Comments on: Grading Market Research Agency Websites

By: Kathryn

Kathryn — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:11:49 +0000

Hi Jack: Initially I intended to do many more firms, but I ran out of time for the project. The first 6 were fairly random, skewing towards the top if the Honomichl list.

By: Jack Jefferson

Jack Jefferson — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:35:32 +0000

Great insight here, always interested in view from other’s perspective. If you don’t mind my asking, what criteria were used to select the six sites for evaluation? I also agree that there is a delicate balance to strike between posted information vs. information available upon request. We do feel individual(s) who would like a copy of our white papers should be willing to identify themselves.

By: Kathryn

Kathryn — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:09:03 +0000

Thanks Tom! Those are interesting websites–they were new to me.

I have had a few requests from agencies that want to score their own sites–so if you want the “blank” spreadsheet I used, send me a note and I will email it to you.

Overall, I have found this experience to be interesting. In general, the feedback is positive. Most people do agree agencies should promote their professional association memberships, and ethics/standards policies. All the feedback on the importance of friendliness has been universally positive. As for educational content, most agree that education and sales cycles go hand-in-hand, but of course there is a healthy debate that can be had about how much education to give and in what format.

By: Tom H. C. Anderson

Tom H. C. Anderson — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 02:54:53 +0000

@Josh, AGREE

I agree with Kathryn that websites are important. But yes, the goal with http://www.andersonanalytics.com is to sell and provise SEO and contact info as well as serve as a online business card. You can also overthink the site. That’s why I believe blogs and SNS are key. You can’t do it all in one place.

Some new companies are going for refreshing simplicity though. Check out http://www.blue-berry.com or http://www.brandiosity.com/ are 2 examples of what I mean

Curious what you guys think about these “less is more” type sites?

By: Allison V Quigley

Allison V Quigley — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:56:56 +0000

Agreed, this is a great post! I am always looking for ways to improve usability and content on http://www.strategyone.net – seeing how MR agency sites rank up is particularly useful. I will be using your criteria to evaluate our site and make some key improvements. Thanks, Kathryn!

By: Josh mendelsohn

Josh mendelsohn — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:50:15 +0000

Interesting post Kathryn. I do question the criteria a bit though. Is the goal of agency web site to promote the industry and educate or is it to try to move people through the funnel and engage with you? I’d argue the latter and that too much content can be detremental. Also what the biggest firms should be conveying is different than smaller firms even within the top 50.

By: Tom H. C. Anderson

Tom H. C. Anderson — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:40:05 +0000

Very interesting, curious to hear how Anderson Analytics (http://www.andersonanalytics.com) site would score in your test?