How to Communicate With Your Web Development Agency

Poor communication can be the downfall of any project. And yet, while most clients spend a painstaking amount of time negotiating deadlines and budgets, they neglect to establish communication standards with their web development agencies before beginning a project. Are you setting clear expectations with your agency partners?

Establish Key Stakeholders

In most projects there are decision makers, project managers and collaborators. Clearly defining who holds what role and their responsibility in each task helps minimize miscommunication, missed deadlines, unnecessary work and other costly errors. Not only will this help both parties communicate clearly, it can also give you some valuable insight into the number of people you may have to go through to get to the person who is actually doing the work. At Creative MediaWorks, we find less layers equal less mistakes.

Set Clear Expectations

Some people can visualize a webpage with just a content outline and a few images. Others may need a full storyboard and multiple design comps before they can foresee the end product. If you know that you typically require 3 or 4 rounds of revision or more fleshed out design comps, let your web development agency know that up front so they can bake the necessary time into the timeline and provide a realistic budget.

Define Communication Standards

Do you prefer the 10-foot view? Or are you more comfortable when you know all the details? If you are working with a web development agency with whom you have a long-standing relationship, you may trust them to run with the ball. But if it is a new relationship, you may want more frequent, detailed status updates. Let your vendor know how much detail you’re looking for and when the details are too much.

Speak the Same Language

In Life Sciences, it is common for companies to have acronyms or terminology that are unique to their internal processes or brands. Try to recognize the terms you’re using that your web development agency may not know. And if they are using technical terms that you don’t understand–ask! You both need to be speaking the same language to reach the same goal.

Make Your Priorities Their Priorities

Regulatory review may be the pinnacle of your approval process, but your web development agency may be more focused on the beta test. Marketers, strategists and developers have differing priorities. Align key milestones at the onset of every project. Let your web development agency know what milestones are important and why.

Workflow doesn’t only refer to content development and regulatory review. There are nuances to every step of a project. Setting clear expectations for each of those nuances before miscommunication arises is the core of project success.

Creative MediaWorks offers custom web development, graphic design and print solutions to the Life Science industry and their agencies with a focus on quality, deadline and accuracy.  We achieve our quality standards through defined workflow processes, direct access to on-staff project talent, proofreading and quality assurance expertise backed by an uncompromising commitment to the most responsive customer service in the business.

For more information, visit www.CreativeMediaWorks.com