[AIIM16] How to Select the Right Partner/Consultant/Agency for Your ECM Project
How to select the right digital agency
description
Transcript of How to select the right digital agency
How to SelectThe RightDigital AgencyFor Your Online Business
HOW TO SELECT THE RIGHT DIGITAL AGENCY 2
Your website is much more than just an online billboard a website.
Brands youAttracts new customers and clients
Serves current clients
Can bring significant direct revenue through e-commerce
Can streamline internal processes and increase company productivity
,Of course, that s what agreat website will dofor you.A terrible website can damage your company’s reputation, send clients to your competitors and put your business in a hole that it may never be able to dig out from.
HOW TO SELECT THE RIGHT DIGITAL AGENCY 3
HOW TO SELECT THE RIGHT DIGITAL AGENCY 4
So how do you find the right digital agency for your Business?
When you first meet with a digital Agency.It is important to go in with a strategy in place. Asking some key questions will put you on the right track for finding the ideal digital agency for your project:
How do they price their services?
Do they offer a comprehensive set of services?
What is the agency’s track record and what are their credentials and qualifications?
What is included in their Web Development Agreement (and what isn’t)?
HOW TO SELECT THE RIGHT DIGITAL AGENCY 4
1)Be Prepared and Define Your GoalsBefore you begin interviewing digital agencies, you should have at least a rough sense of what your goals are and what kinds of functionality you require. Some important starting questions include:
Am I looking to attract prospects? Am I looking to merely generate traffic (advertising-based model)? Am I looking to generate direct revenues (e-commerce)? Am I only looking to preserve and enhance my brand? Am I only looking to increase the traffic of my website.
HOW TO SELECT THE RIGHT DIGITAL AGENCY 5
2)Define your price rangeThis can be the most confusing part of selecting your digital agency.
If you Google ‘digital agency’, you will find agencies offering $199 websites while others offer web solutions that can run six or even seven figures.
A simple website for a hobbyist or a “basic personal site” can be created relatively inexpensively. However, if your website is the face of your business and a place where business is conducted, then the price can be considerably higher.
Some important pricing questions to ask right from the beginning include:
Which of their team members will be working on your project and what are their qualifications?
How much time will they be spending on your project?
Do they provide a flat project price that corresponds to a detailed agreement?
Does the cost of the project match up with the agreed upon deliverables and hourly rates?
Is there a clear procedure for billing for extra features or work outside the project’s initial scope?
HOW TO SELECT THE RIGHT DIGITAL AGENCY 6
3)When thinking of the price of a project,
You need to also think about the ROI. If a company can prove they have a track record of a high ROI, you should think about upping your budget for the project.
HOW TO SELECT THE RIGHT DIGITAL AGENCY 7
The price of a website projectIs the result of many variables; the complexity of the site’s functionality, the number of custom design elements involved; the expertise and experience of the team performing the project and the pricing schedule established by your webDevelopment team (i.e. hourly rates).
When you discuss price with a digital agency,Make sure they spell out all of the functionality they will be providing and the amount of time and effort that will be required to deliver the project. The hourly rate of the work will be based on the experience and expertise of the team assigned to your project.
Lastly, evaluate the price based on what you will get out of it.A $20,000 project that brings you no revenue is far more expensive for your company than a $100,000 project that brings in a 300% ROI.
Can the digital agency point to specific results (ROI) deliver for other clients?
your company
HOW TO SELECT THE RIGHT DIGITAL AGENCY8
Look for a digital agency that offers comprehensive web services:The best websites are the ones where design, functionality and marketing work as one. A digital agency that has expertise in all three areas has the ability to build you a fully integrated site from the ground up.
When one agency is responsible for design,Another for development and a third for online marketing, you will invariably have issues with communication, integration and implementation.
A digital agency that has the capability to handle your entire project, from planning, to design, to development and marketing success is better qualified to do things right from the start.Just ask:
Do they have the ability to provide comprehensive web design, development and marketing services to industry standards?
Have they done system integrations or customized web projects that require excellent problem solving skills or advanced coding capabilities?
Do they have experience developing mobile applications?
Do they have search engine optimization expertise and a proven track-record of achieving Page One Google results?
