Intranet reimagined: Leveraging Sitecore to build efficiencies and collaboration

For this regional insurer, implementing Sitecore was key to delivering real-time customized content and to creating a more efficient and profitable organization.

Challenge

Having a top-tier digital customer experience is no longer a defining advantage. Instead, it is an expectation, a necessity to attract and retain customers, and companies need the right content management to deliver. While most organizations are focused only on how to deliver these elevated experiences externally, one regional insurance company took it a step further and looked to deliver that same level of service internally.

Two critical components of delivering that customer experience are a well-defined strategy and the right tools to execute. We had recently worked with this client to complete their digital strategy, which included recommendations for how to better leverage their intranet portal to deliver personalization, automation, and user insights. With this new strategy in place, they were ready to apply it to their next big project — an overhaul of their intranet.

Their existing content management system (CMS) was a homegrown solution that was visually fixed, could not play embedded content, did not have any search capabilities, and lacked both usability and interactivity. This overhaul would involve updates to the user-interface design and content, as well as re-platforming the site and moving it to Sitecore, with the goal of creating an engaging, personalized experience.

Ultimately, they wanted to:

Create a frictionless user experience for agents and associates
Increase awareness, clarity, and understanding of the uniqueness of their service offerings
Provide more brand consistency and marketing efficiencies
Empower marketing by enabling them to create and publish content
Measure content effectiveness to ultimately engage more effectively with their audience

Struggling with Sitecore? Take our Sitecore Maturity Quiz to see what you could be doing to get more out of Sitecore. >>

Solution

This client knew what they wanted, and Sitecore was the tool that could get them there. A powerful content management system with expansive capabilities that combines data, analytics, and marketing automation, Sitecore can provide real-time content across any channel and an environment that allows connectivity and interactivity. With so many options available, organizations often implement Sitecore but are unaware of the unmet potential waiting to be tapped. We worked with this regional insurance company to evaluate their existing platform and take the necessary next steps to implement a solution that would meet all of their business needs.

Leveraging the results of the digital strategy workshop, we began an initial assessment of our client’s current intranet implementation, design artifacts, content tree, and analytics implementation. During this phase, we interviewed stakeholders and primary users, conducted a CMS platform analysis, and identified strategic and tactical goals to lay the foundation for an optimal user experience in Sitecore.

Leveraging the results of our initial assessment, we worked with the client to:

Optimize their Sitecore environment
Create a content structure that supports multi-site, multi-channel marketing strategies and tactics, including:
- A publishing workflow process that includes both Sitecore functions and offline business activities
- A digital content governance plan
Create a design system to scale across the Sitecore ecosystem, including design templates and objects such as:
- A description of overall tone and visual objectives
- Visual design comps illustrating the visual extension of the brand into a graphic user interface
- A content matrix
- Training requirements
- Testing plan
- A backlog of user stories
Create a measurement strategy that leverages digital analytics platforms to setup appropriate tags, and collect customer data that positions the right analysis, including:
- Internal reporting systems
- Google analytics

By assessing their initial state, identifying the gaps, and creating the right workflows and systems, we were able to target functions that were most impactful to this organization and their goals.

Sitecore Intranet Redesign & Implementation Example

Sitecore Intranet Redesign & Implementation

Get access to our Sitecore Optimization Guide: 5 key steps to doing more with Sitecore >>

Outcomes

By leveraging Sitecore to its fullest potential, this client transformed how users engaged with content and each other, the time and resources required to publish content, how information was stored and accessed, the customization of content, and the ability for leadership to gauge engagement and interactions.

The result was a collaborative, interactive, efficient work environment.

The marketing team was no longer required to go back and forth with IT to publish and update content. Instead, it was easy to upload the content and customize the design without any development work. This eliminated delays in the publishing process itself, but also freed up valuable time for each department.

All of their internal documents, processes, and collaborative content now lives on the company’s intranet. That means no more wasted time searching for a document or having to check which version is the most accurate. Multiple users can be in one document at the same time, allowing for more collaboration on projects and minimizing delays from making changes individually. This client was also now able to put their users into different groups or buckets to ensure the right content is delivered to the right people, and the information they see is most relevant to their job or activities.

And finally, they now have the option to bring all of their data together. No longer lost in silos, there is a comprehensive picture of how users are interacting with content, what their engagement looks like, what content is performing the best, and more. Now marketing can evaluate their content based on real-time data and make decisions that help them meet their strategic business goals.

Instead of limping along with an outdated CMS that wastes time and resources, or missing out on functions that are available, implementing a Sitecore platform, as an intranet or public-facing site, was the answer to delivering customized content in real-time to the right audience, and ultimately to a more efficient and profitable organization.