When I started learning Marketing Theory  ( I was 17!) we had a model that has stuck to the back of my mind to this day – PEST, Political, Economic, Social, and Technological analysis. When I went to university, that model first changed to SLEPT, where the L stood for Legal, to further expand it to PESTLE and then STEEPLE, which is now wavering at STEEPLED:

• Social
• Technological
• Economic
• Environmental
• Political
• Legal
• Educational
• Demographic

STEP ANALYSIS

It sounds rather convoluted from the early days, but unfortunately (or fortunately – depends on how you look at it) our world is expanding, and marketing can no longer rely on the simplicities of bygone eras to work out manageable frameworks for crafting strategies. The framework is part of the external analysis when conducting a strategic review or carrying out market research. The aim of the framework is to supply a reasonable an overview of the different macro-environmental factors that affect a company’s marketing strategy.

It is promoted amongst my marketing peers as useful strategic tool for understanding market growth / decline, business position, potential for growth and direction for operations. To me in particular, the framework is useful for understanding the online landscape of a business, especially when considering all the online channels of marketing available. Often when working with large sized brands, I have found a massive disconnect between different channels, from Paid Search to Organic, to independent  Affiliate marketing, and a disjointed email and Display advertising strategy.  Any decent online marketer will not look at these channels individually, but should take a macroeconomic view of them.

It sounds like a lot of work, but realistically it isn’t, identifying most of the conditions within which a business is operating shouldn’t be a large scale exercise, but a simpler checklist approach in my opinion.

Why does this help?

Well to start with it builds a boundary within which you can operate and run the various online channels, for both, limiting risk, and to increase efficiency.

For example, a business may put itself at risk if it allows an agency representing them to ignore legal ramifications –  in the UK and Europe, it is illegal to pose as a customer when supplying online feedback – you will be surprised how many businesses are ignorant of this law. In the US, FTC regulations imply that affiliate links need to be disclosed.

Similarly, when I run this framework, I make sure that Google rules, guidelines etc are also covered under Environmental for SEO / PPC – after all, it is the Online Environment I am talking about (this is actually a misplaced used of the original intention of the word Environmental in the framework. But this suits me better).

An example of increased efficiency actually runs off a number of these – an example is when you have taken the time to understand the businesses / brands demographics, you could narrow your target focus to that group. No point me creating a link bait piece about socks colours, if my demographic is “environmental geek”. On the other hand, a piece on the “Your cheap socks cause x volume of C02 every year. Buy plain black socks to reduce it by X” (that’s a daft example, but I hope you get the gist).

Similarly, you could use Google’s display network to fine tune demographic targeting, age, sex etc. On the other hand, if a large number of a business’s customers are in a particular town or country, I can make sure that my generic paid search activity is given that geographic boost.

How Do I Carry Out A PEST Analysis?

The simplest way to create these frameworks is to form an ongoing Work-In-Progress document, these factors are subject to change, and as such you should be constantly adding and taking away from it.

The easiest way to start the process off would be to create an arbitrary SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) for each one, along with any relevant references.

An Example of a Simple PEST

Business: A UK Digital Company Specializing in Education Material for Online Marketing

Online Jobs Trends Boost (click for full size)

• Political: The UK government recently formulated a plan to cut spending by £6.2 Billion. The biggest of all the departmental cuts will be at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, totaling £836m.
• Economic: Due to the current lingering recession, many people are out of jobs, and people are trying to pick up any jobs available to make a living. (this may leave them open to online make money scams )
• Social: Attitudes towards making money online are changing. Like the US, many people are resorting to the web for making money ideas, and looking for online jobs.
• Technological: the reach of broadband in the UK is very high, and mobile internet has expanded that reach even further.  This means more households have access to the internet and are better laced at remote working, or for working online.

Crafting a Marketing Strategy from the PEST

The key premise I wanted you to take away from the above is that the business has analysed the current framework which it operates in.  Reduction in the spending available to the Dept of Business means that they may have less funds to create resources, which mean that they may be amenable to content provided gratis (AKA free) by a third party, especially one that has done its due diligence and has really good content that may be of use to it population.

Due to the Economic, Social and Technological trends, there will be more people that will be interested, vested in and available to access that information and any further resources you may be able to put in front of them. This means that the clever agency will strive to build relationships with such organizations to create simple bite sized, yet helpful resources that may further whet the appetites of their readership. This can then over time be translated to selling of more advanced courses to those who may be able to afford them.  On the other hand the data may help craft a pricing strategy that isn’t predatory and attractive to this growing niche.

