[thelist] Client doesn't know his audience

Janet Green JGreen at desmoinesmetro.com
Tue Aug 5 13:18:22 CDT 2003


>>>What happens when you ask a client about his/her audience for their
website and they say "I dunno, everybody"?<<<

Shift the conversation around and say, "Well maybe I can help you define your audience a little better, because the site really should be more focused." And then - ask them about their customers and whether they want *customers* (or prospects) to visit the site... ask them about employees and whether they want employees to visit the site... how about the media? investors? and other groups like that... then find out what functionality they would like to have for each group (tech support or spec sheets for customers, news-releases-by-email for the media, job database for prospective employees, etc.) and what action they would like that group to take after visiting the site (place an order? call for a brochure? email for a job application?)... and those answers should help you define and prioritize the various audiences, as well as hone your copy and navigation to achieve the desired results. 

You *have* to help them figure this out, because if you build a site for "everybody," eventually the client will decide that having a website was a big ol' waste of resources... or worse, that *you* didn't know what you were doing because no one is using their website. 

Janet


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