Challenge

We had reached the decision to move away from our website provider, but didn’t know the best way to go about switching. The process seemed daunting and time consuming, and we were looking for advice and guidance.

– Subrahmaniam Krishnan-Harihara, Head of Research – GMCC

The Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce were looking to switch technology providers, and find a new agency to support and develop their website and online platforms.

They wanted to educate themselves on the best way to go about choosing a new provider, prepare themselves on what to expect from the process, and make sure that the experience was as smooth as possible.

We were approached by the chamber to act as an external consultant, to guide them through the process and advise throughout.

Our approach

We ran two specific consultation sessions with the chamber.

Session 1

During the first session, we reviewed an initial draft of a project brief that the chamber would distribute. We did this together with the chamber team.

Through discussion, we helped the team to draw out their assumptions, manage their expectations, and consider aspects of the website in a new light, such as UX design. In doing so, they were able to amend the brief to:

  • Better speak the technical language of the target audience
  • Communicate requirements more clearly
  • Attract a different kind of applicant that would be well suited to a partnership

We also worked together to prioritise the selection criteria that would be used to evaluate each applicant.

Session 2

By the time of the second session, the chamber had received initial applications and were in the process of shortlisting agencies to invite in for interview.

We discussed the pros and cons of each agency’s application, along with areas of clarification. Once agencies had been shortlisted, we helped the team to identify missing information, prepare key questions for each provider, and establish what kinds of outcomes they would be happy with.

Outcomes

The chamber have now successfully transitioned to a new provider, and continue to work with them to build upon and improve their online presence.

Tom and Harry made the process much smoother than we were expecting. Their advice and guidance allowed us to figure out what we wanted, ask good questions, and choose the best provider for us.

– Subrahmaniam Krishnan-Harihara, Head of Research – GMCC