Asking Clients Why
Written by Sam Bishop | August 9th, 2010 | Business, Web Design | Comments
As an established web design agency, we are the individuals that design and build websites for a living. We are the ones that are constantly reading up on usability and user experience and how best to increase conversions. We are the ones with an understanding of solid design principles and color theory. All too often, I get the feeling that clients forget that they hired us to help them construct sites to help them succeed and meet their site goals. It’s our job as the designers to nip this in the butt early.
Educate the client
Be sure from the beginning of the project that the client understands what you can do to help them. Before showing them anything (even a wireframe) make sure they know that any feedback and criticism should be identified as a problem. By identifying the problem, you can then provide them solutions that will be in the best interest of the site. If the client knows up-front that you are there to provide solutions to problems they identify, you will save yourself a ton of time. No more “Make that font bigger!”. Instead you might hear, “This text doesn’t stand out enough from the rest of the copy. What can we do to make it a little more obvious and noticeable?”, which still allows you to do your job as the designer.
Ask the client why
If the client still insists on making design solutions just calmly ask them why they want a certain change to be made. This is the easy way to identify the problem using the client’s words. There will be times where a client’s suggestion will be a good design solution but for the wrong problem. Identify the problem first and then you can either confirm their idea or present new solutions that might be better suited for the problem.
Key Things to Remember
Remember in the long run, the client hires you or your agency. Ultimately the decisions will be theirs to make for their own sites. It’s our job as designers to present the best solutions to their problems and be able to explain why a certain solution will be the best fit. Don’t immediately shoot down a suggestion, make sure the problem is identified. If their solution is a viable fix, fantastic! If not, explain to them logically why not and some other alternatives.