Preparing for the Future: Content
Strategy and Omnichannel
AZZARD
CONSULTING

INTRODUCTIONS
KEVIN NICHOLS
DIRECTOR, GLOBAL PRACTICE LEAD, CONTENT STRATEGY, SAPIENTNITRO
 18 Years experience in the Web Development Industry
 Key Clients: MIT Open Courseware, Hewlett Packard, Sprint, Intel
 Twitter: #kpnichols
REBECCA SCHNEIDER
PRESIDENT, AZZARD CONSULTING
 19 Years experience in Information Management
 Industries: Retail, Auto Manufacturing, Financial
Services, Telecommunications, Luxury Goods
 Twitter: #azzardconsult
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1. SOME DEFINITIONS
(OMNI, CONTENT STRATEGY, ETC.)
WHAT YOU’LL
BE SNOOZING*
THROUGH
2. HOW DO YOU CREATE A
CONTENT STRATEGY FOR
OMNI
 Thinking about consumers
 Considering channels
 Working with the content lifecycle
*Or texting, or tweeting, or emailing.
3. SELLING OMNI TO YOUR
STAKEHOLDERS
4. EVALUATING OMNI CONTENT
5. QUESTIONS?
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SOME DEFINITIONS
Is Omnichannel a new cable network?

CONTENT STRATEGY*
Content
Content communicates an idea which is recorded.
Content Strategy
Content Strategy focuses on ways to meet the needs of content
consumers, including how content is distributed, managed and overseen.
*OK, so everyone here knows this, but people looking at this SlideShare might
not.
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MULTI CHANNEL*
Multi Channel
Providing content suited to a specific factor or channel:
•
Desktop
•
Tablet
•
Smartphone
•
In-store
Effective Multi Channel Experience
Strives to provide a collective content experience across all channels
Takes advantage of a particular form factor’s strengths
Cross-references experiences across all channels
*Nope, not watching two TV shows at the same time.
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OMNICHANNEL*
Omnichannel
Omnichannel is an approach to
multichannel that provides content at
every point in the customer journey
(analog, digital, in-store).
So:
This means that all content represents
brand and a customer interaction:
 All content is an asset
 Content is an investment in customer
experience with measurable return.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeremiah_owyang
*Nope, not watching multiple TV shows at the same time.
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OMNICHANNEL STORIES*
Starts with a good story and
figures out how to tell it through
each medium.
Omnimedia - perfect balance of content
between mediums:
 TV show referenced
cookbooks, magazine referenced
both, fully realized it in multi- and digital
media
 Exclusive content specific to each
channel
Collective content experiences:
 Stories told that appeal to lifestyle
 Connects one channel to the next via
customer journey
*Narratives, not ‘little’ white lies.
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CONTENT STRATEGY FOR OMNI
Omni: Coming to a town near you.

THINKING ABOUT
Since they usually help pay the bills…
CONSUMERS

OMNI EXPERIENCE
LOYALTY IS
SHARED VIA
SOCIAL; CALLS
TO SUPPORT
ARE
PERSONALIZE
D
EMAILS
PROVIDE
SUPPORT;
PROMOS
LEAD TO
MORE
PURCHASES
REGISTRATIO
N LEADS TO
EMAIL & SMS
WITH MORE
PROMOS
TV
COMMERCIAL
LEADS TO
TABLET WEB
SITE
CUSTOMER
OMNI
EXPERIENC
E
PRODUCT
PACKAGE
LEADS TO
SHARING ON
SOCIAL AND
REGISTRATIO
N
TABLET WEB
SITE
PROMPTS
PROFILE
CREATION
WITH PROMO
PROFILE
LEADS TO
STORE WITH
COUPON ON
MOBILE
STORE LEADS
TO PRODUCT
PURCHASE
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OMNICHANNEL STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK
DESKTOP
MOBILE
TABLET
IN-STORE
PUBLICATIONS
TV/RADIO
PRODUCT
PACKAGING
CUSTOMER
SUPPORT
ECOMMERCE
CUSTOMER PROFILE
CUSTOMER PROFILE
PRODUCT & SERVICE CONTENT
SOCIAL MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES
ADVERTISING & MEDIA
SALES’ SUPPORT & TOOLS
APPS
EMAIL
PERSONALIZATION
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CHANNEL
This is not about deciding which TV channel to watch.
CONSIDERATIONS

CONTENT DESIGN PRINCIPLES*
Customer-centric content
Full experience cycle
Data-driven
Structured content design approach
Iterative content lifecycle
*Things your mother never told you.
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CHANNEL: Desktop*
How does a user enter the site?
What long form content is needed?
Where are the points of conversion
specific to desktop?
What information will the user provide
(e.g., Profile)?
*At work and avoiding a meeting.
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CHANNEL: Mobile & Tablet*
Where are they (context)?
What do they need based on
context? For example:
 How would she use a smart-phone in a
store?
 What does she or others like her do with
apps?
Who are they talking to (social)
and how?
For example:
 How would she use social on apps and what
opportunities exist?
Remember tablet and smartphone
are different
*Did you buy enough data?
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CHANNEL: Email & SMS
When do you send an email or SMS?
When and do you follow up?
For example:
 For absentee customers
 Appreciation emails
How/what do you personalize?
SMS
Should they opt-in?
Which content is most useful
for the user via SMS?
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CHANNEL: In Store*
Is there a Kiosk?
 Can they create profile?
 Are there social opps?
Are there QR codes?
What can be personalized?
 What does sales associate
know about customer
 Previous purchase behavior
Do you have Coupons/Vouchers
for in-store?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lydiashiningbrightly/
*This will ride up with wear.
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CHANNEL: Packaging*
Can packaging be personalized?
Can you provide inserts?
Are there social sharing possibilities?
How can package drive customer to
other channels?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/54544400@N00/
*Can it not be a ridiculous amount of
plastic?
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CHANNEL: Post Purchase
Post Purchase Support
How do you provide support
for each channel?
Is support Personalized?
 We know you have this product,
we know you called before, etc.
NOTE:
Satisfying customers after they
purchase really matters
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarale/
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LIFECYCLE
Unlike a stationary bike, does not require sweating.
CONSIDERATIONS

