Building a business is a lot like building a house. You lay down the foundation, find the right people to design it, build it, paint it, and furnish it. It can’t be done all by yourself – whether it is building that new floor or adopting new technology. While finding the right technology partner can go a long way towards making your journey smoother, is it enough? How do you ensure that you approach them right?
Too often great partnerships don’t work out simply because customers don’t invest enough time and energy in understanding and articulating their objectives, brainstorming on what to look for in a partner, and educating themselves on what to expect in terms of the process and the outcomes. Here is a simple process to go about it the right way.
1. Define Your Objectives Clearly
Make sure you have a set of well-defined objectives before you approach a technology partner. Ask yourself questions like:
- What is my big goal or the ultimate objective? How does this big goal fit into my overall organizational strategy?
- What are the sub-goals or sub-objectives that constitute this big goal?
- What are the tasks that need to be accomplished for each of my sub-goals?
- Which tasks can my in-house team take care of? Which tasks do I need to outsource to one or more technology partners?
- Who are the various stakeholders who are going to be using your solution?
This extensive process will clarify your needs to not only your potential partners but it will also make it much easier for you to find the right fit. It is best to have a written document that details what you’re looking for, the timeline, the specifics of the project, the outcomes and the overall impact. If not a written document, rough sketches of how your interface will look will also do. Perhaps, you can even create flowchart on how you want the information to flow.
By giving a brief in a written format, you will set a starting point for the conversation to follow which will ease communication with your potential technical partners.
2. Educate Yourself on the Technology
While it’s true that you will be collaborating with someone who is expected to be well-versed with the technology, if you approach them without first having even a basic understanding of the technology yourself, it might end up being a recipe for disaster. To understand this, imagine collaborating with a partner from Japan, for example, without having the slightest understanding of the Japanese language! Crazy, right?
Each technology, too, has a terminology of its own. And unlike learning a new language, you can easily familiarize yourself with the basic terms with a simple Google search or reading a few books, if you have some time to spare. Before you pick up that phone or send that email to a prospective partner, take out some time to do a little bit of research on the technology and how it works.
This gives you an understanding of the feasibility too, so when the partner tells you that a certain function is not feasible on a certain technology, you already understand that. It will also drastically cut down on the back and forth you need to do during the process.
For example, if you are trying to onboard a technology partner for digital marketing, you would benefit by becoming familiar with terms like:
- Keyword research and SEO
- Email campaigns
- Digital ads
- Content marketing
3. Be Familiar with the Process
You may not know how a certain technology is developed, but it will help you immensely if you at least have an overview of the process involved in implementing it. Different technology companies have different versions of the core process involved, but the underlying framework is usually similar.
You can do a bit of research at your end first and then request your potential partner to clarify the process to you before you start. This will give you a fair understanding of the timeline and you can then plan your schedule accordingly. For example, when developing a website for your company, some of the key steps involved in the process would be:
- Creating sitemap and navigation
- Developing wireframes
- UI/UX design
- Content creation and assembly
- SEO Optimization
- User testing and launch
4. Research the Pricing and Ballpark a Your Range
Nothing is more frustrating than going through the entire process of identifying and familiarizing yourself with a technology partner only to end it all on account of pricing. Research the prices floating in the market before negotiating with the potential partner. This way, you’re not fooled by exorbitant prices.
You are also not caught off-guard due to wrong (or no) expectation-setting on your part about the industry benchmark for pricing of that product or service. You will also have a fair understanding of how to establish your budget. This way, you can weed out overly expensive technology providers without losing sight of the quality of your outcomes. The negotiation can conclude smoothly and in a short time.
Before you agree to a number, ask your technology partner the following:
- What is the pricing structure? (Flat – fee-based, recurring – subscription-based, outcome-based, activity-based, hour/day-based, etc.)
- Under what circumstances can the pricing change mid-way during the project? (change in project deliverable, a requirement of extra man-hours, delays, etc.)
- What are the additional charges on the actual price? (taxes, late fees, fines, etc.) What are the terms and conditions underlying them?
5. Establish Smooth Communication
What most people don’t realize, is that project communication needs to be ongoing and smooth between the partners involved. Most businesses communicate their requirements in the initial stage and then only check-in when the product is finished. At this stage, making any changes or updating any features takes a lot of time, effort and money. The best way to approach this challenge is to be in constant touch with your technology partner throughout the process.
It is also important that you assign a single point of contact in your organization to communicate with your partners so that multiple viewpoints and suggestions don’t create any confusion. This streamlines the process and allows the partners to deliver on time and within budget.
6. Understand the Changing Requirements of the Technology
Finally, when you are ready to take the leap and invest some real time and money into new technology, make sure you understand what the requirements of the technology itself are. Even if it is just a website you are looking for, it needs to be constantly updated and tweaked to remain relevant and adapt to the changing algorithms of Google and other search engines. The more complex a technology gets, the more up-gradation it requires frequently. Some technologies don’t function unless there are regular inputs provided. So make sure you know what you’re signing up for and it is feasible.
Getting into anything new is a bit of an uphill task at first. It can seem overwhelming in the beginning going by just how much there is to figure out and decide, but just a few simple steps at your end can make the process a lot smoother and help to hold your technology partner accountable for excellence at their end.