What's your digital partner selection strategy?

In my experience, the opportunity (or at least brand promise) of "Digital" is not to start deep within an organisation and its legacy data and capabilities and building out towards the customer, but rather to start with the customer and spending the time to find out what they truly value and then making strategic choices on how best to deliver that value using modern flexible / agile approaches. The right Digital Partner will lead with and be able to demonstrate the experience, capabilities and methods to take that user-centred "outside > in" approach inc research, ethnography, design thinking, agile methods, service design, rapid prototyping...) backed up with strong foundational capabilities inc cyber, cloud, mobile, dev-ops, UI/UX...

Having defined your scope and objectives, the next crucial step is to thoroughly evaluate potential partners for their capability to deliver on your needs, and their compatibility with your company's culture and values. Examine their portfolio, and ask for case studies related to your industry to gauge their understanding of your specific market. Assess their technical expertise, creative prowess, and data handling capabilities, crucial for today's digital landscape. Also, don't overlook the importance of their team dynamics, flexibility, and communication style. A digital partner should not just be technically adept, but also a collaborator that integrates seamlessly into your team, fostering a shared vision for success.

Know how far you're willing to go. On top of the objectives and outcomes you want to achieve. Digital is very broad, so you're likely going to have to answer 'how far are we willing to go and how much of a partner do we want to be?' E-commerce, SEO, SEM, content, paid social, design, video production... the list goes on. Even if you only want lead gen right now, that may encompass a lot more than Google/Facebook ads. Are you willing to overhaul your site for SEO optimization? Are you willing to make thought leaders in your company available to produce content for search traffic? Most importantly: Are you willing to flip your marketing processes to be more customer interest-centric? Those answers will create a better discovery process.

The best digital strategies are connected to business strategies. Ideally, you will be upfront with your prospective partners about the outcomes you're trying to achieve, as well as your organization's maturity and track record in achieving your goals in the past.

Choosing a digital partner? Let's dive deeper than surface offerings. Values - They guide every decision, action, & reaction. Partnering with someone who shares your values ensures a harmonized vision. Personality - We're unique; that's beautiful. Yet, as partners, compatibility is key. Harmonizing personality means smoother communication, understanding, & mutual respect. Creativity - The digital landscape is ever-evolving. Partnering with creativity brings fresh ideas, pushes boundaries, & ensures your endeavors stand out in this vast sea of content. While metrics and portfolios matter, it's the heart, spirit, & imagination that fuels lasting partnerships. Let’s choose depth over breadth. Let’s choose essence over appearance. ??

In my 17 years of experience, I've found that leveraging your professional network for recommendations and spending time browsing industry forums and reviews for unbiased opinions could be a game-changer. Always remember, every business has unique needs, so what worked for another might not work for you. Make sure to evaluate each potential partner in the context of your specific requirements. A shortlist of 3-5 potential partners is manageable and allows for an in-depth evaluation of each, leading to a choice that is well-aligned with your company's strategic digital objectives.

A clear scope doesn't mean a single method for solving a problem - but rather a clear brief or assignment that indicates how the partner can be successful. I also suggest having conversations with prospective partners. Don't just let them pitch when they're at their very best. Ask for conversations that allow you to check chemistry, collaboration, transparency and fit.

When selecting a partner, it's crucial to consider expertise as well as alignment with your company's size and maturity. Assess not only their domain knowledge but also their suitability – do you require hands-on experts or a company with proficient project managers to match your project team's scale and needs?

While technical expertise is essential, it's crucial to consider the cultural and ethical alignment of a potential digital partner: Shared Values: Ensure the agency upholds similar values as your organization for better trust and communication. Work Ethics: Check if their work practices resonate with yours, prioritizing transparency and integrity. Communication Styles: Evaluate how they handle feedback and their responsiveness to ensure smooth collaboration. Diversity and Inclusion: Assess if they're committed to fostering an inclusive environment, mirroring your company's ethos. A partner aligned with your company's culture and values often leads to a more harmonious and successful collaboration.

The great differentiator: How moving is their content? Does it speak to consumers through their interests and motivations, or is it product benefit and message driven? No matter what area of digital you’re looking for help with, the one consistent success criteria above all others is the ability to earn peoples attention, and move them to take action. Persuasive content is the biggest driver of success across all content and digital advertising. And it can be the expertise that is hardest to master. For that reason, find the digital partner that is highlighting their ability to identify audience/consumer insights over the groups playing up their technical acumen or sheer creativity. People experts over platform experts.

