Implementing Digital Strategy: How To Ensure It Doesn’t Fail

15 Ways Your Digital Strategy Can Fail

The significance of digital marketing keeps rising. Online time usage is increasing, and digital marketing continues to receive more of the marketing money. It is simple to get into execution mode and just start acting when there are so many possibilities in digital marketing. One of the best methods to increase your digital return on investment is to invest in your strategy. A well-defined strategy cuts down on waste, gives your work more focus, and expands on what is already effective. Let’s look at 15 ways a digital plan can fail now that you are aware of what it is.

1. Expecting strategy implementation to be easy

A strategy’s implementation is frequently a difficult process that involves cautious planning, coordination, and execution. It’s not as easy as just coming up with a plan and praying everything works out.

2. Assuming all tactics will be effective when used

Not every plan works, and even well-designed ones sometimes fall short for a variety of reasons, including shifting market conditions, internal resistance to change, or simply being inadequate.

3. Expecting that execution should strictly follow a plan

Effective strategic implementation is a continuous process that calls for constant monitoring, adaptation, and tinkering. Plans are in place for a reason, but it frequently happens that circumstances change, necessitating the organization’s use of an agile strategy to adapt.

 4. Thinking that strategy implementation is just about execution

All workers, from the front lines to the C-Suite, must participate and be engaged in the implementation of the strategy. Due to their natural connection to those who formulate strategy at the top and the actual executors dispersed throughout the company, managers and supervisors who oversee implementation should be given the most input. 

 5. Thinking of implementation as a linear process

Implementing a strategy is not a simple process; it frequently involves loops and iterations and may involve several rounds of testing and experimenting.

6. Thinking of implementation as operational only

In addition to being operational, strategy execution also has a strategic and cultural component. Given the factors stated here that hinder implementation, a change in mindset and culture may be necessary.

7. As long as the plan is solid, expecting the result will be guaranteed.

Even with a sound plan, the result is not always assured, and other elements like the execution and the surrounding environment can have an impact. 

8. Assuming a shared vision

It is challenging for employees to decide how to proceed without a clear grasp of the organization’s goals and how they are intended to be attained. Always keep in mind that communicating a plan does not guarantee that it has been understood. For advice in this field, read “Be a Communication Powerhouse.”

 9. Equating communication with alignment

It is insufficient to simply inform all stakeholders of a plan. For a plan to be implemented successfully across levels, departments, and business units, alignment across these entities is required.

10. Automatically putting execution at fault

Some plans fall short because they were never completely developed. It is frequently simpler to point the finger at poor strategy implementation than to acknowledge that the original plan was unclear or flawed.

11. Ignoring other strategies being implemented in the organization

When compared to other strategies being implemented throughout the company, a particular strategy may feel awkward. Contradictions, muddling, or employee burnout from managing too many projects can result from this.

12. Fail to monitor progress

Implementation mistakes occur when the proper measures are not used to track and comprehend how a strategy is performing. It is challenging to recognize successes and failures without a grasp of progress.

13. Ignoring the need for patience in the implementation

Those who have invested a lot in carrying out a plan typically want to see results. People frequently give up on execution or make rash adjustments when results are anticipated too soon and do not come about as predicted.

14. Expecting automatic involvement and commitment by all stakeholders

Even when a strategy is effectively conveyed, comprehended, and aligned throughout an organization, some stakeholders may still be opposed to the strategy’s underlying concept or just be resistant to change.

15. Ignoring the knock-on effect of strategies

Major strategies are often implemented by organizations without considering how they might impact day-to-day operations. It frequently happens that managers and staff members focus too much on adjusting to the changes and neglect the continuing implementation.  

Barriers to strategy execution are frequently interconnected. The case study evidence firmly indicates that the occurrence of one obstacle will likely generate another related impediment, which in turn may generate another and another, creating a “coherent” chain of obstacles that act together and reinforce one another. 

Therefore, we can assume that when one of the obstacles appears, more will probably follow. This may be a result of the connection between the barriers or poor administration.