And the beauty is that the government agency will help push this information in front of the key audience.

Summary

Of course the example I demonstrated above I very simplistic, but in my opinion not an impossible one. But it gives you a visual demonstration of the benefits of conducting traditional Marketing analysis, even if you are on the online field.

Marketing theoretic models have various uses, but to me the key use is to enhance focus. A structured approach will usually give you very interesting dividends.

Resources

• Mind tools has a detailed description of the PEST Analysis
• Project Smart also has a simple description and summary
• The Times 100 site is good for examples and case studies
• A nice decent example and template to use

Englash Program? (Photo Credit: http://www.engrish.com/2010/06/much-harder-than-spanash/)

Either Learn to Go Native or Speak Simple English

I find it amazing that people who move to a different country don’t always try to learn the language – they are happy in speaking to the local population in English at all times. It is important to understand the language, its idioms and nuances in the speech. Culturally that makes it a factor of success of integrating into any society. Failing that, one ought to at least speak a simplified version of English, leaving out your own idioms and cultural nuances – this doesn’t mean dumbing down the language as we often see tourists do, but just using words and meanings that have universal acceptance and understanding.

Big Businesses are no different to countries. Each has its own language, cultures, idioms and customs. And like my advice earlier, to succeed in that business the quicker you pick these up, the easier your job would become. And if you can’t, at least try and smoothen your language, especially in reporting, to match the level of understanding of your audience.

A perfect example from my own exerience – the use of “SERPs”.  If I present a report entitles “SERP Visibility” and don’t actually define the word, I am at risk of being misunderstood – often your seniors find it embarrassing to ask meanings of words, and we have the habit of using these phrases regularly, after all, the form art of our daily vocabulary. What ends up happening is that the parties involved in the presentation, or reading the report get hung up the elements they don’t understand, thus spending less time trying to understand what you are trying to tell them. Which is exaclty what happened once.

Checklists? Hell Yeah!

The few items below are a series of checklists that I built up after a number of years, which I use while preparing a report or presentation.

Assumptions of Knowledge

Scratching Head

• Have you met, reported to or presented to the people before? If so, what were your thoughts on their level of understanding SEO and its unique terminology? Reporting for a group that you have a regular rapport with is different to reporting for one that you speak to infrequently.
• Do you need to define your “unique to SEO” words? Typically I always keep a glossary at the end of any important report – this makes life a lot easier – and over time helps educate the audience as they have a reference guide.
• What is / are the role / roles of the individuals you are presenting to? The IT manager will have a difference set of needs and requirements than that of a board member – this is pretty much the same as the level of language used.

Learn the Reporting Language

• What business terminology does your audience use daily? ATV vs AOV – ATV is Average Transaction Value, while AOV is Average Order Value – both mean pretty much the same.
• What is the business definition of Margin, Sales, orders, targets and budgets? Some businesses I worked with used Target to specifically mean a pre VAT value of a sale, while others included it. For some, budget meant the revenue forecast, while for others it meant the spend forecast. Find out how they work out ROI, Margin and all other variables you are reporting on – I have often seen agencies using their own metrics to report on, and then later get questioned as the internal figures don’t match.

Type of Information

Charts - Need to Make Sense (Photo Credit: http://bizarrocomic.blogspot.com/)

• What are the business typical reports? It is important to understand and present the typical metrics that the business holds dear to heart. If the business focuses on Sales, then stop trying to justify ROI or vice versa.
• What was expected of the channel? Sales? Visibility? Keyword growth? Analyse your original brief – and the continuous conversations you have had with the business – and then make sure you cover the FARs – the Frequently Asked Results.
• Is the business innovative? If so, then try and always bring one unique or new initiative to the table for discussion – some businesses are easily impressed with “Out of the Box” thinking, especially if the idea is simple to understand. On the other hand if the company is more traditional in its view of business, keep new ideas as a separate initiative – and research this thoroughly before presenting.

Level of Information

• What position does your audience hold in the company? Senior people are less likely to take in huge verbose documents, or long winded presentations. Use bullets, images, example and charts to make points across. Simply and specifically.
• What does the report need to cover? Don’t add pointless information – most people outside SEO have little interest, and if they do, they will ask.
• Always add a summary, and a series of action points, clearly identifying responsibilities.

