During a recent conversation with an active member of the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS), I was reminded of some of the common questions that I hear – and some more that I wish I heard more often – from corporate marketers facing a website redesign. Questions such as:

• How often will I need to redesign?
• Where should my budget come from?
• How do I efficiently solicit comparable quotes and qualify vendors?
• How do I justify or articulate the ROI to my management team?
   

The answers to these questions can have a huge impact on not only the process and final outcome of the project, but also on the long-term success of the site and the company behind it. We help our clients and prospects work through these issues at the very start of their website engagement to avoid complications and confusion down the road.

How often will I need to redesign?
Every 2 years, right? Wrong! For professional services companies, a well-built site designed for scalability and with the right tools in place can last for several years. The keys to long-term success are to a) build a site that is flexible and engaging that doesn’t lock you in as far as content expansion and distribution, and b) keep your site up to date. Redesigning a corporate website isn’t a ‘one-and-done’ deal – it requires ongoing effort to keep the site relevant, performing well in search engines and serving your audience.

Where should my budget come from?
It’s frequent for marketers to expect a full site redesign to come out of their yearly marketing budget, which can be quite a burden and lead to long delays in getting sign off on the project. However, corporate websites have come along way from the ‘online brochure’ sites that were being developed a few years ago. Today, the website is expected to be a core component of a company’s operation, helping to streamline and automate customer service requests, sales processes, data collection and other mission-critical operations. So why should all of the financial responsibility fall on the Marketing department? We advise our clients to seek a budget that draws at least in part from, or is included as a line item in the global operating budget. This will help ensure that the website continues to deliver ROI over the long-term by remaining an integral part of your company’s operation strategy.

How do I efficiently solicit comparable quotes and qualify vendors?
It is critical when facing a redesign to standardize the request for proposals (RFP). A little time spent up front clearly outlining expectations and deliverables will save you from much confusion down the road and will help streamline the short-listing and vendor selection process. Don’t forget to always include your budget, timeline and technical requirements – these vital pieces of information will help ensure that you are evaluating potential vendors on an even playing field. Leaving these details out will ultimately lead to wasted time for both parties in producing and reviewing proposals when there isn’t a fit. If you’re bidding out a sizeable project to a large list of vendors, it helps to have a dedicated question & answer session, after which you can publish many of the questions and responses to make sure all the bidders have the same info when drafting their proposals.

How do I justify or articulate the ROI to my management team?
Having trouble swaying the decision makers? Don’t be afraid to start small to prove your point. As we know, the web is all about measurability. Use this to your advantage! Use the “Benchmarking” tool in Google Analytics (located in the ‘Visitors’ section of the left-hand menu) to show how your site is performing in comparison with industry standards. Take the numbers to the decision makers and show them the facts about how your project will directly impact the success of the business.
 

Still need help getting the ball rolling or getting buy-in from your internal team? As a leading digital agency, we have over a decade of experience helping our clients and prospects get their online and interactive projects off the ground. We’d love to hear from you!