Online Project Management It helps us stay on top of every project. Everyone on the project will see progress, questions, communication, and files. Every morning we get an executive summary from our project management system. It helps us keep things organized for each project. We can locate files such as documents and photos submitted for each project. We use this to submit all of our logos, design work, and website work so that we may all see the same notes. Online project management helps us wrangle all of the open projects we have going on. From Design Phase, Development, to Launch. You see email just doesn’t work for project communication. Maybe it would work if we only had 5 clients but picture this, you have 50 open web design/development projects and communicate several times throughout the day on all projects and then you also receive emails with changes and questions to design work…well the emails will most likely be forgotten or lost whereas the online project management alerts us and helps us stay on track. Ticket Support We use our online ticket support system for websites that have launched. You might need website changes, updates, photo changes, etc. Tickets are always answered in the order they are received. Submitting a ticket allows us to stay organized because emails get lost. Everyone on the team will be able to view the tickets. Emails We use emails for sending proposals, discussing a possibly new project or answering simple questions that you may have. We can no longer use emails for project development or update requests. It gets really confusing and projects tend to drag on and come to a halt without the use of our online systems. Every little minute counts during the day. For instance, if I write a message in our online project management system and then you write Bob an email. Well, I might not see the email and I might see the email but I will most likely forget to answer the email because I have questions I’m answering in our project management or support ticket system. Order of Importance for a web designer / developer Answering Online Support Tickets Communicating on our online project Management System Answering Emails We really want to offer the best service possible and fast turn-around times, but it all has to start with everyone using the right methods that work best for our agency. Phone calls are always welcomed but sometimes it is hard to reach me due to the focus I have on the work I do. (coding, developing & designing) so if you cant’ reach me then please call Bob Hendrix. I’m really big into keeping projects organized so let’s all work together to ensure no one’s messages get lost in the future. Thank you, Laura Wright =)
One of the most frustrating things we encounter regularly is business owners that are unwilling or nervous to share their budgets. Sure, some may not know it, but others will guard it like the crown jewels – fearing if they reveal the budget that we’ll spend it all instantly. Well, of course we’ll spend your budget…. It’s called a budget for a reason – you’ve budgeted it for spending. So if you tell us what your budget is – of course we’re going to use it. Maybe not every last penny but we’re going to try to maximize results by spending most of it. But what we’re NOT going to do is take all your money and give you nothing in return. What we’re going to do is match the services and expenses to suit your budget while we achieve your objectives. You’re also not going to hand over all your money upfront – so you’ll be able to review the work and service you’re getting in return for your investment. If you’re unhappy – you can always stop. If some firm does ask you to hand over all your money upfront – you’re not hiring a marketing firm – you’re being held up – run away. Yes, you can tell us your budget – you’ll get a better result. Provided your budget is realistic – by sharing what it is – and discussing your objectives – your design or marketing firm (hopefully us) can tailor the projects and services to fit. We use to be more easy going about budget discussions with clients. We’d head back to the office after our meeting and brainstorm all sorts of things. Big ideas. Great ideas. Then we’d write up our proposal and arrange another meeting to review it. We’d go over all the great stuff we wanted to do and get buy-in and we’d all be excited – then they’d turn to the budget page…and say “we can’t afford that.” And then finally, they’d tell us what they could afford… but now they wanted everything we outlined – for far less. And we’d have to say, “we can’t afford that.” So now we insist on a budget figure. It can be ballpark. It can be a range. But we have to leave our initial consultation meeting with a number – otherwise we can’t do a proposal. We want to offer the best services and best options that are affordable under your budget. Sure we can think up all sorts of things – but if they can’t be paid for what’s the point. Wouldn’t you rather us use our creativity and experience to develop solutions that will accomplish your goals and that you can afford? So don’t be afraid to share your budget. Even if you hold a little bit back in the figure. It will make the whole experience and end result much, much better. If you’re hesitant because you’re getting an uneasy feeling about “them” then don’t hire those guys. You’re entering a relationship – so you’d better like and trust who you’re going to bed with – and if you’re not comfortable discussing money with them – that should be a big alarm bell. By sharing your budget and your goals – your new marketing / creative partner will be able to design a strategy and plan that’s doable. And their “plan” should include how you will be measuring success too – so you can determine if you want to continue paying them. But that’s a different post.
