The Emperor is still being sold the latest season’s threads

[Jahangir147]

Tim and I met with a potential new client last week. They’re looking to diversify their existing business model and asked us to help them re-visit their digital footprint in the knowledge their digital offering isn’t ready to reflect the change.

We love getting asked to talk with people about these kinds of jobs. It’s our opportunity to show people what digital balance is really about. We get to drive the project from the outset so we can therefore make it as meaningful and effective as possible. Our approach for this type of project is to strip it back to basics; see what’s happening right now (were you expecting that?) and understand the purpose (is what you expected what you wanted?) before we diagnose the solution.Taking people along the learning journey with us is part of the golden thread of digital transformation for a company.

The session went well, we had lots of nods from around the room venezuela email list 2 million contact leads and smiles (I’m a sucker for a positive audience) and then the killer question came; “So what do we get at the end of this?” immediately followed up with; “We’ve been sold so many magic solutions in the past and frankly none of them have worked, so why should this?” And that’s when it struck me.

We live in a digital fairy tale.
Our industry is a little bit like Hans Christian Andersen’s: The Emperor’s New Clothes. Still.

“Many years ago there was an Emperor so exceedingly fond of new clothes that he spent all his money on being well dressed. He cared nothing about reviewing his soldiers, going to the theatre, or going for a ride in his carriage, except to show off his new clothes.”

We still have swindlers out there promising to make the performance of your Google Adwords go through the roof, telling you that their new App really will suddenly drive you the levels of engagement you have only ever dreamed of. And don’t even get me started on the Facebook thing.

The problem is when faced with the swindlers some clients still feel a little like the Emperor. They’ve been dazzled by the product pitch and don’t want to appear stupid by asking the obvious question.