Taking Away From This Post

The above are very top line thoughts of getting SEO reporting right, especially if you are taking SEO to the boardroom. But learn to create your own, and at all times, try and use logic in setting up resentations and report – stop trying to dazzle by fancy tricks, try and impress with knowledge.  I have found using the checklist actually does one of three things:

• Speeds up the presentation as there are less interruption from questions around definitions, metrics, values
• Improves the absorption of the real data that you are trying to present
• Makes you look extremely clued up and interesting

Change Your Mindset (Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/monkeyc/95247784/)

Sometimes as an SEOs its feels that we suffer from ADD. Often our strategies are all over the place, in the ever continuous pursuit of great rankings. We carry out site audits, write content, link build and seem to focus just on those top level keywords that we or our clients aspire to. We sit bogged down in reporting, analysing and processing huge volumes of data. Some individuals are better at planning this process than others – I for one am not really that great at planning a day to day work flow. I tend to work on whatever either interest me today, or whatever is required tomorrow.

Part of the reason I feel is a lack of universally accepted methodologies or frameworks in SEO. The other part of the blame I allocate to the liquid nature of the way SEO works. As we get cleverer at manipulating improving and refining search results, search engines try to get cleverer about dampening those efforts. Due to those ever moving goal posts we may find it hard to create a meaningful discipline.

Should we find it hard to do so?

We mustn’t forget that SEO is a MARKETING discipline – it is an increasingly important strategy that is both quantifiable and accountable to businesses. Yet it is only part of a mix of strategies that are available to businesses.  As a result, it needs to start presenting itself as a real mix in the business, as opposed to a blind scramble towards SERPs that only the board cares about. We need to stop thinking of ourselves as search geeks and data junkies and start fashioning ourselves as real marketers. That is normally the first step towards giving our profession the badge of authenticity it so rightly deserves in any organisation.

We need to craft frameworks that can be used in meaningful deployment of our strategies which can be presented at board level in intelligible ways. This is how we can sequester those big budgets that other marketing departments seem to so easily acquire.

Working with large brands has taught me that there are two fundamental problems with getting SEO the respect that it deserves in business:

• Ignorance
• Involvement

We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn.  Peter F Drucker

Ignorance

I don’t mean ignorance in a negative way – I mean people genuinely don’t understand the work involved behind SEO – especially at the top level of any organisation. Most people use search engines – but most assume their existence and the results pages as part of life. They don’t take a moment out to wonder how hard it is often to rank for certain keywords – nor do they consider these results as a “Sales Channel”. So while the sales people get massive bonuses for delivering a large order – often the SEO team are given a pat on the back – for actually massive increase in sales across the whole year by the work they have done.

People make incorrect assumptions about the role and capabilities of SEO. They aren’t ready to accept the real, far reaching capabilities of search manipulation that can impact the whole business.

Involvement

Involvement is actually an issue that many SEO’s create for themselves. We don’t often take the time to get the key stakeholders to buy into the processes, understand the objectives, and get involved in the strategic direction.  We need to become better political animals if we are to take our business to the Jet setters.  All businesses have a level of hierarchy – whether implicit or explicit. If all the levels of authority do not buy into our processes, real SEO cannot be properly deployed. This especially includes your parallels, such as the PR, Branding and Offline Marketing departments.

For example, if you are selling widgets – and are well known for widgets, but do not, say rank for “cheap widgets” should you target that term? Probably based on sales potential, yes would be the answer. But what if the Brand Police do not want the keyword “cheap” associated with the brand? This may mean that you may not be able to use the phrase “Cheap widgets” for onsite elements. This makes it harder to optimise for.

Often such battles can only be fought on paper, with strong arguments for various tactics and strategies. And these can only be adjudicated by people that exceed authority of both, the SEO, and the internal persecutor. And if you failed to enlighten them about SEO, the reach and the impact on the business in the long run, then you have already begun to fail.

Solution?

I don’t think I have a complete solution, but over the next few months, I will definitely post more about how I tackle various issues at a more senior level. I am also going to revisit my marketing background, and try and bring some structure into the various marketing techniques and processes that have helped me in the past and hopefully share these too. It may be worth checking out my rant a little while back on Big Brands and Corporate Strategy which Jaamit kindly put together.