Service Your Web Design Customers

Step One: Meet and Greet

The first thing that a waiter does when her (I'm using a female waiter for my analogy, but under no circumstances do I mean to stereotype here) customers arrive is introduce herself. Often this happens at the same time as the customers are seated, made comfortable and provided with a menu. This is the point at which the waiter establishes herself as the one person who is going to be looking after the customers for the duration of the meal. The customers should be made to feel that if they want anything, she's the one to ask.

Same goes for your first contact with clients needing a web site. The very first thing that you should do when starting a new project is set up a meeting with your clients, with the sole purpose of introducing yourself and letting them know that you will be looking after the development of their site. Spend time explaining to the clients how the project is going to work, that you are going to be their point of contact, and that if there is anything they need to know or get done during the project, you will be the one to help them.

Step Two: Provide a Menu

Usually at the same time the waiter seats her customers, she provides them with a menu. This gives them an idea of the choices on offer and offers a general sense of the flavours of foods that are going to be served.

When you're meeting and greeting your clients, you should also have some sort of base document to work with. Sometimes this may be a proposal that your sales people have prepared. Sometimes it may be something you've prepared yourself. At any rate, this document should give a very broad overview of the type of website you are able to provide your clients.

Step Three: Explain the Specials

A good waiter in a good restaurant will explain the specials of the day to her customers. Ideally, she will know them by heart and understand how they are prepared. At this point her customers should be able to ask any questions about things they don't understand. Now the waiter has a chance to prove she knows what she's talking about. She can explain to her customers that a coulis is just a fancy name for a fruit sauce.

You should be able to explain to your clients the specific functionality you can provide to help them with their business. You should have a good idea of what technologies support this functionality, and how you would go about providing it. You should also be able to translate technical speak into everyday language. You can explain to your clients that html is just a fancy name for the language used to write web pages.

Step Four: Take the Order

In order to give her customers a meal they will enjoy, a waiter has first to find out what they want. She can't rush this part of the process, because it's important that she gets it right. There's nothing worse than bringing out the wrong meal. It's important that she writes down her customers' orders, in a way that will explain to the chefs exactly what her customers have asked for.

Documentation of requirements is one of the most important parts of successful web site development. It is vital that someone spends time with the clients establishing exactly what it is they are after. Equally important is that these requests are written down in clear and simple terms, in a way that allows no misinterpretation by developers.