[thelist] What would you do?

[Gina K. Anderson]

Sender Address Domain - sitediva.com

Paola,

|"Gina K. Anderson" wrote:
|> None of my questions are "marketing" questions.
|
|That's interesting; I think all of the questions you listed
|are about marketing.

I was making reference to Bart's statement:

>Maybe it was just the people I was dealing with before we
>found our current contractor, but the questionnaires almost
>always had questions like how big our organization was, what
>our budget is, who the key decisionmakers are in our
>organization, etc. It was more like answering a marketing
>survey that was going to be turned around and sold.

As web designers, we must do "marketing" of a client's business through the
site, but I was referring to asking questions about the company that has nothing
to do with the design of the site, such as some of Bart's example questions (how
big the company is, how many people work there, etc). Usually, the key decision
maker is who contacts me in the first place--but if they aren't the key decision
maker, I find out who that is once the project is a go, not ask it upfront in a
form. I think he's referring more to feeling that the company's privacy is being
invaded by someone he doesn't know.

|I realise that people have their own way of working and so
|forgive this question, but is there any reason you're not
|charging for working out these answers with your client?

I am using the form as a request for a quote, or proposal. To get a basic idea
of what the project entails. You have to start somewhere, especially with
clients who want to know "how much" before they decide to use you.

|Requirements-gathering is the bit I most enjoy about web sites
|and it's often our first chargeable step (a competitor review
|can happen first).

I really don't seek direct with client work, I hate holding someone's hand,
yakking about their site..I'd rather spend my time in front of the computer,
hacking it out. Therefore, I do mostly subcontracting work with other design
firms. I used to be a hairdresser in a very 'mod' salon, and customer rapport
and consultation was a biggie. We are talking 'pamper city'. I enjoyed that kind
of exchange and catering to the client, but honestly--web design clients make me
nuts. I wish they were as involved and knowledgable about what they wanted in a
web site as they are about what's on their head. ;)

Gina