Chief Strategist Kalev Peekna shares his advice on beginning a digital rebrand and website process for professional services firms.

1. Website Guide
10 August 2017
SMPS Chicago – Marketing Coordinators Connection

2. 2
WELCOME TO
ONE NORTH

3. Introductions
Kalev Peekna
Chief Strategist

4. 4
Topic for Today
As an agency, clients come to us at various points asking for advice. But the
information they request isn’t always the information I wish they had. Today we’ll
cover the advice we wished clients asked for:
• Building the Business Case
• Looking for the Right Partner
• Planning the Project
• Designing for Success

5. BUILD THE BUSINESS CASE

6. 6
Establishing the Need
The first, and perhaps hardest, part is building
consensus behind an investment in your
website. We’ve found that one of the most
powerful tools is a comparative review –
literally holding yourself up against the
competition.
• Include more than just your direct peers. Consider
aspirational competition.
• Your clients’ industries can be useful comparison
points.
• Review multiple dimensions, including content,
organization, design impact, ease of use, etc.
Vanity may be a vice, but it’s also a powerful
motivator. Don’t be afraid to use your
marketing superpowers for good by showing
your partners how far they are falling behind.

7. 7
Articulate your Goals
The investment you’re asking for isn’t in the website itself, but in what it will
achieve for the firm. The site’s business goals should be the heart of your
business case.
Are you trying to build awareness in a particular industry or region? Does your
firm have new work that it needs to showcase more effectively? Are current
efforts hampered because of obstacles? Can you be more efficient with better
tools?
Try to connect – explicitly, wherever possible – the
goals for the website to the firm’s overall goals, in
particular its growth strategy.
Ask a friendly partner to review. If she or he isn’t
convinced, keep at it until they can get behind it.

8. 8
Set Realistic Expectations
Your business case should set expectations for
budget, timeline, internal effort or change, etc.
It’s crucial that you not make promises that
can’t be kept.
• Ask peers for what they've spent. Be prepared for a
wide range.
• Consider not just what was spent, but what they
received.
• Your time is also an investment.
• Never – never, ever, ever, ever! – promise a specific
date.
• Speak of improvements, but don’t promise specific
features, designs, technologies, etc.
Realistic goals can still be ambitious.
Just be careful not to box yourself in by
making commitments that may ultimately
be outside of your control.

9. 9
Be Open – and Careful – about Scope
Don’t bite off more than you can chew
before you even get started. If it’s been a
long time since your last redesign, you
probably have a long list of needs.
Instead of throwing everything into one giant
project, measure your priorities and plan for
the long term.
Must Haves
Now
Must Haves
Eventually
Should Haves Nice to Haves

10. LOOK FOR THE RIGHT PARTNER

11. 11
Go Digital
First – don’t go for someone who “also does
websites.” Digital design is more particular and
specialized than ever, and extends far beyond
traditional websites.
Find an agency dedicated to digital:
• Exclude most PR, social, print, advertising, etc.
firms.
• Look at their portfolios.
• Ask for referrals.
• Local is definitely more convenient, but don’t make
it a deal-killer.
• Be open about your budget (but keep some in
your pocket).

12. 12
Do Your Due Diligence
Most agencies tell a great story – it’s what we do
for a living, after all – but be sure you do your
own checks:
• Call their references.
• Ask them how they handle budgets and
overruns.
• Ask who will be working on your project.
• Never ask for the “standard pitch” – give them
something specific to respond to.
Don’t be discouraged if the references aren’t
overwhelmingly positive – smart people
often give balanced feedback. If you hear
something that causes concern, address it
directly with the agency.

13. 13
Go for the Long-Term Relationship
You’re not just picking someone to get you through
the project – ideally, you want an agency for the
long-haul.
• Get detailed information on hosting options and
costs.
• Understand how they handle support,
maintenance, and enhancement requests.
• Ask about SLAs (service level agreements).
• Will they wait for you to call them, or will they
actively bring you advice and ideas?
Some agencies simply shy away
from maintenance and support – but
you need someone who knows what
it means to keep something up-to-
date.

14. 14
Don’t Budge on the Minimum Ante
You will inevitably make some tradeoffs in picking
a partner. But there are a few things you should
expect from every proposal:
• Responsive design
• Self-managed content (including imagery)
• Built to SEO standards
• Hosting flexibility
• Non-proprietary technology
You’ll be investing a lot of money. Some
agencies have artificial ways of making
sure you stick with them – like using
technology that can’t be hosted or
maintained by anyone else.

15. PLANNING FOR SUCCESS

16. 16
Know Your Brand
This is where almost all agencies will want to
start. When an agency asks about brand, they
mean much more than your logo. Here’s what
agencies are typically curious about:
• Design guidelines, such as logo, fonts, color
palettes, etc.
• How much visual flexibility you want or
expect in following those guidelines
• Messaging platforms
• Copy tone, style, and voice
• Imagery directions
• Best examples of your brand in action
If you’re not psyched about any aspect of your
brand, consider a refresh before you start your
website project. Tackling both your brand and
website at the same time can work well, but it can
also cause significant delays and cost overruns.

