how to select a digital agency

The perfect match How to select, brief and work with a digital agency

JBoye European Oracle WebCenter Sites User Group London, UK. 12 June 2014

Marianne Kay, CMS Analyst at Digital Clarity Group

About Digital Clarity Group

We work with: Digital leaders

(enterprise technology adopters)

Technology vendors (software companies)

Service providers (digital agencies and system integrators)

We offer: Advisory

(strategic advice, technology & agency selections)

Research (interviews, surveys, direct observations)

Thought Leadership (industry events, conferences, webinars)

DCG helps business leaders navigate the digital transformation and turn digital disruption into competitive advantage.

Guide to Service Providers First comprehensive Guide to the landscape of digital agencies, system integrators, and other service providers Agency profiles cover: company information

size, location(s), financials, core services, brief history

strengths and weaknesses WCM partnerships specialist expertise and recognition vertical industry specialization project approach client perspective

3

Guide to Service Providers for Web Content and Customer Experience Management

Agency Selection

Vision Project sponsors and stakeholders Project Plan Requirements and Focal Needs Shortlist RFP Onsite presentations References PoC or Phase 0 Negotiations

Agency Selection Process

Project sponsors and stakeholders

scope, cost, timeline, milestones, resources, assumptions, risks

Project Plan

in-house

or outsource?

SEO optimization Analytics Major Redesign Project

(incl. design, UX, mobile, content, branding) CMS Replacement Email marketing Microsites and short-lived marketing campaigns Social media Managing communities and user-generated content Content strategy

Exercise: In-house or outsource?

Where do requirements come from? Review status quo

(existing processes, user journeys, sales figures, analytics, customer feedback, customer surveys)

Competitors review Vision Stakeholder interviews Usability testing

Requirements

Focal Needs High priority or idiosyncratic requirements, which are non-standard in the Service Provider marketplace. These requirements will significantly pare down the list of prospective candidates.

Examples: Technology (Java, PHP, .NET, Python...)

Specific WCM product (Oracle WCS, Adobe, Drupal...)

Usability testing

Geography Vertical industry expertise Copywriting Analytics

In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few.

Shunryu Suzuki

Shortlist

There are around 20,000+ service providers in the UK (120,000 in the USA). You need a shortlist of 3-4. market research

(such as DCG’s Guide to Service Providers)

use focal needs as a filter industry events and awards peer recommendations Google RFI engage an independent consultant

Shortlist

Your company – background information Your customers - target audience, personas Business goals Internal systems and processes Technology Timescales Deliverables, success criteria, measurable goals Upcoming plans, future phases Key people, points of contact Budget (?)

RFP – Request for Proposal

What does the agency want to know?

Indicative budget

Who’s pitching

Future potential

Do we get on?

Agency perspective

Pitching and Beyond: an Agency Perspective – by WebCredible http://www.figarodigital.co.uk/Video.aspx?v=25fbc7cd-d5fb-470a-9c09-fd070dcea816

RFP – the other side of the fence RFPs are like online dating

OMG Your RFP Is Killing Me

Nine times out of 10, RFPs are issued with a favourable contender in mind 10 Secrets to Help Your Agency Win More RFPs

Many RFP processes are gated by the ‘great wall of procurement’, determined to prevent any sort of collaboration with the key stakeholders to determine fit and scope Death by RFP: Don’t let it happen to you

A buying decision is 90% based on what goes on behind-the-scenes and is not solution-related Winning the RFP business: a case study

An RFP is the shadow of the story To RFP or Not to RFP, That is the Question!

RFP stands for Really Fast Paperwork

Build your agenda around focal needs, not everything under the sun

Use open questions, follow-up questions (tell me more), reflect back

Evaluate cultural fit Ranking matrix, not scoring matrix

Onsite presentations

win project first, resource it later junior team, freelancers, subcontractors ‘customer is always right’ attitude cutting corners recycling solutions

Behind the scenes

Discussions with past or existing clients are imperative. Reference clients are the only reliable source of insight into how the service provider performs in the wild.

References

Guide to Service Providers for Web Content and Customer Experience Management http://www.digitalclaritygroup.com/guide-to-service-providers-europe/

Money well spent Phase 0 either becomes part of the ongoing engagement or cuts the losses that a full-on engagement with the wrong partner may bring

Does not weaken negotiation power – considering other candidates is still an option.

PoC or Phase 0

Have options Engage a professional Make a fair deal

Negotiations

fixed price project retainer daily rate

Pricing models

Marianne Kay Analyst at Digital Clarity Group mkay@digitalclaritygroup.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariannekay @marianne_ua

http://www.digitalclaritygroup.com

@just_clarity

Thank you!