Hey all. I posted this in the "other" forum and got only one response, then remembered/got hip to this one. I love the old format better! Hopefully more people will respond here. Anyways...

I'm in the process of creating a client/project survey to give to clients. Right now I'm focusing on web and html/text email blasts. Does anyone have any good references to this stuff already? I had a few, but can't find them in my infinite number of bookmarks {that's next on the list}. If you can, please review the questions I wrote below and tell me what's crap and what's gold or if I missed anything. Also, do you think this is too long to give a client? I've seen them usually be 10 questions or so long. Please look at the sections as two different ones that I may or may not give to clients. Thanks so much.


WEB SITES

Figuring Out What You Need:

1. What is the Main Purpose or Goal of the site?

2. Is this a new web project/presence or a redesign?
a.) If it’s a redesign, what are the good and bad parts of your current site?
b.) Will the content be the same / How will it differ? Is it ready or does it need editing?

3. Who is your main audience and user base?

4. Do you want Flash for your site? If yes, please explain the desired implementation.

5. How many and what kind of pages does the site need? Please be as specific as possible.

6. Are there any special functions of the site? Ex: User info submission forms; e-commerce/take payments; etc.

7. Name some competitors’ sites or sites you like and why.

8. What are the short term and long term project timelines?


Management/Maintenance:

9. How often does the site need updating?

10. Who will be doing the updates? Will the person require training?

11. What existing technologies do you have to support the site? Ex: Is there already web hosting and domain name registration in place? Does the site have a database installed yet? Proper software & hardware for updating the site?

12. Will a Content Management System {CMS} benefit your organization?


The Big Picture:

13. What is a realistic length of time for your company to complete this project?

14. What is your company’s budget for this particular project?


HTML/TEXT EMAIL BLASTS


1. How many emails per month? How many email addresses in each blast?

2. Who is your user base? Will there be different newsletters for different audiences?

3. Who creates the content?

4. Is there already a system in place for this?

5. What is the budget and timeline for each email blast?

How many clients do you have? What is YOUR purpose in doing this?

Depending on your response, this could be best accumulated in person to solidify the account relationship, but it does depend . . .

cheers

---

Bill
Flagler Beach, FL 32136

Carpe Vino!

Fermentation may have been a greater discovery than fire.
— David Rains Wallace

For a most recent clients {yesterday}, I went over some of the questions with them and am planning to send the Word file this evening for them to fill it out themselves in their own words. This is how I'm planning to use the process. I see it as way to help clients to actually write out all the nebulous ideas in their heads.

To a certain extent, #12 is for more advanced clients or is something I should determine. But #4 I designed as a generic question because some clients just say "I want Flash!!" but don't necessarily think in what capacity. It could be as simple as a little side banner/news box or maybe the site header. Or they may realize they don't need it at all after we review the responses.

For #5, that is geared more toward people redesigning their sites and/or if they already have some idea. Ex: Home, Contact, About, 3 pages of Content, etc. Or the people who know they want to sell their jewelry through PayPal, etc.

What are you wearing?

What????!

That's great that these all cover the tech side, but I don't see any that cover the MARKETING side...if you're designing a site/coding, isn't it imperative to know who the client wants to reach -- ages, incomes, ethnicities, wants/needs (basically demographics and psychographics)...and what they want to say to those folks -- including tone/attitude, any USPs (unique selling propositions -- things that ONLY this client can say about their service/product), etc.? See below for some more gold; I received this from a journalism prof of mine who worked on international accounts back in the day. I've used it every day in my successful copywriting biz for nearly 13 years now. It's my gift to you:

Creative Work Plan Defined

Key Fact
The big opportunity for your brand. The one fact most relevant to your marketing right now—product performance or improvement, consumer attitudes or patterns of use; competitive activity, marketing situations, economic trends.


Consumer Barrier
What may be keeping your prospect from buying or using your product. Often stated as the consumer's perception. Not what your brand needs, but what the target needs. Related to the Key Fact.


Creative Objective
What the advertising will do to overcome or act upon the consumer's problem and what you can expect the prospect to do as a result. How advertising proposes to solve the problem above. To get the consumer to change brands, use a product more often, consider our brand before choosing, remain satisfied. Best stated as: To persuade, convince or make the prospect aware of...


Principal Competition
Not just a list of brands. What's taking business away from you. Where you can develop more business.


