Handling Digital Strategy Reviews: How It Should Be Done (+Examples)

Digital Marketing Reviews are an important part of the strategic process. Before you begin building the strategy, it’s important that review timelines are set in stone with the teams. It is sometimes important to put reviews in calendars for the year so everyone clearly knows during what period they are being measured. It is also an important part of ensuring that teams are adhering to the guidelines and the strategy set. Everything should be guided by specific timelines, activities and reviews!

Through consistent measurement, you have the ability to identify performance levels and make decisions on them. Underperforming content and tactics can be addressed. Improve content or at times scrapping activity that just isn’t working.

It is important to capitalize on strengths as much as weaknesses. Quite often, the focus is on improving underperformance. The opportunity is to also focus on positive performance. Strong performances give insight into a positive area of engagement. Can it be built on? Can it be made even stronger? Can we optimize through media, creative or process?

How will you spot your weaknesses? Over time you will begin to learn what your benchmark is. You will have the measure of what is good and what is bad. You will use these measures to spot what is underperforming. When something is underperforming, you should try to assume why that is the case, then adapt the message, copy or creative, and finally see how it performs.

In my last article, I have featured a clear phasing plan. It is from this plan that you decide when reviews should happen. In one document, it should clearly lay out the purpose of each phase, the activity occurring through the year and investment by time period/quarter/campaign.

It is so important to give the strategy room to breathe. Strategies in digital should operate for at least two years in an iterative process. Ideally, three-year visions for digital will result in long-term business success. Too many brands rush things on digital and as a result, they see early successes but it is not sustainable. If they don’t see the commercial return they can also revert back to traditional practices.
Remember, strategy takes time and commitment to building performance!