The perfect match: How to select, brief and work with a digital agency
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JBoye Web & Intranet Conference Aarhus, Denmark 8 November 2012 Marianne Ka Web Strategist, Web CMS Consultan The perfect match How to select, brief and work with a digital agency
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In-house or external agency? This question often comes up as web managers are planning their online activities. Budgets are approved, objectives agreed, priorities set. A long list of projects is put together and timescales and resources are noted. Then – inevitably – there doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day, days in a month, people in the team to complete them all. That is, unless some of the tasks can be outsourced to an external agency. Great agencies can bring inspiration, innovation and passion to an otherwise stale or daunting project. They can make things happen! (Sometimes even on time and on budget.) They can bring specialised expertise and valuable insights which come from their exposure to other clients like you. Yet agencies can’t and don’t do internal politics, they lack the intimate knowledge of your business and they require detailed briefs which take time to develop. They produce results and bring success in the short-term but take away the opportunity to develop your own skills and expertise in-house. In this talk we will discuss: Which projects are best suited for outsourcing; Ways to select a digital agency: open tender, paid evaluation, pilot project; Writing the perfect brief; Protecting intellectual property; Building a relationship with the chosen agency and working together as a team; Challenges around social media – should you outsource your voice?
Transcript of The perfect match: How to select, brief and work with a digital agency
JBoye Web & Intranet ConferenceAarhus, Denmark8 November 2012
Marianne KayWeb Strategist, Web CMS Consultant
The perfect match How to select, brief and work with a digital agency
The perfect match...• In-house or outsource?• Conflicting interests• Open tender, RFP• Behind the scenes• Pricing models• Writing the perfect brief• Design by committee• Effective feedback• Protecting intellectual property
in-house
or outsource?
In-house
• supports long-term vision, understands business objectives
• full commitment• full control over time and quality• confidentiality, security• ‘emergency’ service
Outsource
• covers temporary/short-term need• allows to pilot new ideas• adds new skills (mobile, responsive design, CMS)• inspiration• addressing sudden business growth or to cover peak
season
When to outsource web work http://boagworld.com/business-strategy/when-to-outsource-web-work/
Challenges with in-house teams
• Understaffed• Breadth of experience and specialist knowledge not as
good• Their opinion isn’t valued• Potential misfit between the skills and the roles of in-
house staff • Inward focus (‘we love us!’)
Inward Focus
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/06/29/five-copywriting-errors-that-can-ruin-a-company-website/
Challenges with agenciesOutsource:• Outsourcing requires the right in-house skills• Finding an affordable and high quality service provider can be
very time consuming• Good service providers tend to be very busy• Remember to plan for termination of the relationship• A threat to in-house team development and morale• Cutting corners syndrome• Not interested in internal politics
Conflicting interestsrequirements agency’s priorities
project completed on time and on budget enough time to produce excellent work
fit/integration with internal processes and systems
new cutting edge techniques
ownership/copyright of the finished product
a portfolio piece and publicity
design committee happy (or at least no one upset)
manageable amounts of feedback and amends; work that inspires potential clients, not a compromise.
value for money fair compensation
power struggle between the agency and the in-house team for work, budgets and creative freedom
Open tenderRequest for Proposal (RFP):
• seeks best value for money• clarifies requirements• discovers unexpected value• controls the cost of the web
project
Ways to select a digital agency
• open tender• paid evaluation• pilot project
Is responding to RFPs a waste of time? http://gadgetopia.com/post/6597We don't hate RFPs, not really http://www.freeformsolutions.ca/en/we-dont-hate-rfps RFPs: The Least Creative Way to Hire People http://www.alistapart.com/articles/rfps-the-least-creative-way-to-hire-people/ Often maligned, RFPs are a valuable tool and opportunity http://blog.confluentforms.com/2009/07/often-maligned-rfps-are-valuable-tool.html
Behind the scenes
• win project first, resource it later • junior team, freelancers, subcontractors• outsourcing to India / Eastern Europe• ‘customer is always right’ attitude• cutting corners• recycling solutions
Most Web Design Agencies Suck http://www.andybudd.com/archives/2012/03/most_web_design_agencies_suck/
Pricing models
• fixed price project• retainer• hourly rate
Reinventing the Client-Agency Relationship:http://bigseadesign.com/blog/web-design/reinventing-the-client-agency-relationship
Pricing Strategy for Creatives:http://www.alistapart.com/articles/pricing-strategy-for-creatives/
Everyone Wants a Number:http://gadgetopia.com/post/7906
Writing the perfect brief
• Background• Target audience• Business goals• Internal systems and processes• Timescales• Deliverables, measurable goals• Upcoming plans, future phases• Key people, points of contact• Budget (?)
10 things never to leave out of a web design briefhttp://boagworld.com/business-strategy/web-design-brief/
How to Ruin a Web Design
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/how-to-ruin-a-web-design-the-design-curve
Death to design by committee http://boagworld.com/business-strategy/design-by-committee/ How to cope with design by committee http://www.ihm.co.uk/blog/news/how-to-cope-with-design-by-committee/
What do you think?..
Vision
two designs for the same project...
...make the lack of direction more obvious
Effective feedback
Focus on what's important – link feedback to: • business goals• brand guidelines• usability findings• refer to previously agreed wireframes and mood boards
Avoid: • small visual detail, pushing pixels• providing advice outside your area of expertise• personal views (“It just doesn’t feel right...”, “I’m not a fan of...”, “I
don’t like...”)How to give website feedbackhttp://www.clarkedesign.co.uk/articles/top-tips/how-to-give-website-feedback/index.asp
Social media:should you outsource your voice?
Protecting intellectual property
• Recognise the value of in-house staff – select agencies for the right reasons
• Consider alternatives to open tender process• Beware of de-facto standards of the digital
industry• Learn to manage ‘design by committee’
Summary
Thank you!
Marianne KayWeb Strategist and Web CMS Consultant
Email: [email protected] Twitter: @marianne_uaLinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/mariannekay/
