Does a business need an app if its competitors have one?
Only if the app does something the website cannot. In one audit the real problem was a website that did not work on phones, so an app would have been an expensive workaround.
Blog
The first question I always ask
What you actually need digital to do for the business. The answer usually shows a gap between what a business is asking for and what it needs. One wanted more Instagram followers when it needed corporate training clients, who were searching Google and LinkedIn. Another asked for better SEO when its site did not explain what it did. A third wanted an app when its website did not work on phones. Choose the tools once the need is clear.
Why start with what the business needs digital to do?
Because the answer decides everything after it. Before I open a browser or check page speeds, meta descriptions or social accounts, I ask every business the same question, and I asked all 55 in the audit programme: what do you actually need digital to do for you? It sounds obvious, and it almost always reveals a gap between the request and the need.
Why were more Instagram followers the wrong goal?
Because the business needed corporate training clients, and they were not on Instagram. When I asked why it wanted more followers, the answer came down to more clients for its corporate training programmes. The HR directors who commission training search Google, ask colleagues and review LinkedIn profiles. What the business needed was a better enquiry process on its website, targeted LinkedIn activity aimed at HR departments, and two or three strong case studies showing measurable outcomes. Instagram was a distraction.
When is "improve our SEO" not an SEO problem?
When the site does not say what the business does. Another business asked me to improve its SEO. The problem was not technical: the homepage was vague, the service pages were thin, and a potential customer could not have told you what it offered after reading the whole site. It needed to set out what it did, for whom and why someone should choose it, and better search visibility would follow as a by-product.
Why did a business that wanted an app not need one?
Because the app was a workaround for a website problem. A third business wanted a mobile app because competitors had one, and when I asked what it would do that the website could not, the answer was that it would be more convenient. Its website did not work properly on phones, so what it needed was a well-structured, mobile-friendly site with good search visibility.
How should goals and tools fit together?
Goals first. Websites, social media, email, CRM and analytics each do something specific, and none has value until it is connected to a business need. "We should be on TikTok" is not a strategy; "we need to reach 18-25 year old customers and TikTok is where they spend their time" is the start of one. When someone asks what to do on social media, my first question is who their customers are and how those customers find them now.
Related evidence: 55 digital audits. Here’s what I found.. Earlier in this journey: What 55 audits taught me.
Questions people ask
Where do corporate buyers look for training providers?
In that audit, the HR directors who commission corporate training were searching Google, asking colleagues for recommendations and reviewing LinkedIn profiles rather than scrolling Instagram.
Not sure where to start?
Most clients begin with a conversation. No pitch, no hard sell.
Just a straightforward discussion about where you are and whether I can help.
Book a free 30-minute call