A shorter one this week as it’s Halloween and I have to hit my neighborhood up for candy. Maybe I can use the holiday as an analogy and hopefully it’ll be a treat for everyone.
When it’s time for a client to update the design of their website, collateral literature or some other marketing tool, they often ask us to show them “something different”. As a creative team that loves to be pushed out of its comfort zone, we relish these opportunities as it lets us exercise our chops. Of course, such wide open direction can lead to lots of wasted hours, especially if there are a number of decision makers and they all have to agree. Taste varies not only from person to person, but sometimes mood to mood.
To save time, we like to put together online questionnaires that allow us to ask the right questions, receive some examples a client may have seen that they liked, and combine the results among any number of decision makers. Not only does this give our designers clear parameters to work from, it also forces clients to really consider their ideas. Requiring someone to put their answer down on a form that will be shared usually leads to long periods of revaluation. Ultimately, decisions strike a balance between daring and practical, with more careful consideration given to customer needs. Once goals for a new design are set (i.e. value proposition above the fold, product image-heavy, three clicks to purchase) the time required to present a few looks is shortened considerably. More importantly, the time is well spent.
So, where’s the clever analogy? Hmm, right, okay…remember how it felt to go trick-r-treating and how anxious you were about the kind of candy each house might give you and how much you might get? It was a really big deal. You spent lots of time choosing or making a costume, and walking up to all those front doors got pretty tiring after awhile. Then, when you got home, examining your loot was always fraught with the possibility of disappointment. “More fruit rollups?! I wanted MILK DUDS!!!”
Well, what if you were able to fill out a survey that asked you to input exactly the kinds of candy you liked and hoped to receive? Houses wouldn’t waste their time and money buying the wrong stuff and kids would be put more at ease. Sure, some of the fun from being surprised would be removed, but I’m sure your parents – likely the people funding the entire operation – wouldn’t have been too bothered. And there’s nothing like sifting through a bunch of your favorite candy to make up for any fun missed.
Want to take a survey and try it out? Click here and let us know what kind of website you might like for your company.
Happy Halloween!
– S. Norton
For more information on developing your own online questionnaire, feel free to contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation. Or, simply fill out our short contact form.