May.21st.2019

How to prepare a meeting with a web agency

Banner : How to prepare a meeting with a web agency

You have a project ? We can't wait to hear about it! You can now come to meet us, so we can help you build it together! Our team will guide you in every step.

Otherwise, you can also take advantage of this small 11-step guide that will help you define your needs and thus prepare you for our first meeting!

Infographics : How to prepare a meeting with a web agency

This small guide in 11 steps will allow you to answer your questions and will help you to approach your meeting serenely with your future digital provider.

  • What are the expectations of the web agency?
  • What are the important points to discuss during a meeting with the Web team?
  • What are the documents to bring during a meeting with your agency?
  • What are the questions to ask during a meeting with your Web agency?

If you have a meeting with 8P Design, your project manager will send you a document to prepare the meeting and help your organization. Well yes, we like it when things are clear, and we help you put all that in the right order! :)


1. Define my business and its business environment

How to define my company? How to define the size of my company? How to define the objectives of my company? How to define the products and services of my company?

Above all, express the values ​​of your company, its DNA, its history so that it no longer has any secret for the agency which will know perfectly in which direction to direct its communication. This presentation phase is crucial to facilitate discussion between you and your future agency. Talk about the size of your team too, the different stakeholders and your goals in terms of business development.


2. Define the digital project

How to determine the goals of my digital project?

Detail all your expectations to ensure that your agency can best meet your demand!

Ask yourself what is the objective of this project:

  • Is it to make your company known to a certain clientele?
  • Sell ​​a product on the internet?
  • Offer advice on your products or services?
  • Generate new prospects?

Your terms and conditions will outline the contours of your collaboration and allow your provider to adopt the right strategy to achieve the defined goals.


3. Detail the current Web assets that your company holds

Does your company have a web presence?

Your agency will want to know your marketing assets. Even though the agency will have done a little preliminary investigation, any additional information will be useful in order to make the collaboration effective.

In other words:

  1. Do you have a website right now?
  2. On which social platforms and media do you communicate?
  3. What are the performances of your current positioning?
    • Number of visits, what type.
    • Number of people following you

4. Define my current marketing strategy and results

How to determine my marketing strategy and results? How to characterize my competition?

The agency will also be interested in marketing actions that you have already conducted but also especially their result. It will then be able to think outside the box and offer you new perspectives not explored in your communication.

This meeting will also be an opportunity to learn more about:

  • Your competitors
    • Their current web presence (the address of their sites).
    • Their market share and their strengths / weaknesses.
  • Your sector of activity to see what is best and adapt it to your communication. Doing a market research could be a good way to understand your sector.

5. Define my target audience

How to determine my target audience? How to create a persona?

Each project is aimed at a target audience, your agency will need to know yours to find the best way to address him.

Try to build a persona (fictional character representative of your target) by asking yourself some simple questions:

  • Who is your typical client?
  • What is his profile?
  • Where does he live ?
  • What are his habits and interests?

By using the data and information you share with your agency, it may be able to conduct a broader survey or study to provide you with data that you can use in your business.


6. Set my budget 

How to define my budget?

Essential point: define your budget. It is normal that you want to save money and get the lowest possible price. On the other hand, it is important that you be able to define a budget range that will allow your provider to define which resources to use and how to allocate them accordingly (the quality of your online presence depends on it).

Indeed, unless you have a hyper-detailed technical document with all the features clarified and tested in a standardized process, a development can be flexible at the budget level, use more or less graphic resources, creativity, user experience and so on.

Sharing your approximate budget range usually allows your agency to better orient the project and meet expectations.


7. Think about the tree structure and the contents of my web project

How to organize my web project? How to get an overview of my platform? 

In the realization of your project, define a common thread that will help your prospects or customers to orient themselves on your online platform. Your agency will then need to know your idea of ​​the ideal website!

Do not hesitate to list all pages and themes and their organization to offer your visitor a structured user experience. A document listing the page names below each other in a bullet format is quite adequate.

Example:

  • Home
  • Services
    • Service 1
    • Service 2
  • About
    • our team
    • How to do business with us
    • Terms and conditions
  • Contact

To better understand your project, the agency will need to know who will have to create the content in your pages and especially when it will be available. The sooner it is ready, the faster your Web project will be able to see the light of day. Do not waste time (think about translating your content as well)


8. Determine the features of my web project

How to define the features of my digital platform? How to determine the priorities between these features?

A website adapts to the needs of the market and this market requires its own features. Then list all the options you need, in order of priority, to see how your agency can integrate them into your future website.

If elements require programming or databases such as an online store, an internal search engine or other, do not hesitate to express your need, based on examples, to guide the work of developers


9. Define my graphic charter and my inspirations

How to define my visual identity? How to create a graphic charter?

Your visual identity is your showcase!

If you have a graphic charter, do not hesitate to send it in advance to your agency so that it can identify your needs, understand your graphic identity but also make suggestions if it feels the usefulness.

If you do not have a graphic charter or start a new business, do not hesitate to expose your tastes! You can also get inspiration from the competition if necessary, or even from outside your ecosystem.

Even though the agency will have done a little preliminary investigation, any additional information will be useful in order to make the collaboration effective.


10. Determine my Webmarketing

How to define my marketing strategy for my web project?

In the event that you have a digital strategy already in progress for this project, you will have the choice to continue in the same way or to start on new foundations. It depends on you but also on the goals you have set for yourself. Do not hesitate to inform the agency of a possible change of direction in your strategy if you plan one so that it can guide you as well as possible. 


11. Define my schedule

How to build my planning? How to organize the creation of my web project?

Last but not least, set a deadline! It is important for the agency to know your ideal time for the creation of your website and its online but also the events related to the online. All this will have to be defined before your meeting


You are ready !

You are now ready to make the meeting with your agency optimal! One last thing, do not hesitate to express your needs, your expectations, and to bring examples which inspire you and which will serve to support your remarks.

Some questions you could ask your agency during the meeting: 

  • What are the next steps?
  • What do you think of the project? Of my current website? Of my digital strategy?
  • Should we schedule an upcoming meeting?
  • Who will take care of my project?
  • How does your team work?
  • How will we communicate and how often?
  • Who will be my interlocutor?
  • What do you need from me?
  • When should I deliver the content of the site?
  • What are the payment methods ?
  • How is delivery and handling going to be? Will I have training?

Now that you have all the keys to prepare your project and you are ready, contact us to organize our meeting!