Choosing an Umbraco website support agency
I keep being asked what makes a good Umbraco website support agency. It could be something like super fast response times or that an agency listens to your business objectives. And you know, these are good reasons for you to choose an agency, but they do sound a bit “business”!
For me it’s about relationships, the ones that are easy and the ones that are hard won. Especially the ones where we add value and the ones that get results.
I say this because like all agencies there is a natural churn of clients. I have recently read that this may be as much as 25% per year. Which for our agency is high (presently 6.75%) but nevertheless, it is indicative of the fact that it’s not enough to just service a client.
Relationships are so important for agencies and clients alike for a number of reasons:
- work should be something you enjoy and if the relationships you develop are poor your work experience will be to;
- the client and the agency have a shared responsibility to find solutions to achieve business objectives;
- People don’t stick around in the same job, they get promoted or move to new positions and if your good then a you’ll move along with each other (referrals make the world go round!).
Find a website support agency that is focused on client retention
The relationship between you and your agency can be strengthened if the agency you pick has a culture of prioritising client retention rather than being inflexible to their processes. E.g. If you have a requirement that is critical, the agency must work to it’s Service Level Agreement. Although, if the requirement is important but not critical it is prudent for the agency to also work to the Service Level Agreement. Providing this understanding isn’t abused it can strengthen the client-agency relationship.
Agencies focus on client retention because it is more profitable than the revolving-door agency model. This is good news for the client because the agency will be focused on a deeper client relationship.
Two way street
When choosing a support agency it is the relationship that drives change. As a client you have business objectives that you need to meet and as an agency you want to do good work and be able to showcase the results.
If your chosen agency is worth one’s salt then they will be busy but actively looking for the next great client. A modern agency will want commitment in the form of an ongoing support contract for you to join their roster. The agency wants you to invest in continuous development, UX and A/B Testing to improve conversions, as well as maintaining the solution you already have. It’s the results that make the job exciting!
If you are looking for an Umbraco Gold Partner to manage you mission-critical website the good news is all partners are technically savvy. It’s now up to you to find the agency that you can work with for the long-term.