Do they have copywriting abilities to create both compelling copy for the website itself as well as quality content for social media?
HOW TO SELECT THE RIGHT DIGITAL AGENCY 9
Project manager, a professional team, and concrete objectives.
Your web design project should be manned by:
Information architects to plan the site
Web designers to design the user interface
Web developers to code the site
Quality assurance engineers to test it
Online marketing specialists to develop and implement an efficient online marketing strategy.
This team should work under an experienced project manager to ensure a successful outcome.
interface designer
HOW TO SELECT THE RIGHT DIGITAL AGENCY 10
What is the track record of Your project and that they are able to show you a return on your investment.
Before selecting a digital agency, ask about their previous track record:
What types of clients have they worked with?
What kind of results have they delivered for those clients?
Do they have hard figures to prove their results?
Do they retain their clients and have ongoing working relationships with them?
TIP: Even if your site structure
includes multiple products or services
on a single page, it is still helpful to
create separate campaigns for each
service that drives traffic to your
single landing page. This will allow
you to analyze performance of each
service and adjust your budget
accordingly.
RESU
LS
HOW TO SELECT THE RIGHT DIGITAL AGENCY
11
You also want to be sure.that the digital agency you are entrusting your business to are respected professionals in their industry. Awards, credentials, and qualifications are all indicators of a web company’s excellence and professionalism.
Are their key players recognized as industry leaders, speaking at events, or published in the media?
What is their Dun & Bradstreet rating? (D&B is a third party source monitoring client satisfaction.)
Are they authorized to work for government agencies?
Do they have other special credentials showing other expertise?
Have they developed any special applications or done groundbreaking projects?
What industry awards and recognition have they received?
HOW TO SELECT THE RIGHT DIGITAL AGENCY
12
Recent press mentions are also a strong indication of a digital agency’s standing within their industry.
Do major media outlets recognize this agency as experts in their field?
Does the company receive frequent press mentions from a variety of sources?
Does the company act as an informational resource for their industry?
Is the company seen as a leader within their field?
HOW TO SELECT THE RIGHT DIGITAL AGENCY
13
HOW TO SELECT THE RIGHT DIGITAL AGENCY 13
Website Development Agreements It all comes down to this.
Your website development agreement –Sometimes called a service level agreement or a detailed spec sheet- is an absolutely critical document. Just by reading the agreement, you can learn a great deal about the digital agency you may be working with.
Are they thorough?
Do they understand my business?
Do they have the technical knowledge to build my website?
Do they have the design talent to make my site something memorable?
Do they have the capacity to complete my project in a timely and satisfactory manner?
Is the agency ethical
HOW TO SELECT THE RIGHT DIGITAL AGENCY 14
Crucial elements to your agreement
Terms of Engagement:Scope of Work:The proverbial nifty gritty of your web project. The scope of work should be detailed, specific, and unambiguous and set in a specific time frame. It should set out the timetable for each element of the project.
Project Time:The best web project is doomed to failure if it is not completed in a timely manner. Lost days, weeks or months can have a crushing effect on a business’ online prospects. Make sure that each element of the scope of work is attached to the time required to complete the work. Does the agreement lay out responsibilities of both parties, including deadlines and deliverables?
Payment Schedule:This is always a subject of negotiation. Developers will invariably want a large percentage of the project price to be paid in advance, while clients wantto hold on to their money as long as they can. Look for a digital agency that is willing to come up with a payment schedule that makes sense for both sides.
AccountabilityAny web design project demands a great deal of give-and-take between the client and the digital agency they are working with.Find out who will be the point-person at the firm on your project. Ask how they measure success. This is a long-term relationship and you must be sure that this is the person you want to enter into such a commitment with. Make sure you like, trust and respect this person, because you will be interacting with them frequently over a substantial amount of time.
Promises, Promises...In any economy, many digital agencies will promise you the moon, just to get your business. Those promises tend to be both grand and vague.
The only thing that matters is what is promised in writing. You want to work with a company that not only lists all features and functionality in the agreement, but one willing to back it up with specific results(i.e. increased traffic, leads, conversions, milestones, etc.) In their agreement.
16
Want to take your company to the next level?
Speak with a Web Specialist
And for more on selecting theRight Website Company for your online business & other marketing guides, visit at