Here's how you can use failure in digital strategy to gain credibility and trust with clients and colleagues.

When you make mistakes in digital strategy, own up to them, learn from them, and use them to improve. Be open and honest about what went wrong and how you're fixing it. This helps build trust and credibility with clients and colleagues.

El fracaso no es más que una perspectiva frente a una situación. Estamos muy acostumbrados a emitir pensamientos que nos sentencian. Sin embargo, un fracaso puede ser visto como una oportunidad. Los seres humanos estamos preparados para los desafíos; poseemos una inteligencia evolutiva que nos permite superar dificultades y aprender de ellas. El fracaso, problema o dificultad, genera capacidad de adaptación y resiliencia, llevándonos a una mejor versión de nosotros mismos o de lo que hacemos. Es parte de un ciclo evolutivo de crecimiento. No podremos pasar del fracaso al éxito si giramos en torno a una emocionalidad negativa. ?Dar lugar al fracaso como aprendizaje y desafío para la mejora es el mejor enfoque que podemos adoptar!

When a digital strategy fails, the first step is to thoroughly analyze what went wrong. Conduct a detailed post-mortem to identify the root causes of the failure. Look at data, processes, and decisions that led to the undesired outcome. Understanding the specifics helps in developing a clear picture of what needs to be improved. This analytical approach not only helps in avoiding similar mistakes in the future but also demonstrates to clients and colleagues your commitment to learning and continuous improvement.

Admit Your Failures: Be open about your mistakes. Transparency shows honesty and builds trust. Share your experiences without sugarcoating. Show What You’ve Learned: Highlight the lessons from your failures. Explain how these lessons have made you better at what you do. Share Your Notes: Use a mantra like, "I fail and learn so you don't have to." This shows that your experiences benefit others, saving them from making the same mistakes.

Use the failure to showcase your resilience, adaptability and transparency. When a strategy fails, openly discuss the lessons learned and the steps you're taking to address the issues, while also inviting any inputs from all the stakeholders involved. This helps ensure that the failure is analyzed from multiple perspectives and valuable insights are drawn from this failure, all while reassuring stakeholders that you are committed to delivering better results in the future.

Pour illustrer ce concept, nous pouvons nous appuyer sur la théorie de l'apprentissage par l'expérience de Kolb. Selon cette théorie, l'apprentissage est un processus cyclique comprenant quatre étapes : l'expérience concrète, l'observation réfléchie, la conceptualisation abstraite et l'expérimentation active. En partageant ouvertement les échecs et les le?ons tirées, vous engagez votre équipe dans ce cycle d'apprentissage. Ils observent les erreurs et réfléchissent aux causes, conceptualisent des stratégies pour éviter ces erreurs à l'avenir, et mettent en pratique de nouvelles approches.

Transparency in discussing digital strategy failures is crucial for learning and improvement. Conducting a postmortem allows us to reflect objectively on every aspect of a project—from human resources to execution. This analysis should occur in a supportive, non-judgmental environment, emphasizing that the goal is not to assign blame but to gather insights for future improvements. Sharing these lessons openly contributes to a learning culture, enhances team expertise, and reassures clients of our commitment to growth and excellence. This approach ensures everyone is equipped to perform their best in future projects.

It's so important to share wins but also the fails - only from thoes can we truly learn, and learn from other's failures too. What worked, what didn't - why didn't it? What can we do differently next time?

Fracaso es cometer un error dos veces, es decir, fracasar y no aprender. Es importante, al momento de compartir nuestros errores en la estrategia, analizarlos objetivamente, identificando las causas o posibles disparadores del error. También resulta clave revisar los objetivos y analizar si son realistas y alcanzables, pues muchas veces nos encontramos frente a metas imposibles de concretar. Tener una conversación sincera acerca de esto es importante. Objetivos secuenciales más alcanzables hacen que los equipos no pierdan la motivación. Establecer metas realistas y alcanzables asegura que el equipo se mantenga motivado y comprometido. Fijar nuevos objetivos es clave en este proceso.

What worked once will not always work. competing industries and markets cause different dynamics to success. Good ROAS in one effort is not promise of any ROAS on another unless market and competitive forces are not re-evaluated for the situation.

