Jon Samsel

I’ve been working in online marketing or e-commerce since the late-1990’s. Heck, I still own my first Mac PowerBook 5300 (and it works!). Technology, software, Internet connectivity–everything has pretty much changed over the years. But one thing I can tell you that has not changed much is the relationship between online marketers and web developers.

Like two star-crossed lovers meeting in the night, these two disparate groups are intricately intertwined and dependent on each other. But like oil and water, togetherness is sometimes a four letter word. The result: Bruised egos, project delays, blown budgets, finger-pointing, and soured relationships. Worst of all, it’s bad business to let interdepartmental issues impact a company’s bottom line. Frankly, it’s unacceptable.

In looking back on my dealings with IT development managers over the years, I am struck by the fact that nearly all of my interactions have common threads that include ALIGNMENT, QUALITY, and COMMUNICATION issues. I’ve identified nine specific pains points common to marketer/developer relations that, if improved early on, can really boost a company’s web productivity. An added benefit is improving interdepartmental relationships BEFORE they spiral out of control.

Mutual SLA(s)

1. Deadlines: Are deadlines being met? Are key milestones being hit?
2. Quality: What is the caliber of the deliverables? Are they meeting or exceeding expectations?
3. Value Add: Assess the subject matter expertise of the people we’re interacting with. Are people thinking outside the box? Are we getting any value add?
4. Trust: Do we respect our partners? Do they have our back? Can we take them at their word or do we need to document everything up front to cover ourselves later?
5. Teamwork: Does the other party have a shared desire to help us achieve our goals? Is it easy or difficult to resolve unexpected challenges?Are people listening?
6. Flexibility: Can our partners adapt to changing market conditions? Will they put in the extra effort needed to be successful? Are they working at web speed or legacy software development speed?
7. Surprises: Do we encounter frequent surprises or changes in direction? Are delays common?
8. People: Are we dealing with like peers or is their disparity in skill sets and maturity levels? Do we have weak links that are dragging us all down?
9. Support: How effective is the quality & style of communication? Is the other party easy to work with? How accessible are they in times of urgency?

Monthly Relationship Scorecard Review

One technique I have used over the years in a monthly relationship scorecard, or mutual SLA review session.  SLA stands for Service Level Agreement and serves as a contract between a service provider and a customer that specifies what services the service provider will furnish, and how those services should be measured. A mutual SLA simply applies the terms of agreement to both the provider (web developers) and customer (marketer).

The way a mutual SLA review session works is for both sides to rate each other (monthly) based on the nine variables mentioned above. Typically a marketing manager and web development manager sit down face to face to compare scores and review feedback. As uncomfortable and contentious as the first few review sessions usually go, the ensuing sessions using turn into effective get-togethers that resolve problems before they get too large to solve.

The goal of these sessions is to close the gap between self ratings (perceptions of our own performance) against partner ratings (how are peers actually rate us).

Challenge Resolution Sessions

A more professional and systematic approach to problem resolution can be attained via regularly scheduled Challenge Resolution Sessions. Rather than resorting to emotionally-charged finger pointing exercises (as if often the case after unresolved issues boil over), a challenge resolution session can be a healthy and effective way to air dirty laundry while solving critical impasses.

Sessions topics to consider include:

• What went wrong
• Impact the “challenge” is having on the business
• Why this issue is important to us
• How this “challenge” is making us “feel” (feelings, if left to fester, are like a cancer within)
• Root cause of the problem
• Recommended solutions
• What we’ve learned
• How we can prevent this type of situation from happening in the future

Conclusion

There are several ways that marketing professionals and their web development partners can have a more effective and productive working relationship that can help a company attain its online goals less arduously.  Mutual SLA(s), monthly relationship scorecard reviews, and challenge resolutions sessions are three ways I have personally actualized better relationships between marketers and web developers.

Communication is never easy. Neither is love; Ask any married couple. Perhaps my suggestions for documenting, discussing, and resolving online development and communication issues will prove helpful to both marketing professional and e-commerce/web development teams as they work together to improve their mutually-dependent relationships.

Ain’t love grand?

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 3:18 am and is filed under Design, E-Business, Management, Marketing, Websites. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.