Comments on: The danger of using secondary benefits

By: cranial-bore

cranial-bore — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 +0000

Good point. I think it's very easy to get used to seeing things from our own point of view - ie the technical skills involved in web design and to somewhat forget the real benefits to customers.

Probably a bit of the attitude comes from safety. It's a lot easier to deliver on a promise of curves than a promise of greater profits.

By: dotpeter

dotpeter — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 +0000

Never thought of it that way. Thanks for the enlightment - I will give it a try..

By: simetau

simetau — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 +0000

Excellent point. I always try to make a point of informing my clients what a website (designed by my company) can offer their business in the way of the bottom line.

Speaking to them from a marketing point of view and not a designers point of view is a good thought process to get in.

When they are excited then tell them that you can do curves!

By: petertdavis

petertdavis — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 +0000

You’re exactly right Andrew. Focus has always been a soft spot with me.

By: RockyShark

RockyShark — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 +0000

Cranial-bore has a good point! But the "safety" is not going to help you win more clients. You need be confident of improving their situation, otherwise you shouldn't really be taking their money.

The catch with this is coming up with your primary benefit. The more specific (and therefore less generic) the better. Not easy, is it? ;) Thinking cap on...

By: norbert_m

norbert_m — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 +0000

In my area it’s hard to decide what is the primary benefit: “make more money in less time”, “get things done quickly” or “don’t be left behind with a lousy web site or no web site at all”. These are all very very important for all of my clients, I’ve learned the lesson last year. It’s interesting that “don’t be left behind” has higher priority on their list than “get things done quickly” and money comes only in the third place. My clients are web design firms and they need trust and credibility when starting a partnership with a development solution provider.

By: Jonathan Snook

Jonathan Snook — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 +0000

Norbert: I think the “lousy web site” is an effective sell for people who have gone through the experience before. People who have gotten their site done by friends or web shops who just don’t know what they’re doing.

Cranial: I think a lot of the hesitation is that we, as hired developers/designers, tend to only work on a small portion of a project and in that way, it’s harder to sell ideas like “more profits”. For example, a company hires you to do their site but they’ve provided the copy. To upsell, you could say that your services will be more effective if you have greater input into the whole process. This would include editing or suggesting copy changes for premium keyword placement, developing overture or adword campaigns (or other marketing strategies). Establish yourself as being committed to their long term goals and not just as a quick hire for a small portion of their overall strategy. Then you can be a lot more confident that you will increase traffic and/or profits. :)

By: norbert_m

norbert_m — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 +0000

Jonathan: Exactly. As I wrote, my clients are webdev companies who outsource some of their projects. Usually I’m not the first person they work with and by knowing the attitude of the average developer, I’m sure they have been burnt at least one time before. They are afraid of outsourcing because they think they don’t have control over you working outside the office. The first step in January is establishing a company and looking for partners & projects instead of staying freelancer and looking for jobs. I have some great developers who sometimes work with me and I’ll probably ask them to join my company as developers; at the end of the next year I don’t want to do software development anymore, except for fun, own products & tools for myself. This is my pledge(?) for the next year :)

Merry Christmas everyone (those who celebrate it).

By: nydr

nydr — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 +0000

My primary benefits are
-increasing revenues (make more money)
-fast turn around time (time it would take to see a product)

Those are the main two i’ve learned since i’ve been offering services. But people still go for what looks best because it impresses them. that is where the getting what you pay for term comes in. They’ll pay for something really nice but don’t know that it’s just pretty and no one will be seeing it on the web at all. People don’t know that the internet is based on marketing schemes not visual manipulation. The only way you see the link is if it’s either pasted on a page or sent to you from someone you know because every email address now just gets spam protected.