It's amazing how many website projects go wrong! I could share some stories over a coffee one day! Millions of pounds wasted! You will invest a lot of time, effort and budget into a global roll out project. The secret is to get the right plan and team in place from day one...
Having worked on many content management projects across the world, we’ve identified 5 common challenges our clients face . We find that by openly discussing these issues at an early stage, and putting in place a strong project plan process, along with an experienced team, we can mitigate these potential risks for the company.
With this in mind, many of the top companies, such as the leading banks, the Grand Prix hosts and many major entertainment venues, have asked us to come and work with them to make sure their projects are delivered on time and on budget.
CHALLENGE #1 – TIGHT DEADLINES
In a global, multi-stakeholder environment, all the staff have great ambitions and ideas. However to hit the tight website timelines, you will need to develop a plan that allows you to manage and measure all deliverables quickly and effectively. Did you know there are over 10 steps in a standard Content Management and Website build process? And normally over 8 skillsets required! The trick is, just like us, you need to come up with a winning methodology to reduce risk and deliver on time.
CHALLENGE #2 – GET SUPPORT FROM SENIOR MANAGEMENT
Often the website content is not part of “the day job” of senior staff. If the project is not championed from the top down you will struggle to get traction and adoption at a local level. To make sure we run successful global website projects, we always ask the senior stakeholders to support and share their goals, objectives and KPIs upfront. CHALLENGE #3 – SIGN OFF AND PROJECT LEADERSHIP
It's always surprising the number of people that need to be consulted in a content project. For success, we recommend giving everyone the opportunity to contribute but ultimately electing one final sign off point. One person needs to be empowered by the management team to make quick decisions and for those decisions to be final. Design by committee does not work!
CHALLENGE #4 – UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMERS
Content creation can often just end up being a “copy and paste” of old ineffective websites. Yet if you want to generate the maximum sales, it's critical you think about what you are saying to the audience.
Our advice, understand the customers upfront, and then write with them in mind!
CHALLENGE #5 – AVAILABILITY OF KEY CONTACTS
This is always a challenge in global organisations. We've found workshops, and interviews booked upfront can really mitigate the risk. By booking these in advance, feedback from key contacts can gathered. It can get very stressful for everyone if everything is left to the last minute.
CHALLENGE #6 – IT'S NOT JUST TRANSLATION
Remember that localisation is not just translation. It’s about making the content relevant to the local audience. So we recommend re-writing all the content in a second language like Arabic. Don't just use Google Translate!
CHALLENGE #7 – CONTENT MANAGEMENT PROCESSES
Get them in place or find yourself in a whirlwind of stress and anxiety!!
This could include:
Proper sign off processes
Agreeing copywriting style upfront for each language
Brand guidelines
Defining and managing a content upload process
Training everyone on it!!
Implementing a spreadsheet or tracker for case tracking and issue management
Allowing sufficient time for sign off
Ensuring legal and compliance have a chance to input or review
If you’d like to discuss an upcoming project or simply find out more about our Content Management team, based in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, drop us an email and we can set up a conference call.
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