Find yourself a trusted digital partner for your 2023 web projects

Where do you begin when planning your organization’s digital strategy projects? Many of us are finalizing 2023 digital strategies right now, and choosing the right delivery partner is the key to the success of your digital projects.

Because planning complex projects can be confusing we strive to be a highly effective digital partner and help you with the process. 

You can learn more about the types of organizations that we work with here: systemseed.com/clients.

Whether you are going through a full digital transformation or you have smaller projects in mind, the right digital partner will ensure you succeed. 

A trustworthy web partner can assist you with specialized projects based on your organization’s goals from creating a new website, defining digital strategy, agile web development, support, and hosting.     

Finding a single digital supplier to fulfill all of these needs has many benefits, such as increasing your return on investment (ROI) and reducing the amount of time you spend on managing multiple suppliers. 

What do we mean by digital strategy?

When we talk about digital strategy, we mean your plan for all of the ways that digital technology can be used to enhance your organization’s performance. This could support brand-new services and products or redesign existing procedures and tools like procurement, hiring, and training new staff.

It is important to remember that a digital strategy is both an idea and an actual product, meaning it should result in developing a detailed plan or roadmap to achieving all your digital project goals.

Your future digital strategies are always prone to change over time. In fact, using an agile approach, we would expect you to adapt it, but always with your overall objectives in mind as you learn what digital means to your business at different times. 

SystemSeed is your trusted digital partner. 

SystemSeed CEO, Anthony Fox-Davies says “clients use their digital strategies as the path to reaching their business goals - and the role of a digital partner is to be their trusted partner, adviser and make everything happen smoothly.”

How to choose the right digital partner 

1. Ask them how they will benefit your business.

A good digital partner will observe your work, spot potential traps, and identify hurdles. They will recommend new or corrective courses of action that will improve or solve your current problems. They should give you a roadmap for achieving your goals and explain the process with simple language that you can easily understand. 

It is also essential to have them share details of their track record. A good and trustworthy digital partner will take you through their previous client achievements and how they were able to achieve their results. 

2. Do they have the necessary technical knowledge?

Some web projects call for a higher level of technical skill than others. Most digital agencies, for example, will have the tools and knowledge to design a simple website. 

But keep in mind that even projects that seem straightforward might have complicated technical aspects. Furthermore, if you are undertaking a more complex project, you will require more specialized digital engineering knowledge and experience than the average web design agency can provide. 

For example, if you are looking for a new learning management system (LMS), finding an agency that has customized several LMS platforms for similar clients is key. So, you need to know your objectives and expectations before selecting your digital agency.

Here are a few tips:

• Divide up your objectives into deliverables. For example, if you plan on having a new online donations page available by a certain date.
• Recognize the purpose behind such deliverables. For example, increasing donations revenue so your charitable activities can help more people. 
• Describe the outcome you hope to attain. Make it as clear as possible so that everyone working with you can understand it.

3. Understanding their pricing strategy.

Digital firms frequently face criticism for starting a project with a fixed price and then tacking on additional costs as time goes on. 

Such issues can lead to halfway-finished projects, leaving you with little choice but to increase the budget for your projects. There is always uncertainty with every digital project, so what matters is that you and your agency are on the same page about it. 

Look for transparent pricing, which may be presented as a price range or an itemized estimate. You want your potential digital partner to be honest about which parts of the project are less certain than others in terms of cost.

4. Check their credibility

It is advisable to start by asking for a single contact that can guide you through the process like an account manager. They should understand the agency’s methodologies and tools to take you through all the necessary information you need to know. 

It is even better if you can find a digital partner who gives clients access to their project management, time-tracking, and team communication tools for transparency. 

If it is your first time evaluating an organizational footprint to choose a digital partner, then the following are some of the essential details you should analyze and evaluate to help you select the best digital partner:

• Research their organizational strategies, team members, methodologies, engagement procedures, and adoption of new techniques and technologies. 
• Pay close attention to their toolkits, infrastructure, security, and capability landscape. Are they happy to share this information? 
• Try to look at their escalation approaches and levels like anticipated response time, designations and positions involved, and difficulty of contacting the head of services provided.

5. Understand their work model: Process or client priority?

When choosing a digital partner, consider the suggested relationship structure and how a partner promises to support your organization in difficult times. Inquire about their priorities while operating through a sensitive situation. 

Does their process follow strict protocols to meet a client's requirements, or can they provide examples of going above and beyond to assist in resolving a problem, even if it doesn't fit with their standard procedures?

The main question to ask is, how does the agency manage urgent support requests and issues? 

The bottom line

Choosing the right digital partner for you is one of the most critical steps in delivering your digital strategy and upcoming projects. 

Your success depends on the strategic partnership between your business and your chosen partner.

Selecting the right partner with a client-focused and technically excellent digital team is essential if you want your goals to be met within your budget and with quality and creativity.  

SystemSeed is a highly experienced digital partner delivering the key range of services and expertise you need to implement your digital strategy.  Our key services are digital strategy, web design and development, agile development, support, and hosting.

To find out how we can help you on your digital journey, get in touch with us for a free conversation here at systemseed.com/contact.