Return on Intention

Lenses, we all have them. They are the filters we see the world through. One of mine is related to business results online. I see everything through the marketing lens. To me every piece of content is an opportunity to persuade web users to take a specific action. These lenses shape the way we view the world and the action we take, but they are not always the best views for us to have. They can be misleading and in my opinion is the biggest reason innovation can be a hard thing to accomplish. 

Being online is part of a companies strategy. Their website, widget or online marketing efforts are part of that strategy. This means that these initiatives are ongoing. You have to test, learn and build your way to success, online or off. Thats just the way it is. Given that, when did people ever think that buying a “website” was like buying a product. Through my lens, it makes no sense. You don’t hire other professional services that way, so why web development? There is no end to a web presence, it’s an evolution like the business or person who owns it. So why do some people shop for these services like they are looking for a car? Because thats their lens.

For years there have been people making software that is sold like a product. You can go to the store and buy Microsoft Office for a fixed price, take it home, install it and your set. So if you buy desktop software this way, shouldn’t you buy web software that way too? It seems to makes sense, even if it isn’t right most of the time.

To get real results online you have to continually test everything, and to do that you need professionals looking at the data, creating ideas, implementing them, testing variations and analyzing results. This is the real work of the web. When a website goes live, it’s the beginning of the work, not the end.

If posting a website to the internet is the end of a project then it’s no wonder most people are not getting the results they wanted. I have heard a million times “I just want something simple, then when it pays for itself I will grow it out.” Thats a great strategy except that most people pay for a website to be built, post it to the web and wait for the cash to pour in. It never works and millions of people end up with a weak internet presence that will never return their investment. Starting small and growing out an idea of any kind is a good way to approach things, but in web development or marketing it doesn’t mean get to version 1 of the site and then wait for the money to come in.

A better way, and the way to get real results is to start small with an ongoing budget that matches your business model, and then work from that budget until the results come. When they do, then increase the budget if it makes sense. The question to ask when establishing a budget for a web site, a marketing or PR campaign or any other business growth and sustainability program is NOT based on how much it will cost once, but rather, how much can your company put into it a month, every month until it succeeds. If there was a magic formula that worked every time then all web developers would be rich and they wouldn’t do client work. Google is a monster of a company now not because they got it all right the first time. They tried a lot of things, they tested ideas and kept what worked. Google employs the smartest people on the planet, and they don’t get it right all the time. What chance do the rest of us have to do it any better right off the bat? The same, actually.  

Success requires testing. Testing requires people hours. People hours cost money. Don’t leave it out of your budget. Do not try and buy a website like it’s a product with a fixed price. If you do, you have the wrong approach and strategy and you almost assuredly lose that investment, or at best, get extremely diminished returns. A website is a process, not a product. Keep that in mind, and in your budget.

Its amazing to me that I have been in New Mexico for over 5 years and it was only recently that I found that there is intelligent life in the web community. Today was the first ABQ web geeks meetup that I attended, and after this last weekends barcamp, I am happy to report that there is a good, smart web community in New Mexico. 

I was astounded that around 40 people showed up to O’Neils Pub on Central Ave tonight from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. There they were, real web folks. Some were shop owners, some were with start-ups, some were employees, but all were on top of their game. There wasn’t a table based layout in sight. I even heard that a large NM ad agency is working studiously to get their design department up to speed on the web. That may not sound huge, but for NM its a good step in the right direction.

Maybe its just me, still high from the excitement of a thriving community, but I think its time for another sprint. A big one. Keep your eyes peeled at the ABQ web geeks community at Duke City Fix, the Refresh Albuquerque Google group and this blog for more information. 

I would love to see this sprint take on not one, but two or three non-profit websites in a weekend. Get ready…. This is going to be good.

There is a concept in software development (at least web development) called agile that seems to be part of a larger trend. First lets talk about agile, then the trend.

In traditional web development, you sit down with a client and try and plan out a huge project. This can take months, going back and forth over what it really needs to do, how it needs to do it and so on. What you end up with a giant planning document and estimate that spells out what is going to happen. Many clients like it because it gives them a solid number they can attach to the project and budget for. It is all very rigid and if something changes a barrage of paperwork follows to ensure that the original document and budget is adjusted to reflect the changes. This is all about control and a clear map. Then there is agile.

Agile works like this, you set up a really rough plan of what you want, then the developers go and start building. Then you get back together and decide what is good or bad and go back to work. Rinse and repeat. The theory is that you can get a project developed faster because your not trying to guess how everything will work and plan it all out. You’re making it up as you go (at least the developmental details). Essentially you take all the planning time and exchange for actual development and testing of concepts. This is all about flexibility. All in all this seems to work, and get projects done in about the same budget range but usually faster, or better.

This seems to be part of a larger common theme. We used to all have to go to an office and punch a clock, but now there are a lot of telecommuters and “I don’t care when you work, just so long as it gets done on time”. A closer example for me is this years BarCamp Albuquerque. BarCamp is a volunteer run conference driven by and for a specific community. Traditional conferences are set up in advance and planned to death. They have to be. You have to get a venue, speakers, food and on and on. When the date for the conference is set the year prior, thats it. If you have something else going on, the conference is not going to change dates to accommodate you. BarCamp did.

BarCamp’s date was set two months prior to the event. It was also set on a holiday weekend. (That was my fault. I didn’t notice). After the conference was “full” in a few weeks, the “registered” attendees started to unregister in waves. Apparently they noticed it was a holiday weekend and had other plans. BarCamp moved back two weekends to accommodate, and the attendees came back. A traditional conference would not and could not do that.

It seems that being flexible is the way in which we all want to work now. We are all busy and have to juggle many different things. I hear work life balance is one of them, but I wouldn’t know about that, owning a small business :). Take a minute to consider the ways you do business. Are there steps in your process that are inflexible? What would happen if you changed it? How much planning do you do? How often does it go according to plan?

I’m not suggesting that you drop everything your doing and fly by the seat of your pants. I am suggesting you take a good look at how you operate and ask a few tough questions. Like in web development, most often big up front design specifications are only done to create an airtight contract. What good is an airtight contract? It allows you to nail someone who screws you over. Think about that…. is that the right way to engage in business? Yes we need to reduce risk, and yes we need contracts, but at what level and cost? Perhaps the right approach is one based more on collaboration. A process that is based more on getting things right and taking a few risks, not trying to guess how everything will go to the letter and have enough ass-coverage to go to court. No plan ever survives contact with real people, so why do we try so hard?

So what?

I can’t tell you how to live your life or run your business, but consider:

What (illusions of) control can you give up to make your life / business better or faster?

When hiring a web developer (or other profession) have you done enough research / due diligence to make a decision based on them and their capabilities? (rephrase) - Are you hiring them for what could be (making real value for the organization and market) , or what shouldn’t be (with a plan for when they screw up)?

Just some thoughts - there is a comment section, What’s your take?