Do you recognise any of these;
💥 Project(s) and/or progress being delayed
💥 Having to settle for something you don’t love, but are forced to launch anyway
💥 A website that’s not ‘on brand’
💥 Having to spend more money than you should
💥 Having to start again…
Whether you have worked with a digital agency and they haven’t delivered what you want or you’ve never worked with one before, but now you need one to build or revamp your website … it can be daunting.
So, here’s my top tips for avoiding the pitfalls.
✳️ Ask someone you trust. Getting recommendations is the easiest way to find a proven team that can do what you need. It’s good to get the inside scoop on people and process too.
✳️ Pick someone you like. You’ll spend a lot of time working with these people, so you might as well enjoy it. A strong relationship pays off when you’re in the trenches and the shrapnel’s flying.
✳️ Pick someone with passion. If they genuinely care about your product or service, it’ll show up in the work.
✳️ Study their terms. Every agency has a unique set of T&Cs and the devil’s in the detail. Make sure they’re clear, fair and align with your business needs.
✳️ See what they’ve done. It might be hard to find an agency with relevant experience, but if this is essential to achieving your objectives, don’t just settle for the first agency you meet, just because they have a cute dog in the office and serve you excellent coffee.
✳️ See what they’ve won. Awards aren’t everything and to be fair, if you’ve played the game long enough, you’ll have won something. But especially when voted for by their peers, awards can point you to work that’s a cut above.
These aren’t in any order, but if you had to rank them, which would matter most for you?
Alternatively, cut out the numbers 4, 3 and 8 on big sheets of card, stick them onto an enormous searchlight, beam the silhouette into the night sky and I’ll do my best to help.