Different take on this (not regarding selecting an agency, but perhaps still applicable from a methodology perspective). While at media agencies or publishers and evaluating technology vendors, my teams would leverage a scoring sheet to guide our selections. This way our decisions are more logically (and less emotionally) driven. The system included both quantitative and qualitative categories: unique & incremental business provided from said partner, unique capabilities (special ad formats, creative studio, unique data, etc), reputation in market, ease of tech integration / implementation, geographic coverage, — etc These categories would be weighted based on importance to your business & goals for the coming year/s.

few things I've found to be helpful is to ask them who their top 3 competitors are and how they define their key differences, then speak to their top competitors to truly understand the differences. Also it's important to understand how they optimize their user behaviors to identify and qualify the intent of their users in the purchasing funnel to target the next best action. Next, it's mission critical to understand where and what zero, first, second, and third party partners and techniques they use. Equally, it's important to know their out clause and cost / pricing model to ensure you'll be able to maximize your budget demands. Lastly, compare this to their competitors to ensure you'll be able to meet your campaign or technology goals.

Here's one that can separate your final candidates: Ask them to describe their creative process. If it starts with brainstorming, eliminate them. The biggest thing to know about the digital space is that you're in a street fight for attention. Whether you're talking about Facebook/Google ads, search engine results pages, social media feeds, keeping peoples attention when they're on your website, or any other form of digital content/advertising, you have to EARN peoples attention. It means you have to put things in front of people that make them: Stop. Focus. React. Pick the partner that is obsessed with performance, because that is the best way to evaluate what is moving people in the digital space. Insights before ideas.

Ensure a well-rounded approach by choosing diverse partners with varying strengths in project management, design, and pricing. This enables effective comparison and enhancement of each offer. Sometimes, a blend of solutions from different partners can yield the best results

I can’t remember the last time I met in person with an agency or freelancer, I hold very little value in that. What is more important to me is their ability to communicate with remote teams who might be all over the world. Besides the prerequisite skills and experience, Flexibility, collaboration and communication style are really important. Having clear and transparent view of this is the key for me.

During the discovery meetings, try to validate all the good credentials you've already gathered for the potential service providers. What are their processes, initial ideas - do they ask you questions to learn more about you in order to provide more in-depth insights or are they focused on selling their own organization; are they willing to brainstorm together or you'd have to wait to see how they "create".

In addition to case studies and credentials, what makes a consultant successful is the framework they use - you want proven methods that are repeated and scalable. You also want to meet the actual team who will work on your business. So many teams pitch with a sales team you'll never see again. Ask for your client lead or delivery lead to be part of early conversations. While this is tricky for billable staff to do - who you work with and their chemistry often dictates the outcome of an implementation.

Meeting publishers or partners in person is something I suggest as fostering a collaborative relationship with a proven partner once you notice success. My recommendation is to schedule a series of 15-20 minute remote calls with multiple publishers one day a week or month for one- hour to get a quick overview before investing to much time evaluating their product if it's not a fit. Let them know upfront you are interested in them and their use cases prior to giving them your goals for two reasons, you will know immediately if you their services and second, keep a curiosity mindset if you tell them what you are looking for they will craft their pitch to meet your objectives and you might miss out on something unique and innovative.

I believe the negotiation is one of the most… If not THE most essential aspect of the selection process. One area I noticed that gets overlooked a ton are the subtleties & nuances within interaction. Underestimating the nuances of negotiation can lead to misunderstandings and suboptimal outcomes, as the subtle aspects of communication may go unnoticed. These nuances include recognizing non-verbal cues like body language, understanding cultural differences, and being aware of individual expectations and emotional context. A failure to appreciate these complexities can jeopardize relationships and long-term success in business interactions and some of these observations can be missed in earlier meetings like the introduction, site visit, etc.

When choosing a digital partner, there are a few key factors to consider: - core competency: Make sure the agency has the experience and expertise in the areas that you need help with. - experience: How long have they been in business? Do they have experience working with clients in your industry? - portfolio: Take a look at their past work to see if their style and approach align with your needs. - communication and collaboration skills: Make sure they are good at communicating with you and taking your feedback into account. - price: Get a clear understanding of their pricing structure before you sign a contract. - references: Ask for references from past clients to get a sense of their work ethic and customer satisfaction.

The single most valuable characteristic I look for in digital partners is mature professionalism, not experience or age, but mental toughness and resilience. Working in the digital space today is for special operators. The rules of engagement are more fluid, speed is essential and processes have to employ fast forward, pause and restart functions. All of this has to happen without emotional dynamics. There will be inefficiencies and missteps, and frustrations, but a good digital partner will always see solutions that can creatively keep you in play, and spare you the drama.

It is essential to understand expectations on both sides and to understand what a digital partner needs from you. For example, access to different people/teams within the organisation and how much of your time they will need. This can help with evaluating proposals and running the project internally.

The foundation of every partnership should be built on trust, collaboration, and a shared vision for success, ensuring win-win outcomes for both parties.