Some key questions to ask your clients

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It is my experience that many web designers have a terrific opportunity to shift from being web designers to being marketing consulting for their clients.

Most web designers are in fact supposed to be marketing consultants, responsible for helping clients attract more customers to their sites and get more business. Coding languages, design principles and other skills are only the tools to achieve that result.

I know this to be true for two reasons:

1. Your clients perceive you to be part of a marketing solution, not a web design solution. If you don’t agree, ask them what they want their web presence to do for them.

2. I can’t code even a line of HTML or any other language, yet get paid lots of money to help clients improve their web sites. In fact, I make more money than most web designers, primarily because I take a marketing strategy focus.

So, please be sure you are asking these questions of your clients any time you get hired:

1. Who is your customer?

2. How do they make a buying decision?

3. What are their key criteria for buying your product/service?

4. How do they hear about you?

5. How do competitive products/service position themselves compared to yours? Is your positioning unique and meaningful to your customers?

6. What is unique and superior about your products/services?

7. What is the “experience” you want customers to have from start to finish when interacting with you?

8. What problem do you solve for your customers? What is that problem costing your customers?

9. What is your solution? Is it comprehensive?

10. What are the benefits of your solution? What are the advantages?

11. What proof do you have that your solution is unique and better?

There are plenty of sub-questions to ask underneath each of the above, but if you start at this level, your clients will perceive you to be much more sophisticated and useful to them.

Andrew NeitlichAndrew Neitlich
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