Three Wise People, a Business Plan and a Content Strategy

 Ready for a little story?
                                          

Once upon a time there were three wise people who wanted to create a start-up. These smart people were full of good and nice ideas, and they liked doing things well. So they worked on a Business Plan for their new company.  

They knew they would need a website, and they also knew that a website isn't done in a day. So they decided to start working on it as they finished polishing their Business Plan.

As destiny would have it, they ended up in the hands of a Content Strategist. (I did say they liked doing things well, didn't I?). The Content Strategist told them that good content requires good thinking, so she had them thinking. And what good thinkers they were! They had four long sessions thinking about this and that. About goals and customers and messages and all sorts of other things. The Content Strategist would ask and listen. And then ask some more, focussing on what seemed to be minor contradictions. They talked and listened and scribbled and drew. Until one day she said it was time to move forward. 

Phase I was done, and they could move on to exciting phase II. She gave them a document with a summary of the thoughts and comments and decisions they had come up with, and asked them to read it very carefully.

The three wise people took the document and retired to their homes. A few days later, the Content Strategist received an unexpected message:

                                    "We Need To Talk" 

The three wise people had realised they didn't want to go ahead with the project. That is, *their* project. Like, not the website, but the start-up.

According to their Business Plan, the company made sense, and the risk was low. Not only this, the three people had worked together for a long time, and knew how to deal with each other's peculiarities. What then, had made them change their minds? Apparently, the conversations in the analysis phase of the Content Strategy helped them realise that they had different views on the project, and that they weren't in a position to carry on with their idea.

Now, I'm not an expert in Business Plans or start-ups at all, but somehow I'm not surprised that it was through the Content Strategy rather than the Business Plan that they became aware of (and honest about) their own goals.

I think that it was when they were put in a situation of actually imagining a conversation with their customers and collaborators, of actually telling people who they were and what exactly they were offering, that they realised they weren't ready for the adventure. They listened to each other's views, and found out that maybe they didn't share as much as they'd thought. They verbalized what their customers needed and wanted, and started to see that maybe they weren't interested in doing what it took to fulfil their customers' expectations.  Needless to say, having to tell an outsider things that had been taken for granted for a long time also helped.

The numbers in the Business Plan said "go ahead". But the key issues in the Content Strategy said "beware, you might not be ready for this commitment".

Well, weren't they happy to have realised in time.

Thinking comes first

Everybody knows: It is generally a good idea to think about whatever you want to do before actually doing it.

Want to quit your job? Wait a minute! Think about it, there’s a huge recession out there!  

I’m thinking of buying a new car. What make? How much can I afford? Will a second-hand car do? What colour??  

Need a new website? Let’s hire a designer and a programmer.

Hold on... is this still so? Yes. Very much so, at least in some corners of the planet. 

Now, a content strategist might come along and tell the customer-to-be that it is crucial to get the content right, and that it is important to work on the content before actually deciding the colour of the logo or starting to implement the site. 

The “content-comes-first” sort of approach makes sense to most humans, so chances are the customer-to-be will be interested in what the content strategist has to say next. They'll more than likely be pleased to hear that planning content correctly can avoid project delays, and they'll pay a lot of attention when they´re told that it can also significantly reduce costs. So far so good.

Until... well, until they hear that good content involves thinking. Thinking a lot, together with other people. Thinking, deciding, agreeing, prioritizing, compromising. It means time and commitment.

And that's exactly when it all becomes scary. Or embarrassing. Or a bit of both.

Thinking can be so scary that it feels it isn't needed

"You see, we know very well what we want to say, and we know what our customers want, it's just that we don't  have time to write it, and we don't know how to write it so that it's catchy."

That's actually perfect. The more you've thought, the better. Is there a slight possibility you overlooked issues that are specifically important for web content?

Thinking can be so scary that it becomes an impossible ideal

"Mmmh, your approach is very interesting. In an ideal situation, we'd love to do it your way, but we've no budget to do a thorough analysis. We need the money for the design and the implementation."

Right. Money is obviously a factor to take into account. The thing is, not spending money on the thinking and exploring phase will more than likely mean wasting money in the writing, designing and implementing phases. Actually, thinking well in the early stages can shed some light as to how to redistribute your budget so that everything can be done efficiently.

Thinking can also be a bit embarassing...

"Maybe we should think a bit about it all internally, and once we've certain things clear in our minds, we can tell you... what about that? You know, not to make you waste your time." 

Nice try! But generally the best way to delay the beginning of the project yet another year. Having someone to guide you in the thinking process, asking the right questions from an outsider's point of view is extremely useful when it comes to efficient content.

...or even *very* embarassing

"Oh, you don't know this lot! You'll have us in a meeting and no one will open their mouths! It's very hard to get two words out of the people in this house. And especially X, Y, Z. They'd die if they had to go through such a process. You don't want to put yourself in that situation!"

Oh yes I do. I'd actually love to.

Thinking has to come first
However scary and embarrassing it may seem, and however time-consuming and resource-demanding it may be, thinking has to come first. Tackling key issues in depth at the beginning of the project is crucial to define an efficient strategy that allows you to create an efficient website.

Thinking is necessary and useful. Fortunately, most of the times (most of "my" times so far) thinking is also interesting, good fun and highly motivating.