E-COMMERCE
You hear the word "briefing" almost everywhere these days. As an e-commerce agency, we see numerous briefings. Basically, it refers to a form of briefing on an upcoming project. It is used to state a concern of a project and defines the framework of what is to be achieved.
Depending on the type of project, there are different points to consider. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to writing, as each brief is unique in its form. What's important is that they streamline your upcoming project and present an accurate picture of your brand. What sounds so simple at first can turn out to be an elaborate process with numerous corrections and can end up costing you time and money. To make sure that this is exactly what doesn't happen, we have tips for you on what to include in your brief.
Your brand
Introduce us to your brand! Before we start a project with you, we need to know who you are and what your brand stands for. Is a new launch or relaunch of your online store planned? In which markets? Tell us about your company's vision and what your brand stands for. Every little insight you can give us will add up to a big picture of your brand and your project. The clearer and more detailed the formulations, the more precisely we can plan the measures for your project.
Your clients
Your brand would be nothing without your customers, so pay special attention to them in your storytelling. Who is your target audience? What does the ideal customer for your brand look like? If you don't know much about your customers, Google Analytics reports can provide good information on demographic and psychographic data.
Your goals
If you know where you stand, you can say where you want to go. A precise objective allows the measures to be tailored precisely to the project. What do you want to achieve with the upcoming project and by when should it all be implemented? Again, the more detailed, the better.
Briefing 1: We would like to increase the traffic on our website.
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Briefing 2: We would like to increase the number of visitors by 20% by xx.xx.2022.
The additional details make it easier for us to develop the strategy and thus to precisely match requirements, goals and corresponding measures. At the same time, clear targets enable us to monitor and evaluate the success of the project.
Your budget
Along with the goals, you should also define a rough budget plan. Your budget defines the general framework of the project and is essential in every briefing.
Your timeline
A clear schedule is also important for better planning of the project. Here, specific dates as well as start and launch times can be planned in advance. If your schedule is not realistic, the requirements can be scaled back or the duration of the project extended once again. It is important to plan a certain margin as a buffer for unforeseen obstacles. Otherwise you run the risk of missing your deadlines.
Your requirements
To be able to start at the right point, describe your current starting position and your requirements for the planned project.
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You already use an e-commerce platform and want to migrate or optimize it? Then give us as much information as possible about the current status. Which target markets and target groups do you want to reach through your store? Which functions are must-haves? Which ones are rather nice-to-have and serve as additional benefits? Highlight special requirements that are needed in any case and tell us about your wishes that the platform should implement.
You are starting from scratch and don't have a webshop yet? No problem - we support you! Tell us what you want to sell online. What is special? What features do you want from your platform? As a basis you can orientate yourself on the following points:
- Pages (What are the pages about?)
- Functions (Which functions are needed and why?)
- Integrations (Are there other systems used in conjunction with the platform that should be integrated and connected?)
- Scalability (What services are needed?)
- Migration (Is another platform used so far?)
There are few limits to your ideas at this point. Ultimately, it is often a question of budget and time whether the functions should be implemented.
Our tip:
Employees who work with the platform on a daily basis or customers often have a different perspective on requirements in this respect. They are the people who use your online store and have different ideas and expectations of a store. Perhaps they have requirements that you haven't even thought of yet and that could ultimately optimize workflows and increase sales? In any case, you should include these groups of people in your research and put yourself in your customers' shoes.
You want to start right away?
Even if in the future for each of your upcoming projects the agency briefing will look different and set a different focus - remember that your briefing cannot be "wrong". The given basic structure is the same in most cases. If your information is described as detailed as possible, yet short and simple, the first step of the project is already set.
