"I haven't needed a website to get where I'm at today, and I sure don't need to spend money on "new media" or "digital media" now. Its not my business and besides, if I did need it, I'd just pay a few thousand dollars to my nephew who took all that stuff in school."

• Save money for your company.
• Increase productivity.
• Raise awareness and prestige in your company.
• Shorten Sales Cycles.
• Reduce / Manage Inventories more effectively over vast areas.
• Create loyal and satisfied clients.
• Reduce operating & marketing costs.

1) Hire professionals. Yes this will cost you money, but you cannot substitute the proven experience, cutting edge technology and sound development methodologies of a professional firm. Make sure to ask for references, review their portfolio extensively and make sure you are comfortable with the project managers on a personal level. You are paying for expertise, advice and experience, so make sure you trust and value the ideas of the key players in the firm before you begin. Portfolios and references are perfect ways to dig in and find out about a company. If a portfolio is hidden, difficult to find, and unable to substantiate you should save your money and move on. Any firm with a reputable and substantial portfolio will have it at the forefront of any marketing efforts.

2) Hire professionals who want to understand your business BEFORE they suggest what they can do for you and definitely before they give you a price. Many companies will give you a free consultation of some sort. A red flag should go up when anyone starts giving you dollar figures before they have put time and energy into understanding what you need . Most of the time even you won't know that!! You want to hire experts to tell you how to improve your business, not to cookie cut you a pre packaged and pre priced solution that doesn't fit for you. Often you will have to pay for a day of consulting or business analysis which is well worth your money. Unless you are tendering a project approaching the six figure range, you shouldn't expect firms to supply you with massive proposals (also known in our industry as Free Consulting) without some sort of up front commitment or expense. Firms who are willing to invest major amounts of free time up front, are usually desperate for work. Not a good sign.

3) Hire professionals who can understand your business. If your business is highly specialized, the firm you hire should either be willing to invest the time required to understand your business or they should already have expertise in your area of business.

4) Know your goals, but do not have preconceived ideas about how to achieve them in the digital world. One of the biggest reasons you are hiring experienced professionals is to give you cutting edge ideas on how to achieve your goals in the most cost effective and efficient way. Do not go into the project with set ideas on how to achieve those goals. Perhaps you don't need a website, or perhaps a CD-ROM is not the most cost effective medium for you based on their in depth industry and technical knowledge. You know your business, digital communications firms know theirs. Be ready to bring to the table your big picture goals, corporate strategies and key players in your business, however be open to a wide range of potential mediums, delivery methods and development methodologies to ensure the best rate of success.

5) Trust. Once you hire a firm to help you with your digital communications, let them do their job. Listen intently to suggestions, let them do what they are best at and be open to new ideas. Still keep in mind that only you are the true expert in YOUR business and any major strategic decision should be firmly in your court. Make them sell you on their ideas, be a critic, try to find holes in the plan, but in the end, trust the experts.

Questions or Concerns?