Prospect Profile
Who our prime target is: demographics—age, income levels, sex, etc.


Key Consumer Insight
An insight into your prime prospects. Psychographics—a discovery, their needs and wants, what will satisfy them.


Consumer Benefit
Your promise. What the product will do for the prospect. As competitive as possible. Best stated in terms of "you."


Reason Why
Support for your promise. Reason why you can deliver on your promise. Preferably a single fact. Or major facts.


Mandatories & Deliverables
Only what must be done, or not done, in the advertising. Legal, corporate considerations, spokespersons or slogans that must be continued, media limitations. Also tone and manner of advertising. But as few as possible.

99.999% of clients will have no idea what most of the tech questions mean or what the best answer would be in their situation. They will simply pick the answer that contains the most buzzwords, sounds the most complex, or that they think sounds the cheapest.

For example, "who will be maintaining the site" is the wrong question to ask. The answer usually comes out "We're going to have the receptionist update the site in his spare time." (Hint: The receptionist always has better, more interesting things to do.)

For question 2b, (source of content) the answer you hear is always going to be "Oh, just grab what's already on our site." Always. But the real answer is going to be something like "Everything will need to be rewritten and reorganized (by the web designer, naturally), and about a third of the content will be new stuff that it will take six months and an act of Congress to get."

I'm not kidding or being cynical. I think one sign that a site redesign is going well is when the client starts to realize the expanded possibilities and wants to beef up the content. It's sort of like the way a big new house makes your comfortable old furniture look shabby and small. You always have to replace more than you planned, so plan for content upgrades whether or not the client thinks they will need them. They always do.

This is perhaps useful as a guide for interviewing a client, or for finding out what their current situation is so you can improve on it. You have to tailor your interview on the fly to guide the client to the correct conclusions for their situations and for their level of interest and knowledge.

Question 1, for example, always comes down to "make money" one way or another. It's up to YOU in your proposal to show them how a new web site can help them make more money.

NEVER ask question 12. No client in recorded history has ever understood what a CMS is or has successfully used one. (Well, maybe one or two in certain very limited instances.) However, every single client will say "Why yes! I would like a CMS! With Fries!". YOU will decide whether a CMS would be of use and will make an appropriate recommendation.

Question 4 is just sick and wrong. If clients start yapping about Flash, gently ascertain why they want Flash. Help them see that that Flash will cost them money. Often, it's simple vanity -- they want dancing baloney to show their friends, and nothing will dissuade them. If this is the case, at least be clear and up front about it. Or apply chloroform liberally.

SteveO's marketing questions are more along the right track -- you need to know destinations, goals, and facts. You're the professional, and it's your job to figure out the best way to get from point A to point B.

Also, to add to SteveO's excellent list of questions for any creative project, I usually ask clients frankly what internal barriers and politics we should know about. I don't care about the gossip stuff -- just things that could affect the project or our business relationship.

Naturally, the utmost care and discretion are called for (you always ask this in a private one-to-one situation, never in a group meeting or conference call), but you'd be amazed at the time and agony this knowledge can save. It's even better if you can ask more than one person and thus triangulate some of the potential minefields.

Thanks Steve O.

Those were incredibly helpful. In the case of addressing marketing, purpose, and demographic {Prospect Profile}, I thought those were addressed in #1, #3, & #8. I will probably rephrase them to fall more in line with your suggestions.

BW, yes, #12 is for me to determine or for more advanced clients to understand.

Why is asking who will be maintaining the site bad? I'm not being contrary, I'm just wondering if I should avoid asking it so I could keep the work as retainer/more long term money. Also, I figured it would help me determiine if the client needed a CMS anyway or to purchase software like Macromedia Contribute, etc.

Thanks so much guys!

yes.... but what about my question?

BW Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Also, to add to SteveO's excellent list of
> questions for any creative project, I usually ask
> clients frankly what internal barriers and
> politics we should know about. I don't care about
> the gossip stuff -- just things that could affect
> the project or our business relationship.
>
> Naturally, the utmost care and discretion are
> called for (you always ask this in a private
> one-to-one situation, never in a group meeting or
> conference call), but you'd be amazed at the time
> and agony this knowledge can save. It's even
> better if you can ask more than one person and
> thus triangulate some of the potential minefields.

This is a brilliant suggestion. I should have had it on my list.