LIFECYCLE: Create Content*
Which content needs created for
each channel?
What are the inter-linking points
between each channel?
 How can they be cross-referenced
and leveraged?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/byronnewmedia/
What groups will be responsible
for content creation?
How can personalization enable
the Omni experience?
*Hamster wheel for English majors.
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LIFECYCLE: Manage Content*
Who will be responsible for
managing content?
How can you ensure that
communication across content
production groups is clear?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tpapi/
*Whack a Mole for English majors.
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LIFECYLE: Publish Content*
Is there a robust content
production / editorial calendar?
 Event driven
 Folds in quarterly reviews to optimize
for trends, usage, business
requirements
Is the calendar aligned with
significant product
launches, company
announcements, etc.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eliburford/
*Almost like Citizen Kane.
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LIFECYLE: Evaluate Content
Are there metrics and KPIs in
place to understand how content
is being used within the
Omnichannel context?
Are production workflows effective
and not burdensome?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/asteriusmedia
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LIFECYCLE: Enhance Content*
Based on metrics and analytics
what content should be enhanced?
Are there particular interaction
points which could be exploited
further?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/avinashkaushik
*No, not that kind of enhancement.
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LIFECYCLE: Governance*
Is there one group within the organization which ensures alignment of
Omni content across all business units?
EXECUTIVE SPONSOR
GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE
STRATEGY
BRAND
ACCESSIBILIT
Y
LEGAL
TAXONOMY
CONTENT
PUBLISHING
TAXONOMY
WORKING GROUPS
STRATEGY
OPERATIONS
TECHNOLOG
Y
MARKETING
*As if two people from the US should be talking about governance.
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SELLING OMNI TO YOUR
Yes, I really do need a larger budget.
STAKEHOLDERS

A STRATEGY, NOT AN EVENT*
Sell it as strategic and iterative.
Starts with a very basic foundation
and builds a richer experience
over time.
More robust experience is more
investment in new content to
support it.
A recent report suggests Omni
grew sales by 10% in 82% of Omni
retails in the past year – The
Omnichannel Revolution
http://www.flickr.com/photos/edgee/
*Cocktails, anyone?
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DEVELOP A ROADMAP*
Do a 1 – 3 year roadmap –
report quarterly
Use existing analytics and show
improvement with channel integration
Identify success metrics and ensure
that all areas have a testing strategy
to validate
Ensure a taxonomy and metadata tagging
strategy can support Omni experience
In the beginning focus is on testing and
validation of customer journey, user
behavior, optimized content lifecycle and
the performance of content within each
channel
Modify and enrich the content experience
over time
*Not yet on Google Maps.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10835648@N00
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PITFALLS*
Politics can yield impasses –
Internet lead generation versus
calls or store
Requires new way to track
performance and success
Boil the ocean will fail every time
Some is better than none
http://curiousanalytics.com
*Don’t look now…
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EVALUATING OMNI CONTENT
If you can’t measure it, you can’t justify it.
(Remember that budget request?)

CHANNEL INTERACTIONS
KEY QUESTION: Is the journey effective?
Rate at which content is viewed
(frequency and duration)
Determine the most popular content:
Content that is ‘trending’ with traffic
and engagement time:
 Use a trends app to measure which
content is most used.
Know the most successful content–
in the eyes of the customer:
AWARENESS
CONSIDERATIO
N
PREFERENCE
PURCHASE
RETENTION
 Rate at which a specific piece of content will
result in a conversion
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USER SATISFACTION
KEY QUESTION: Is the user (customer)
satisfied with the Omni experience?
Rate at which content is being shared via social
Rate at which content is downloaded
Survey the user on site or page performance
with user feedback tools
Determine problematic areas through bounce
rates and exit rates
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 How often does the phone
orientation change (switching from
vertical to horizontal)?
 How is social media being used?
OMNI &
SMARTPHONES
 How many users accept location
awareness prompts
 Where and when are Smart
Phones being Used: e.g., How are
Smart Phones being used instore?
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
OMNI & TABLET
For Websites that have apps, how
many users ignore the call to action to
download the app and opt to view the
actual Website?

What is the delta between the
conversion rates on Tablet/Smart
Phone versus Desktop?

Which products or services are sold
from an app?
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

OMNI & TABLET II
What is available via desktop
web vs. an app?
How many users switch from a mobile
app to a desktop experience?

When does the user switch to desktop
from a mobile app?

For commodity/published content,
what are the actual number of readers
in a tablet edition versus a paper
published edition?
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QUESTIONS?
Scathing rebuttal anyone?

THANK
YOU!

CONTACT INFORMATION
KEVIN NICHOLS
knichols@sapient.com
kevinpnichols.com
Twitter: #kpnichols
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinpnichols
REBECCA SCHNEIDER
rschneider@azzardconsulting.com
azzardconsulting.com
Twitter: #azzardconsult
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccaschneider
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