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: marianne@mariannekay.com Twitter: @marianne_uaLinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/mariannekay/