17. 17
Gather Your Data
Your agency will need to learn a lot about you
very quickly. You can save time (and money) by
gathering some of the most important information
ahead of time:
• Recent web metrics reports, especially on
problem areas
• Audience information – who you are
targeting, how you segment them,
client/customer service survey results, etc.
• Other digital marketing metrics, like email,
SEO, etc.
• Recent examples of your best marketing
Don’t worry about overloading your
agency with information – we will usually
take everything we can get.

18. 18
Assemble your Team
Even the bravest “marketing-teams-of-one”
can’t pull off a full redesign on their own. Define
specific roles and recruit people to assist along
the way. Consider:
• Leadership advocacy and support – even
beyond your direct management
• Design/branding review
• Content support – especially if there will be any
other people doing entry/editing
• Your side of project management – who
organizes meetings, ensures tasks are completed,
tracks the schedule, etc.
Determining the size of the “core team” for a
website project can be tricky, but we
generally recommend anywhere from 3 to 6
people. Too few, and you risk being
overloaded at key points; too many, and you’ll
find it hard to guide decisions.

19. 19
Surf for Inspiration
This is one of the fun parts – and also one of the most useful for your
chosen agency. Prior to work starting, do some surfing around to develop
a sense of what you like or, more importantly, what feels like your firm.
Make it a collaborative effort, and see how others
in your firm feel about your best examples.
Don’t just go out-of-industry; stay out-of-
industry. Looking at the competition is a good
way to benchmark, but a terrible way to find
inspiration. Unless, that is, you like looking
exactly like everyone else.
Finally! A valid work
reason to be on
Pinterest.

20. 20
Plan for Decisions
You will face a lot of decisions, both big and small. Not
every decision will be yours (or even the core team’s) to
make alone, so plan ahead for who needs to be involved.
Fight the urge to turn everything into a committee
decision. One way to avoid this is to think about the
difference between who needs to be informed, who needs to
provide input, and who needs to make the final call. Keep
that last group as small as possible!
Bob (CFO) Amy (IT) Eva (Mktg) Shae (Mktg) Jackson (CEO)
Design Informed Informed Input Final Final
Functionality - Input Final Input -
Budget Final - Input Final Final

21. DESIGNING FOR THE FUTURE

22. 22
Understand the Design Process
Design is absolutely the most exciting part of a website
effort. It’s what your agency, and probably yourself,
lives for.
Before you dive right in, however, take time to
understand the process. Talk with your agency about
their approach, the deadlines, and what your
responsibilities will be. Make sure their process
works for you, and ask for adjustments where
necessary.
Keep in mind that designs will probably keep changing
– right up until launch. So be careful about the
expectations you create internally.
It’s OK – even great – to share
designs internally to generate
excitement ahead of launch.
But leave yourself room to
change your mind.

23. 23
Give Feedback Like a Pro
The most important contribution you can make to the
design process is providing timely and actionable
feedback.
• Be direct and decisive.
• Highlight what you like and don’t like.
• Be specific – vague feedback leads to vague
results.
• Return to your inspiration to help your designers
understand what you mean.
• When in doubt, connect your feedback to brand or
business goals.
Contrary to urban lore, most
designers won’t freak out if you
don’t like a design. They will freak
out if you pretend you like
something, but then ask for a million
“tweaks.” Most designers would
rather try again.

24. 24
Get Your Assets Together
One of the greatest benefits of AEC firms is
that, relative to other professional services like
finance or law, their work is inherently visual.
A major purpose of your site will be to
showcase your firm’s work and people.
Preparing your visual assets ahead of time
will save a lot of time and money:
• Photos for key people, locations, etc.
• Worksite/building designs and photos
• Brand imagery
• Videos
Stock imagery is boring and undifferentiating.
It can also be surprisingly expensive. The
most cost-effective imagery will be what you
already have on hand, especially the plans,
designs, and photos of the work. Save your
budget for portraiture, so your people can
look their best.

25. 25
Content, Content Everywhere
The design phase is where you will begin to
understand the content you need, and how it
impacts your design. Since most of it will be up to
you, take control of your content early on:
• Audit your current content before you start
design.
• Cut, cut, cut wherever possible – especially if it
isn’t performing.
• Know your copy tone and style going into
design.
• Never underestimate the work involved in writing
or rewriting copy.
Nearly every client we’ve ever
worked with has underestimated how
much work is required to create and
enter new content.

26. FINAL, RANDOM THOUGHTS
EPILOGUE

27. 27
In No Particular Order or Precedence…
• Clients who stick to schedule, stick to budget.
• Don’t be a digital hoarder.
• Make a friend (or at least an ally) of patience.
• When everything is important, nothing is important. Know your
priorities.
• Content organization (information architecture) is the biggest single
driver of usability.
• Don’t launch on a holiday or near a weekend. Choose a time when
people are available to address issues.

28. Q&A