Memchat: working with digital suppliers
Last week saw the return of our regular Memchat event for the membership sector.
Trade associations and membership organisations shared experiences with each other at our breakfast gathering at the Gherkin.
The iconic London landmark's 38th floor was the setting for a detailed and honest discussion on the benefits and issues when working with agencies across digital projects.
We've captured some of the points raised in the summary below...
The culture of fear
IT and communications departments in the membership sector are working hard to help senior management understand what it’s like to work with agencies. To get top level buy-in, these teams need support from their agencies to explain how the project helps deliver the organisation’s business plan and give reassurance that this is the right direction.
We agree that understanding business objectives and showing how other businesses are achieving goals are key to developing successful strategies and building collaborative relationships with clients.
The business case battle
Processes have simplified and organisations can get budgets approved for digital projects more easily. Some prefer fixed-price projects while others offer a budget range, but all said quotes varied immensely and it was often difficult to compare like-for-like.
When evaluating agencies, comparing budgets are just one way of differentiating. You will have to work with the agency closely, so look at whether you can imagine developing a relationship with the team, ask previous and existing clients about their experiences and review the agency's portfolio.
A knowledgeable guide
Organisations said they wanted agencies to educate them and make them aware of new trends. They valued suppliers with an empathetic approach, who took the time to understand their culture and processes. The word ‘trust’ kept cropping up.
We understand that no one likes being sold to or fed generic observations. A truly collaborative partner will listen, ask questions and avoid assumptions.
Delivery doesn't mean finished
The website is the daily destination for members and they want convenient services, such as online joining, renewal, Continuing Professional Education (CPD) and publishing. Digital services also reduce manual back office administration.
Organisations are working hard to grow membership and engage with members; the main website musn't exist in a vacuum outside these goals.
Delivering a website is much more than a technical build with functioning integrations. It’s an iterative process.
The reality of project management
Organisations want clarity about how much internal resource is needed by the agency to support project delivery. Often they find out too late that an agency needs 50% of their time.
Projects need good planning processes, otherwise the client team will face delivering the project on top of their full time job.
Managing risk
Good project initiation documents schedule resources and pre-empt risks. Organisations said that the most common risk flagged by agencies is working with other third-party suppliers.
The more organisations involved in the project, the bigger the risks
Share lessons learned
Organisations want agencies to share challenges in delivering projects, even across unrelated projects. They want to avoid making the same mistakes.
Join the conversation
Like the sound of this? Come along to the next Memchat in April. Register your interest by emailing us.