Blog Post

Tera-Bytes.com Totera Web Systems Blog

What B2B Companies Should Look for When Outsourcing Web Development Services

Frank DePalma • Dec 15, 2015

Have you thought about expanding your reach and servicing more of your clients’ needs?Establishing a relationship with an experienced IT firm might be the smartest business move you make this year. Here are five things to look for when searching for your new IT team:

  1. Customer Support
  2. Communication Skills
  3. Appropriate Staffing
  4. References
  5. Transparency

1) Customer support
Make sure the IT team has the best interest of your customer in mind with every decision. If your customers are used to getting quick phone response from you, but you get a slow email response from your provider, it could make your customer lose confidence in your ability.

First you need to decide how your relationship with your customer and IT provider will work:

  • Will they be contacting the customer on your behalf? Or will you be the only point of contact.
  • Sign a non-compete agreement and work out the details of how any future sales will go. For example if your customer contacts the IT company directly to perform services, we provide 25% commission for 12 months.

2) Communication skills
We are in the communications business. Choose an IT team that can help you understand the technology that you are providing to your clients.

  • Are they able to clearly explain the technology? Is it scalable? Secure?
  • Are they able to provide valuable suggestions for new technology.
  • Are they able to explain the technology without sounding conceited or making the client feel stupid?

3) Appropriate company size
When searching for an IT team that is the best fit for your needs, ask yourself, “What size should my IT team be?” Will you need backup staff with 24/7/365 support, or will a one-person shop be enough?

  • An IT firm that is too large for you may not provide the level of customer service that you need. Imagine your customer calling because they need a change and your IT service provider not getting back to you for three days. That reflects poorly on your business.
  • A firm that is too small might not be able to manage your project effectively. While forming a relationship with a single programmer can be beneficial, you have to keep in mind what that individual will be doing in 2 years? Will they take a job with a larger firm? Will they still be available when their work needs to be updated?

Decide what staffing your IT team should have:

  • Will you need a dedicated project manager to keep the project on schedule?
  • Is it easy to get in touch with the CEO if your project manager is not responsive?
  • Will you need a backup programmer, or project manager to keep you covered when IT staff are on vacation or sick?
  • Can they grow with your team to keep pace with you and your client as your success grows?

Dependability
We all are human and humans make mistakes – will they make it right? Don’t be afraid to ask, “So what happens if this thing fails?” When I was just starting out, I remember the first time a customer asked me, so what happens to our website if you die?” I wasn’t prepared for that, but I have since put a contingency plan in place to make sure the world keeps turning long after I am gone.

Project management
Does the IT team have a good process for managing projects. Some projects last several months and have many revisions. Make sure your IT team has proven methods for tracking progress, storing important files, passwords and data, for keeping the project moving in a positive direction. Someone has to manage the project.

4) Check references
Of course you wont get references from them from unsatisfied customers and, even if you do, people aren’t likely to dis their web provider, so be sure to ask specific questions:

  • How long have you been working together?
  • What is your strongest attribute? Let this answer come and keep digging until you get to the positive compared to the negative attributes.
  • What kind of work have you done?

4) The truth will set you free.
Maintain transparency with your customers. My company has provided web programming services for a variety of design firms. Although direct contact between the programmer and the customer isn’t always imperative, good communication is. If there are too many steps in the communication process, then there are more likely to be errors. I recommend introducing everyone involved at the beginning of the project via phone, email or chat. Then appoint one point of contact on each team. It’s okay that your customers know that you are not the geeks behind the website. The reason they work with you is because of your style, skill, or whatever reason makes it a good fit. They will most likely be relieved to not have another company they have to deal with and that you will be there to make sure their brand and message are consistent across all marketing channels. So, build on your existing relationship and create more work.

This article first appeared in the August issue of Media Inc.

Share

Additional Articles

https://www.missionzero.tech/
By Frank DePalma 20 Jun, 2023
“There’s tons of things you can do with CO₂. One of the largest opportunity areas, and our commercial thesis, is that you’re going to achieve both the most economic growth and environmental progress by injecting CO₂ into building materials and in synthetic aviation fuels.”
Help Us Help Travertine: Re-engineering Carbon Dioxide Removal
By Frank DePalma 20 Dec, 2022
“One of the key motivators of Travertine is taking one of the major waste products that humans make, which is sulfate waste, and trying to turn it back into something valuable to help promote this clean energy transition.”
Put oil back underground
By Frank DePalma 19 Dec, 2022
“Often, when I’m asked to describe the climate challenge to someone, I talk about how we have to get to such an enormous scale in such a short period of time. But I see that more as an engineering challenge than as a daunting challenge.”
By Frank DePalma 29 Jul, 2022
What Totera Clients Need to Know About the Upcoming Changes at NameGig
By Donna Winter 19 Apr, 2022
Posting on Google My Business is an Effective Way to Promote Your Business
By Frank DePalma 01 Mar, 2022
Five reasons why it's a great time to upgrade your old CMS Made Simple or Wordpress site to the Tada Web Editor platform.
What does your business address say about your company?
By Frank DePalma 01 Oct, 2021
Launching a new business is exciting, but there are many details to review before you start transacting. No matter which industry you operate in, whether you’re a sole proprietor working from home, a brick-and-mortar store, a consultant, or a tech startup, your company needs to be licensed and legal to do business in Washington. A professional business address from The CoLab can give you the edge you need.
10 Jun, 2021
Totera Inc. has been helping entrepreneurs by providing the most suitable digital marketing, development, branding, and management services. Totera's efforts have placed our clients in competitive positions in the online marketplace. Our company’s expertise in mastering React Native, which contributed to a massive change in mobile app development , has been important in this process. React Native is a programming framework that lets you have a native experience for iOS and Android without the necessity of programming a separate application for each of the two separate code bases. It focuses on the efficiency of both mobile operating systems without the dual application expense for our clients. For more than two decades, our results-driven team has maintained current knowledge and skills providing high-quality and trendy solutions based on our clients’ needs. The Totera team understands the importance of meeting or exceeding our client’s requests and trying to come up with the most cost-effective solutions. In line with that, we recently received our very first review on Clutch and have a perfect five-star overall rating. Clutch is a B2B ratings and reviews platform located in Washington, D.C., connecting businesses with the agencies or consultants they need to solve their business challenges.
Internet Explorer End of Life
By Frank DePalma 01 May, 2021
In accordance with Microsoft recommendations, Tada websites will no longer support Internet Explorer (IE) after June 1, 2021. Visitors on IE who reach our sites will be advised to open the site using a different browser.
Show More
Share by: