In order for the agency to get to work and prepare a meaningful quote for you, it needs much more information. AITOM receives enquiries every day along the lines of: “Hello, I’m looking to have a new website created; please get in touch. Aleš Dvořáček.”
We don’t even find out what the project is about. So we always reply to Mr Dvořáček: “Hello, Mr Dvořáček, thank you for your interest. We need the following information: ……”
Usually, Mr Dvořáček tells us what business he is in, stating that he is primarily interested in a quote. However, most digital agencies, including AITOM, do not offer standard service packages, but design bespoke solutions for each client. We understand that Mr Dvořáček has a budget to stick to and therefore wants to rule out overly expensive suppliers. We therefore usually discuss the project details over the course of several face-to-face meetings.
How can you save yourself the trouble of writing emails?
It’s easy – simply send the agency as much information as possible straight in your enquiry. Top marks for a well-prepared enquiry would go to a certain large Czech company that sent us a three-page enquiry along with a graphic design manual. So what do you need to know when sending an enquiry?
1. What services do you want?
Do you need an e-shop, a website or marketing? We offer a whole range of services, but we don’t know exactly how we can help you.
2. What kind of project is it?
Tell us straight away what the project is about. Redesigning a small e-shop such as levnemapy.cz will be an easy task. Preparing a digital marketing strategy for a corporation such as Česká spořitelna will be very challenging. Tell us about your competitors too, so we know straight away what we’re up against.
3. Are you an e-shop? How is your stock management system organised?
E-shops are more complex because the system needs to be integrated with the stock management system you use. Let us know straight away whether it’s an affiliate site – meaning you resell someone else’s products – or your own e-shop. Also mention which systems you want to connect to the e-shop (accounting system, newsletter tool, stock management system, etc.)
4. Are you interested in hosting?
Hosting essentially works like renting space on the internet. We have our own server on which we can host your website. It is definitely better for the website to be hosted on the development agency’s server. This increases security and eliminates the complexity of any repairs or changes. However, you can also host your website on your own server.
5. Send us your brand guidelines
Do you have guidelines on how your company should communicate? Do you have a brand manual? Send them over. Our graphic designers will be over the moon with them. We can then immediately design a solution that aligns with your corporate identity, saving us a lot of misunderstandings.
6. Don’t forget your contact details
It sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how often such a simple detail gets overlooked.
7. Get a clear idea of the content and objectives
Clarify who will be creating the content. It could be our copywriters, or you could handle it yourselves. Also, get a clear idea of exactly what goals the website should achieve – do you want a website focused on brand promotion or performance? And how many orders do you want to achieve?
8. Who in your company will be responsible for the website
Designate a person within your company to liaise with us. It’s always easier to communicate with a single point of contact. For us, that will be Tomáš, Michael or Petr. It’s important that your representative has access to all the necessary materials and sends them to us in good time.
9. Budget
Also get an idea of how much you can invest in the website. There are many agencies on the market that specialise in more complex projects. AITOM focuses on websites for medium-sized companies. Investment in a website from AITOM typically starts from 100,000 CZK.