Looking for a new digital solution? Here are 6 things you should think about

During Increo's 24 years as an agency, there has been a lot of development on our side of the table. Although times are changing rapidly, customers often have overlapping challenges, questions, and concerns. So if you find it difficult to choose a digital partner, you are not alone.

Fortunately, you can learn to manage these processes better. Both choosing the right people to work with, and being the best possible resource for them along the way.

Six Tips for a Better Decision-Making Basis

What these tips have in common is that they make you better equipped to enter a booking process. In short: You are more prepared, and you get a nicer basis for decision.

That way, you don't run the risk of buying more than you need and you don't run the risk of having to do costly processes multiple times. In short, it increases the chance that you will get the value you are looking for.

1. Keep the anchoring in place

Before embarking on a project, make sure that you have sufficient vigor and execution capacity. Therefore, make sure that the implementation is rooted in management. If you are a project manager without top-level anchoring or a trusted budget, you run the risk of the process stalling. For the product to be good, you also need to have room to make quick decisions along the way.

2. Think carefully about the goal

Before you knock on the door of a potential partner, you should have an idea of what target for the project is. One of the most important things you can do is ask yourself the right questions. For example:

• Who Should the web solution really be created pre Employees, customers or members?
• why Do you need a new solution? Do you have inefficient work processes, is the current solution outdated or do you have a new product/service to be launched?
• Wat is the goal? Better visibility in Google? Strengthening brand and recognizability? Do you want to generate leads or sell more products?

With a good website, of course, it is possible, and often the intention, to achieve several of these goals. The point is just to have a conscious relationship with them, and feel free to prioritize what is most important. Many people still see websites as a necessary evil, but they are and will be a huge opportunity, as long as you decide what to do for your business.

3. Map System Constraints

You won't have to think much about how. That's why we're here. Think instead of why -- and whom who will ultimately decide. Nevertheless, it is useful if you have reflected a little about which systems or frameworks you are locked to.

For example, do you guys have third-party systems you can't get away from? Or maybe a CRM system, an intranet or a booking system should work in conjunction with the new solution? You don't have to have the answers to how it should all work together, but the frameworks are useful for a collaborator to know. For example, you can map and recommend automated and streamlined work processes that suit your needs.

4th. Insight is crucial

It cannot be stressed enough: To get a great solution, it requires the supplier to gain insight into who you are as a company, who your customers are—and how you make money. The more they know, the better the solution proposal and solution will be.

Yes, insight takes time, but that time is valuable. Remember, if you're on a tight budget, you can shorten the insight phase by doing more of the work yourself. The better work you do up front, the less time we need.

If you summarize your preparations in a small project brief, it's worth gold. It can be a document that tells a little about who you are, who is the target audience, what your goals are and what ambitions you have with the project.

5. Be open about your budget

Do you have a clear and consistent budget? There is no reason to be afraid to talk openly about it. You must of course don't share if you don't want to, but in most cases it will be beneficial for both parties.

Most decent agencies are keen for you to get the most value back for your money. That's why we will also be sparring partners on how you most sensibly use your budget. Based on the available budget, we can also point you towards a solution or even supplier we think will be a better match.

6. Don't underestimate good chemistry

A good supplier is also a partner. Hopefully, your digital project will mark the start of a long-term, fruitful collaboration. If you notice that they understand your ambitions and can adapt to the space of opportunity, you are well on your way.

Choose a partner who both listens and challenges you. Which will make you think again. Sometimes an idea might be to split up the project so that you can test the chemistry. For example, dip your toe in by starting with a pre-project. The insights you gain there will be important regardless, whether you choose to continue with the same agency or not.

Two quick bonus tips

If you take note of these tips behind your ear, you will be much better equipped for the next time you find yourself a digitization partner. Hopefully the result will be a better collaboration — and a better product.

And since you've scrolled all the way down here, you should get 2 bonus tips:

• Plan what you yourself have the resources to do. For example, do you have someone in-house to take photos or write texts? You may want your website to have a blog, but do you have a content creator?
• Think about what phase you are in: not only what the web solution should be today, but what it should be becoming. It affects choices for scalability and flexibility.

And with that, we wish you the best of luck in your quest — for both the perfect solution and the perfect partner!