Getting your website strategy right

It’s not about being right, it’s about getting it right.

I’ve been thinking about this concept quite a bit lately as it relates to websites and strategy. Often, organizations spend boatloads and take an excessive amount of time on their website design/redesign trying to be right, rather than focusing on getting it right.

The difference between being right and getting it right is more of a mindset than specific tasks or techniques regarding website design, development, marketing and branding.

Being right is a stagnant mindset that fears innovation and resists change. It’s a one and done thinking pattern that leaves very little room for growth. Being right isn’t how you want to approach your website strategy. Business, especially in the digital space, is a rapidly evolving environment and if your website strategy isn’t constantly adapting the effectiveness of your organization to communicate online will be left behind.

Your website can get stuck on being right in several areas: visual design perfection, Search Engine Optimization rankings, unrealistic website traffic numbers, vision and positioning statements that sound great but don’t reflect the way your organization actually operates.

Getting it right is a growth mindset that means you never quite arrived at your destination. Organizational vision, principals, mission, goals, strategic narrative, and branding serve as guides, but their focus and implementation remains flexible, iterative, and adaptable. The same is true with your marketing plan and content strategy for your website.

Success often focuses on being right. Excellence focuses on getting it right. Nick Saban, arguably the greatest college football coach of all time, has had success because his focus has always been on getting it right rather than being right. In 2006 he was coaching the NFL Miami Dolphins team and famously said “I’m not going to be the Alabama coach.” Ten days later, he found himself on a plane to be the next coach at Alabama after being heavily courted by Alabama’s Director of Athletics. He realized college football was the best fit for him and his family. He then went on to build the Alabama dynasty on defense and a conservative offense only to realize that the game was changing to high scoring offenses. Rather than dig his heals in about defense being the right way to win games, he adapted, and the rest is history.

Another example is Gen. Mark Milley’s infamous walk with then President Donald Trump that gave the perception of military interference with domestic politics. Milley later said he was wrong, and would later go on to ensure there were no breaches of nuclear command and control protocol during the final stage of Trump’s presidency.

Website strategy requires a mindset of excellence, of getting it right, in a dynamic environment. Where are you more concerned about your website being right than getting it right?

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