Client wants a website - what's the first question you ask?

berry

Active Member
Right.... Business School is open- hypotheically - ( try and follow me on this one chaps - you may learn something!)
Scenario- new client rings up about a potential website (or brochure/brand etc out of the blue, you arrannge the meeting to see him /visa versa
You exchange pleasantries and sip coffee. Now down to brass tacks.
You take the lead... ( I believe in dictating meetings - being the Control Freak I am)
1. What is the first question you ask?
( He will respond with a reply...ish )
2. (Irrelevant of the reply) What is the 2nd Question you ask?
( He will respond with a reply )
3. (Irrelevant of the reply) What is the 3rd Question you ask?
( He will respond with a reply )


...... Humour me, on this one and lets see where it goes.
 
I'll humour you Berry
1) what does your company do? (ish)
2) what's your timescale?
3) what's your budget?
 
I almost answered this last night, but I detected a trap so thought it best to leave it until the morning when I could think better... here goes.
1. Why do you do what you do?
2. How do you want to improve what you do?
3. What do you want to achieve by having a new website/brochure/brand
 
Not a web designer but I'll give it a shot...now seeing as this is the 'first' meeting
1) why do you want the site redesigned/what is wrong with it in their opinion - this will give direction to a redesign layout/style/content. Give you options to discuss later on in conjunction with the other 2 questions but primarily to get a feel for what the client wants changing.
2) what is the main thing that you want from this new site/whats the purpose of the site - this will give direction towards what the client wants from the site, ie it's purpose. It also gives you information about what the client will need in terms of the backend of the site, will they need a cms, client area or will html be enough
3) Are there any sites that you like the look of, be it competitors or different areas - this will give guidance on the type of feel the client likes. Combined with 1 and 2 this should allow you to discuss all the viable options for the clients new site.
*** Money/timescales can't really be discussed until you know what the client wants so would be one of the later questions.
 
The first question you should always askis;
1. Why do you want a website ( brochure etc) - establish why the client thinks he has a need.
 
I was going to ask that last night as my first question, but dismissed it for being too obvious... Oh the irony.
Why when and how much?
 
for some strange reason I thought the 'client' already had a website and this was a redesign.... but I did actually have that sort of question in my list, it was number 2 though which would become question 1 if you take out the first question seeing as it's more for redesigns...
 
Let's just blame Berry for writing a poorly worded question and be done with it :D only joking, I do want to hear what you've got to say Berry :)
 
Berry said:
Right.... Business School is open- hypotheically - ( try and follow me on this one chaps - you may learn something!)
Scenario- new client rings up about a potential website (or brochure/brand etc out of the blue, you arrannge the meeting to see him /visa versa
 
Berry said:
The first question you should always askis;
1. Why do you want a website ( brochure etc) - establish why the client thinks he has a need.
Client will respond with he needs a website because he thinks he should have one, the competition has one, time for a change ete etc.
2. The second question you should ask then is : "So what are the business objective of the website, what do you want to achieve in term of return on investment and sales?
 
Isn't the first question irrelevant?Does it really matter why they think they need a new one, they just do? You might make them think what they have is OK and so talk your self out of a job.Completely agree with number 2 (1) though.
 
Well it's best to find out why they want to do something so that you can better align the purpose of the work they request with their true goals, which they may not have otherwise revealed.
 
Well I find that they usually know what they want to achieve. They just have their own pre-conceptions and assumptions which have led them to think that they need something that might not be the best option for the solution they require. Of course you always get the ones that don't have a clue, or simply don't care because they were merely instructed to get the company a website or something.
 
It's always great dealing with a pen pusher that has no care or interest in what you're making and has simply been instructed to "get a website made". They make the shittest clients!
 
Back
Top