Insights
In a world that's constantly changing, how are organizations measuring online success? How do they decide which strategies to take on and which to leave for later? How do they keep growing and meeting business goals? To align strategies and tactics with goals, organizations need to measure their effectiveness online. Digital maturity is one way many organizations do this.
What Is Digital Maturity? Maturity in Today’s Digital Age
Digital maturity measures how well an organization can leverage digital marketing tactics and strategies to create value or reach business goals. Though technology plays a role in an organization’s digital maturity, digital maturity is about more than just technology. It encompasses everything from the fundamentals of digital marketing to in-depth strategies and processes.
Notably, true digital maturity also aligns with business goals, allowing teams to make strategic decisions based on factors like capacity, resources, and business needs.
For example, a young organization may want to emphasize the fundamentals of digital marketing as they get off the ground and build brand awareness, while a more established organization may want to utilize more complex strategies to convert users to a product or service.
Regardless of an organization’s current digital maturity, team members must be strategic as they undertake any projects related to digital transformation and the advancement of digital maturity to optimize their work.
Understand the Benefits of Digital Maturity
Digital maturity may be easy to deprioritize instead of existing work and day-to-day projects, but it has wide-reaching impacts on your organization.
With a more digitally mature organization, your Client experience will be enhanced with more tailored, consistent interactions over time. Your operational efficiency will also increase, as more digitally mature organizations can rely on automation more consistently. You will also be able to secure a larger competitive advantage, because you will be leveraging your tools to their fullest.
On the other hand, ignoring digital maturity can have negative consequences, like poor brand awareness, missed opportunities for innovation, and lack of insights for effective decision-making.
Before undertaking a large digital maturity project, teams should first familiarize themselves with the stages of digital maturity, starting with the fundamentals of digital marketing, to understand both where they are currently, and where they would like to go in the future.
The Stages of Digital Maturity: How to Measure Digital Maturity
As with most things, digital maturity is a spectrum, and it varies depending on the organization applying the tactics. Activities like the fundamentals of digital marketing may seem foundational to one organization, but advanced to another. By measuring the stages of digital maturity against the organization’s current state, you can better understand what will be most beneficial to your unique organization.
At Br8kthru, we measure digital maturity using three stages: foundation, acceleration, and expansion. These stages give us a better understanding of what activities will have the greatest impact while aligning with business goals, without requiring organizations to undertake specific tactics or activities that may or may not work for their stage of growth.
First, foundational activities include the fundamentals of digital marketing, which address key components of being a business online. For example, foundational activities include creating a website and establishing an organizational infrastructure. They may not convert users in and of themselves, but these activities lay the groundwork for all future activities.
Next, acceleration activities help move your business beyond the fundamentals and into slightly more complex tactics and strategies. Here, your work begins to pick up momentum, thanks to previous stages. Activities at this stage may include search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing, email marketing, and social media marketing. These activities can help build the brand and begin to convert users over time.
Finally, expansion advances your business into tactically and strategically complex activities. Activities like search marketing, digital public relations (PR), account-based marketing, omnichannel marketing, and automation are all expansion activities that rely heavily on the groundwork laid by the previous two stages, foundation and acceleration. At this stage, your organization will continue converting users and begin to build customer relationships and loyalty.
Take the Next Step: Digital Marketing Maturity Assessment
Understanding the stages of digital maturity is the first step in making meaningful change toward a more digitally mature organization. Beyond understanding the fundamentals of digital marketing and the foundation, acceleration, and expansion framework, your organization must understand where on the spectrum you fall, and what activities will be most beneficial to you moving forward. To understand that, you may consider a digital marketing maturity assessment.
A digital marketing maturity assessment, such as Br8kthru’s Digital Marketing Gap Audit, can help your organization assess your current state, including strengths and opportunities. Our subject matter experts (SMEs) will analyze your digital marketing efforts in one of our areas of focus and provide you with actionable insights on what you can do to improve your digital marketing maturity over time.
Unlock Your Full Digital Potential with a Digital Marketing Gap Audit
Digital maturity is a key component of understanding business performance and planning for future growth. Whether you’re focused on the fundamentals of digital marketing or want to find ways to leverage existing activities for more advanced strategies, understanding your digital maturity is key.
A Digital Marketing Gap Audit will provide you with analysis and recommendations on three areas of focus to help you gauge your digital marketing maturity. In turn, that will allow you to advance your maturity for a better Client experience, improved operational efficiency, more competitive advantage, and more.
Ready to get started leveling up your digital marketing? Contact us today to request your Digital Marketing Gap Audit.