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So, you’re exchanging glances with an optimization agency, eh? Flirting with the idea of starting a digital transformation journey? Looking to take your existing optimization or A/B testing program to the next level?
Nice moves, Casanova!
Partnering with an optimization agency is a great way to jumpstart your digital heart. Engaging experts to get hands-on with optimization strategies, UX/UI design efforts, A/B testing, and behavioral analytics is not only smart, it’s sexy. It puts the agency’s experience and brainpower by your side and gets your program swinging at a fraction of the time and resource it takes to hire, train and integrate a full optimization team.
But before you start a vision board of idyllic homesteads, picket fences, and frolicking dogs in the yard, there are a few things you’ll want to examine. Like any good partner, the right agency will support you and help you achieve your goals, but committing to an optimization agency is a big step, worth some upfront conversations and careful considerations.
Here’s what you should know before tying the knot.
It’s important your family approves.
The ups and downs of a strategic digital transformation are not for the faint at heart. You have to be committed to working through a lot of uncertainty and ambiguity as a cohesive team to uncover the real truths about your customer’s needs, and ultimately design what works best for them.
Shifting to a more data-backed, scientific approach requires determination and curiosity not found in every organization. Experimentation requires process changes and a willingness to let go of subjective decision making that might be years in the making and deeply rooted in company culture.
While you will likely see some quick wins, A/B testing and conversion rate optimization aren’t just quick fixes or immediate solutions. It takes commitment over time and consistent close collaboration across all disciplines including brand, marketing, product, design, and engineering.
There needs to be an openness to collaboration, knowledge sharing, and a willingness to support each other with the blend of talents that yields the best results. Find a partner who compliments your team.
So, call the family meeting, announce your intentions, let everyone voice their concerns, come up with an inclusive plan, and show off your ‘Never Stop Optimizing’ tattoo.
You’re gonna need some help.
Unlike a newly-married couple, you and your new agency partner are unlikely to be gifted a toaster, silverware, or something you’ll actually need, like a digital experience analytics platform. Until that becomes the norm, you’ll want to do some budgeting and due-diligence while selecting the necessary technologies.
When it comes to A/B testing and optimization, there are a lot of options out there and you’ll likely have some very specific needs. If you haven’t identified an A/B testing tool yet, that should be the near top of your registry. Tools like AB Tasty, Google Optimize, and Optimizely are amongst the most popular and scale well as your needs expand.
Along with a testing platform, you’ll also want to consider analytics tools, data visualization platforms, and logging tools to help ensure you have the best data available to make optimization decisions. There is a variety of tools and technologies available ranging widely in cost and complexity.
Lean into the experience of your agency partner to help identify the best fit. They will likely have intimate knowledge of these tools, and most will be into having an open relationship.
Set your intentions.
Clear intentions and mutual goal setting are cornerstones of any successful relationship. With digital transformation, both agency and client need to be in it to win it. So, be open and clear about business goals, priorities and engagement needs, and logistics.
Any optimization agency worth partnering with should also come with clear intentions to make you successful. Their evaluation of your current digital experience should be objective and honest — a product of both data insights and experience design assessment. They should not only identify, but qualify opportunities and be intentional about an actionable plan to transform the experience with some quick wins and a clear path for long-term success.
With clear goals and intentions, and a mutual commitment to the plan, together you will be unstoppable and your PDA uncomfortable to those around you.
Look beyond the honeymoon phase.
It’s exciting to start a new relationship! During the first few months of your partnership, you’re likely to see improvements coming in big swings, addressing the glaring issues that might have been staring you in the face for weeks…or months…or years. So what do you do when the endorphins wear off and you’ve got to dig a little deeper to find those bigger wins?
Frequent re-evaluations and goal resetting are critical to long-term success and getting to those harder to reach areas of your site. Leaning on your agency to uncover new opportunities in both your data and in your UX/UI design can reinvigorate your enthusiasm for testing, and unlock new potential. Whether it’s tactical improvements to a sales-generating experience, optimizing cross-sell, upsell, or related products, or testing into a whole new brand or site feature — the opportunities for ongoing optimization are endless for a dynamic digital experience.
Expect and demand growth.
Regardless of whether you intend to grow old together, or are looking for a short-term relationship to get your team up and running quickly, growth and accountability for driving success should be central to any agency partnership.
At Roboboogie, we strive to deliver a 10X return on investment for our clients. When the chemistry is right with clients who are culturally ready for open-to-close collaboration and can bring us into business goal setting and planning conversations, achieving a 10X return is easy.
So, swipe until you find the best agency fit for your organization, and then be prepared to be a bit vulnerable. Mind these considerations in those relationships and you’ll find reaching and exceeding your optimization goals is easy, rewarding and fun.
Want to see how Roboboogie can help? Contact matt@teamroboboogie.com.
