How Strategy Gets Lost in Translation

This issue doesn’t stem from a lack of effort on either side. It’s simply a case of things getting lost in translation. You can ask an agency to build you a new site and explain what you need but, since you don’t speak “developer”, you can’t explain precisely how it needs to be implemented.

The problem is that there isn’t a Translator to bridge the gap between business strategy and technical execution. Lacking the full picture, developers have to make assumptions and the nuances often get lost. 

Building a website is a lot like building your dream house. You have a picture in your head of a home that’s bright and spacious. Certain key features stand out to you: high ceilings and tall windows, wood floors, an enormous kitchen with granite countertops. A key detail when you imagine this house is the way it makes you feel. Perhaps it’s a warm private place to shelter from the world. Perhaps it’s a creative space, a social space, or a place to raise a family. 

Unless you’re an architect, you’ll likely run into challenges implementing this vision. You might hire a construction company and ask them to build you a house with x, y, and z. In the end, the house has all those features. But they aren’t arranged together in a way that makes you feel at home. 

Similarly, when a development agency isn’t fully aligned with your strategic goals for a site, they can’t build something that matches your vision and fully addresses your business needs.

Signs You’ve Got an Idea to Development Misalignment: 

• The site looks polished but doesn’t drive conversions or support growth goals.
• Endless change orders because the initial requirements weren’t fully understood.
• Stakeholders feel like they’re re-explaining the vision repeatedly.
• Marketing teams end up frustrated because features don’t work the way they expected.

What Misaligned Development Means for Your Business: 

A lot of our projects involve helping out companies who are stuck with a lackluster, generic website that doesn’t reflect their brand and slows their growth. 

We often find that what was intended as an asset, creates friction that undermines key business goals. In one case we worked on, a client’s system was so stiflingly rigid that something as simple as updating product pricing required intervention from developers. This process involved manually changing every single product listing and turned a simple task into a technical obstacle. These, and other site-related inefficiencies, created a major bottleneck that hampered their ability to scale and respond to the market.

When your ideas aren’t converting properly into development, this can lead to:

• Wasted Budget: 

Features are built that don’t move the needle, leading to sunk costs and future reworks are almost guaranteed.

• Slower Time-to-Market: 

Misunderstandings lead to delays, which can mean missing critical windows like product launches or seasonal campaigns.

• Lost Business Opportunities:

A rigid, poorly executed site can’t pivot as strategies evolve.

• Internal Frustration & Team Burnout:

Marketing, product, and leadership teams lose confidence in the agency and team morale suffers when digital initiatives stall.

How a Strategic Development Partner Can Help

At Drewl, our approach to projects centres around a “strategic partner” role. We value clear communication as much as good code. Rather than viewing projects as a checklist, we begin our process with a dedicated Discovery Workshop where we map your business goals directly to user stories and technical requirements. 

From there, our process runs on two parallel tracks:

• The Strategy Track: ensures we are always focused on your business goals and the highest-impact work.
• The Delivery Track: turns those priorities into tangible results.

We make sure to provide concrete designs early on in the process. This allows you to see and feel the direction we’re heading and allows for important, strategic feedback before we start breaking ground on the project.

Throughout the project, we maintain clear and consistent communication. A dedicated team member acts as the bridge between the vision and the execution, ensuring the “why” behind every task is always visible. We provide regular demonstrations of our progress so you always have that direct line of sight into the project roadmap.

By ensuring that strategic concepts translate 1-to-1 into development, we make sure our partners get the results they need while spending as little time as possible thinking about development.

What Our Clients Say

Don’t just take our word for it though. Here’s what some of our clients have to say about working with us:

• “Collaborating with Drewl was a fantastic experience. I had several productive conversations with Tayo about our strategy and focus for the upcoming year, and I truly valued the guidance and expertise they provided.” ~ Jen Armstrong, Marketing Director, Attest

• “What’s particularly impressive is their ability to think beyond just the immediate project, sharing knowledge that benefits our company as a whole.” ~ Silas Gregory, Marketing Manager, ACS

• “The team is highly responsive, attentive, and collaborative. They ask insightful questions, provide input, and raise objections when necessary. They truly act as part of our team rather than just a vendor.” ~ Faisal Alqahtani, CEO, Amplifidor

To read the full case studies for these projects (and more) head over to our Projects Page.

Build a Site That Serves Your Vision

Choosing the right dev partner means having a partner who understands that your site should serve your business and not the other way around. If you feel like you’re wrestling against your website anytime you try to get something done then it might be time to reorganise and streamline your architecture. Schedule a free, 30-minute Strategy Call with us. We’ll help you diagnose your vision-to-development gap and outline a clearer path forward.