Test, test and test again to give you an idea of what tactics and strategies are working well. You have the data to back up decisions rather than going on a hunch or simply because a competitor is doing something.

Creo que es sano incluir el fracaso en nuestra estrategia comunicativa. Aprender del error y tener historias de superación para contar es parte de un proceso de crecimiento que puede resultar muy motivador para las personas o equipos, si sabemos comunicarlo adecuadamente. Las personas más creativas e innovadoras proponen cientos de ideas que no siempre salen como esperaban. Consideran la prueba y error como parte integral del proceso hacia el éxito. Abrir las dificultades al equipo o al cliente, puede ser parte de un camino de evolución. Incluir el fracaso en nuestra narrativa no solo humaniza la experiencia profesional, sino que también fomenta una cultura de aprendizaje y resiliencia.

It is important to communicate openly and build trust Share Your Learnings: Be open about the lessons you've learned from the failure. This demonstrates humility and a willingness to grow. Seek Feedback: Ask for feedback from colleagues and clients on how you handled the situation and what you could have done differently. This shows you value their input and are committed to continuous improvement. Build Stronger Relationships: Use the experience to build stronger relationships with clients and colleagues. Show them that you're not afraid to take risks and that you're always striving to learn and improve.

Open communication is vital for addressing digital strategy failures. It builds trust by keeping clients and colleagues informed about successes and failures. By openly discussing challenges and their solutions, we set realistic expectations and prevent surprises. Transparency is key to maintaining trust, and open communication fosters a collaborative environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing ideas and feedback. It's important to create a healthy environment without judgment, focusing on facts rather than stories. Being open about failures encourages people to take risks, fostering growth and resilience.

Encourage feedback from your clients and colleagues on how the situation was handled. This shows that you value their input and are committed to continuous improvement.

If your digital strategies don’t work, you should admit it; use such instances to build trust. Analyze what didn’t work out right and the lessons learned. This sincerity is proof of your flexibility in the quest for better results. It also serves to urge your colleagues to disclose their challenges as well. By doing this, we can turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones, thereby fostering organizational resilience even amidst storms and tribulations.

Leveraging failure in digital strategy to build credibility and trust focuses on demonstrating resilience. By openly acknowledging mistakes and conducting thorough analyses, you show a commitment to learning and improvement. Highlighting how the team adapted and implemented changes showcases problem-solving skills and the ability to bounce back from setbacks. Sharing detailed case studies of failures that led to significant improvements emphasizes the iterative nature of digital strategy. Ultimately, this approach fosters trust as clients and colleagues see a consistent pattern of learning, adaptation, and continuous improvement.

Digital strategies are seldom perfect and will frequently require adjustment due to changing market dynamics and organizational focus. Creating and leveraging a culture of continuous learning will help turn “failures” into valuable learnings that help inform strategic updates that improve results. Never stop learning!

By handling failure with transparency, accountability, and a focus on learning and improvement, you can turn a challenging situation into an opportunity to build greater credibility and trust with both clients and colleagues.

Invite feedback from clients and colleagues after a failure to gain diverse perspectives and enhance your strategy. For example, after a campaign didn't achieve its desired results, I conducted a feedback session with the team and the client. Their insights revealed overlooked audience preferences and technical issues. By incorporating this feedback, we refined our approach and achieved a 30% increase in engagement in the subsequent campaign. This collaborative effort not only improved our strategy but also built trust and demonstrated our commitment to continuous improvement.

Based on my numerous failure in the last 17 years :) here is my top 8 tips: 1. Transparency: Share lessons from past failures openly. 2. Data-driven insights: Present concrete data on why strategies didn't work. 3. Rapid iteration: Demonstrate how you quickly pivot from failures. 4. Innovation culture: Frame failures as necessary steps in innovation. 5. Customer-centric approach: Explain how failures lead to better customer understanding. 6. Team growth: Showcase how failures contribute to team skill development. 7. Competitive edge: Illustrate how learning from failures keeps you ahead of competitors. 8. Long-term vision: Connect failures to improved long-term strategy and results.

There is no such strategy that works for everyone. So, Experimenting is important, Embracing failures is more important, and learning from them is most important. Adjustments in strategy, optimizations, tracking KPIs, predictive analysis, communication, learning and unlearning, everything can help us create a fabulous strategy after experiencing a failed one.