How to Choose a Web Agency
A client emails a Request For Proposal (RFP)…
I had an experience with a prospect just last week (let’s call him John), where I received an RFP that looked pretty interesting.
It ticked a lot of the boxes in my qualification process:
- Site built using Umbraco CMS
- A good quality RFP
- A digital team client side
The next step was to qualify John and his company with a call. He was a really nice guy and we had a good conversation about the challenges with his existing agency and why he was looking for a new Umbraco Support Agency.
The story as to why he was looking for a new agency is familiar:
- support (post build) has either been poor or non existent;
- warranty tickets have been slow to complete;
- the agency is struggling with resource;
- the initial build has not run as smoothly as expected;
- there has been a change in personnel.
These aren’t the only reasons companies switch agencies, although they are the ones we hear the most.
John made a great start. He was looking at agencies that had a specific skill set and he was looking across a range of agencies from small to large, while all the time trying to understand what sort of agency would suit his business.
So I asked John how many agencies he had invited to tender and I thought I had misheard when he said 17, only for John to reiterate that he had invited 70!
As you can expect our agency was out, with my only goal to get the phone down as quick as possible and carry on with my day.
John had failed to shortlist to a reasonable number (we benchmark four agencies, for a 25% chance of winning the pitch, although sometimes the percentage is lower).
It is easy to gauge if an agency has relevant experience from their case studies. Check to see if they have worked on any similar projects to yours, and if they have experience with integrations, personalisation, content management systems or anything that features on your RFP.
You’ll find that most good agencies all have similar processes and technical abilities. Some will be specialists working with particular technologies or skill sets (conversion-centred design, Umbraco CMS, etc), while others will be full service with smaller specialist teams within their offering. Once you have you shortlist you then send out the RFPs and arrange a call.
You want to understand the agency team and if the person you’ll be working with is the same as the person on the end of the phone (you could be talking to the sales guy!). Clear any reservations you may have and get the answers to a predefined list of questions from each agency. This will help you decide who to see.
Questions you may ask a design and development agency
About the agency:
- How many people work at your agency?
- What are their skill set (UX designers, Front-end Developers, Server-side developers, Account Managers, Project Managers)?
- Do you outsource any part of their service offering?
- What work do you like doing?
About their clients:
- How many clients do you work with?
- Do you have capacity for my project?
- Can you describe a recent project and provide evidence of the value you delivered?
Communication:
- Can you describe your agency process (Discovery, Design, Development, QA and Testing, Launch, Iterate)?
- Will you help us develop a digital strategy
- Who will be my Project Manager?
- Will I have direct contact with the team?
Measuring success:
- How do you measure success?
- How would you work with me to set goals?
- How can you help me get the outcome I am after (increased sales, enquiries, form conversion or landing pages)
These are just some examples of what you may ask and on your call the agency will be looking to get as much information about the project from you.
Arrange to visit the agency to get a sense of who they are and what work they like doing. If you can’t go to them, then make sure they come to you. The best case scenario is that you do both. I can’t stress how important it is to get a measure of the agency you will be working with.
This meeting is all about chemistry. Ask yourself if you can see a good working relationship. Ask yourself if you are going to enjoy working with these guys and if you think they can deliver the project on time and to budget.
Finally, good luck.
