One of the first issues we recommend you tackle with new projects and new clients is to understand any previous experiences your clients have had with technology and designers. Their prior experience will have an impact. What did they like/dislike about their experiences? These insights can affect your decisions of whether to work with them, how to work with them and what solutions to suggest.
Often as a result of this analysis, you may recognise that you might have to educate your client. They may have inappropriate expectations about what can be achieved for the time and money. They may be too internally focused by their own corporate politics and forget that they are trying to influence their audience. Who is their prime target market? Can they articulate who they are? Do they really know their market and its relationship with technological communication?
Equally, prior experience works both ways. Your experiences are part of your expertise. Your client should value and listen to your intelligence. Do they?
As part of your education you might like to point your clients at 10 Harsh Truths about Corporate Websites suggesting they think long and hard about all the points but particularly 4: Your website cannot appeal to everyone, 6: Your website is not all about you, and 8: Design by committee brings death. Nice analysis, Damien and Tania!
What you want from your clients is an enviable list of recommendations like WStore – surely they all can’t be made up! (No, they’re not because we know one person in the list.)
These would demonstrate positive prior experiences with iMedia, satisfied clients and return business. How would comments from your clients shape up?
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Hints, tips, comments and other stuff aimed at professionals in the interactive media industry from the authors of 'Managing Interactive Media:Project Management for Web and Digital Media'
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