Problems, we’ve all got them; some we work around, some we ignore and hope will go away and some we rise to the challenge, get our heads down and overcome. In this season of extreme challenge, where it seems that the majority of problems are coronavirus related, we take a brief look at overcoming 5 common challenges which are relevant both now and in the days to come.

Problem 1 – Connecting with a target audience

Gaining an understanding of who our audience are, where they are and what they want results in more strategic marketing. Analyse any data you have and collect what’s missing through surveys, polls etc within your own membership. You can then move to creating and testing outreach campaigns via the channels your intel suggests they’ll respond to. Ensuring that you have a plan for the next steps in establishing relationship with new contacts is critical. Understanding engagement drivers will enable you to add value and meet expectations through your connection.

Problem 2 – Where does social media fit?

Most communications strategies will include at least one social media channel, but ensuring this connects with who your audience are, where they are is key. The benefits of social media are that it can provide free access to audiences you may not otherwise reach but it needs monitoring and maintaining. Other benefits are the opportunities for strategically targeted paid advertising with exceptional demographic accuracy. Right now, it’s a critical channel that organisations need to prioritise.

Problem 3 – Data double entry

It’s important to identify where and why data double handling/entry is happening. Common causes include people, systems, processes and inappropriate interfaces. All of these problems can be overcome largely by good communication, sensible systems and process reviews, integrating streamlined solutions wherever feasible. Sometimes getting an external perspective on this can be really helpful.

Problem 4 – Using legacy systems

Legacy systems often prevent organisations from being able to progress and achieve strategic objectives, which leads to a negative impact on resource and revenue. Understanding how embedded the tech is and what the problems are will give you an indication of whether replacement is necessary or whether there are ways to integrate old with new to bridge some of the gaps. Largely this will depend on the cost versus benefit equation, and whether there is a compelling reason to change. Where a system is incapable of handling a certain business process or data type, this can often be overcome by fulfilling that process outside of the existing system and feeding the resulting compatible data back in.

Problem 5 – Post project tech adoption

To gain an understanding of why there are issues of adoption and murmurs of discontent, it often helps to do a retrospective. Were those who are struggling or resisting adoption involved in the requirements gathering or decision-making process? Were existing business processes and technology fully considered, tested and questioned? Were the team working with the system kept informed throughout the process, given exposure at critical points and adequate training. A retrospective will help to uncover these challenges and wherever possible resolve them.

As Albert Einstein famously said “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” If you’d like a different perspective, please get in touch and check out our series of ‘problem solved’ blogs and other insights for more on overcoming challenges.

NetXtra are a team of strategic, creative and digital experts who partner with organisations in the not for profit sector.

Melissa Wiggins
Melissa WigginsHead of Client Strategy, NetXtra