When we started Appsolute Genius several years ago, we knew without a doubt that we wanted to be a mobile development company. Since then, there have been many temptations to take other projects that aren’t really in our area of specialty. Some of these projects were pretty large and paid really well! You can imagine how tough it was at times, but we always passed the project to someone we knew could do a better job than us. Truthfully, we could have done several of the projects. It just wasn’t worth any possible damage to our reputation by doing sub-par work. We knew that creating Apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, etc. was what we were great at doing and we stuck to it.
Recently, we’ve run into a few companies promising to do it all. We would talk to a company and they would ask us to create a system using the iPad, backend systems, and a web portal or web app. Since we have a partner company extremely capable of creating the web side of projects, this was easy for us to do. However, occasionally there would be a kink. A potential client would ask us if we could do something we didn’t do (such as their marketing). In one real case, a company actually told us they wanted a vendor who could do everything. They wanted one company to create everything from Apps to apparel with a marketing strategy and website mixed in. We told them that we were sorry but that it really wasn’t something we could do!
To our surprise, they told us that they knew someone else locally they could work with. We knew the company well, and we knew for a fact that they didn’t specialize in Apps. In fact, they didn’t specialize in most of what our prospective client needed. However, they definitely said they could do it all! It was an interesting lesson for us. We still refused to say we could do everything. We might have gotten the client, but we wouldn’t have been able to deliver a superior product on every part of the project.
So how do you tell the difference between someone who will tell you anything and someone who can really help you? You probably aren’t an App developer and you probably aren’t a marketer! Here are a few tips to help you find the right company.
- We do it all! Always be wary of any company who says they “do it all”! Our company is constantly reading about Apps and about the mobile development industry. In fact, it’s all we do and it is hard to keep up with it!
- Get specific! Ask a company for specifics of projects they’ve done like yours. They may not have done everything for one client, but they should be able to give you examples of a marketing campaign they’ve done like yours. They should be able to show you Apps they’ve created that are similar to yours (at least in concept)!
- Sometimes your baby is ugly! A good vendor will tell you the bad and good of your ideas. A good vendor knows their industry and what works. They won’t just take every single idea you have and implement them without feedback or questions.
- The cool factor! We all like working on “cool” projects. However, if your vendor says “cool” 15 times and never once asks you about the business goals for your project, you should run (not walk) away! The App you are creating may be cool, but most importantly, it should make you money or save you money.
- Get references! References are not a home run every single time. Any decent company should be able to give you a good reference or two. However, combine a few really good references with the first four factors above and you may have found the right company.
It can be tough to tell the difference between a used car salesman and a company who can really deliver. Hopefully, this post will help you make a better choice with your next vendor. What has worked for you in the past when hiring a new vendor? We’d love to hear your thoughts!
