBlu, Cheryl spent 10 years leading corporate marketing for large, complex organizations.