There are times when being a jack of all trades is an advantage, when knowing just enough to be dangerous will deliver the results needed or desired. However, more often than not, when it comes to building a successful business, particularly in the digital age, tapping into the expertise of a colleague or partner is the more logical choice.
Finding, evaluating, and succeeding with a technology partner can be a long road; today’s market offers countless options for solutions providers, many of whom play well together, and others who are better suited for being separate. At Dopple, we build solutions designed to complement and enhance our clients existing tech stacks, removing many of the headaches experienced by teams across industries. In addition to our best in class visual commerce tools, our team is dedicated to creating a seamless design and launch experience to ensure value from the start. To do so, we follow several key rules that keep the process moving forward.
Here are our best practices for choosing and succeeding with tech partners.
Recognize The Needs
In most cases, clients will search out a partner because a need has been identified, but recognizing the need for a partner is only the first step. The partner must not only have the specific capabilities, they must function in a way that doesn't impede the business’ other tools and processes, both in the short and long term. Some key questions to consider when choosing a partner could include:
Has this partner worked with a tech stack similar to ours? Do they integrate and/or work with our other partners?
What level of flexibility and/or customization is available?
Is this a solution the in-house team is capable of managing, or are additional resources needed?
Does this partner offer all of the features we need? (Think analytics, integrations, resource management, etc)
Does this solution scale with the business?
What does a successful partnership look like? How is that success measured?
Dopple’s clients come from a variety of industries at varying stages of their 3D and augmented reality journey. Our team is experienced in starting from scratch or ingesting all common types of 3D files, and our commitment to quality extends far beyond simply building the models, to delivering, maintaining, and measuring the success of a quality front-end and back-end experience. Not sure exactly what you have and what you need? The right partner can walk you through the entire process.
Introduce Your Teams
Adding a partner is like adding a teammate; for each to be most effective they need to interact and understand each other. Making sure to introduce your partner not only to their direct contact, but other team members and partners they may need to coordinate with is crucial to success. The ideal combination of partners will create a cohesive and effective ecosystem, but doing so requires communication amongst the moving parts. If changes in one platform, such as the website host, can affect the rest of the tech stack, those situations must be acknowledged and planned for. Each partner is bringing their own expertise, but to create the most effective experience for the end customer, the collective expertise of partners and teams must be optimized for collaboration and functionality. Dopple regularly collaborates with client’s web designers or agencies to bring products to life online through immersive 3D. We have tested and proven multiple methods for a successful 3D or AR powered experience, and continue to develop best practices around efficiency, performance, and integration.
Look To The Future
No one has a crystal ball to predict every future need or evolution of a business, but the ability to anticipate and prepare for future needs is incredibly valuable when building partnerships. Successful partners will be constantly looking for new ways to improve and enhance their offerings, ensuring their clients remain as industry leaders, and will share those plans and expectations. Similarly, good partners are willing to listen and respond to evolving needs and wants, recognizing the mutually benefits of a long and successful partnership.
The Dopple team prides itself on commitment to continual improvement and evolution. 3D and augmented reality are young technologies with endless possibilities to drive successful business results. Our desire to be the best partner in the 3D commerce space doesn’t end with nice looking digital twins, we are here to set, exceed, and reset expectations alongside our clients.
Get to know Dopple today, and find out more about how we are building successful partnerships built for an ever evolving market.
