lisaevenson - 9:01 pm on Feb 12, 2003 (gmt 0)

I totally see your point! I realized the issue with our two biggest complainers (and customer losses) were on their end. They simply did not research OUR company enough before they made the decision to use us. We are clearly custom-oriented, non-template, flash design based.

We refuse to do mock-ups. We should have enough examples on our site and that we can offer to give them an idea of our style. We offer reasonable revisions and certainly bend over backwards to meet their needs, so I really don't see why they often insist on mock-ups. Were we to do mock-ups for every prospect, we'd never have time to devote to paying clients. There are issues with the time involved as well as the possibility of prospects stealing our creative ideas and going to a cheaper design firm. When creativity is the product you offer, where is the line drawn? Does H&R block do mock tax returns before their clients sign the contract? Do directors do mock movies before they're signed to do a film? Do plumbers do mock toilot installations before a customer decides to use them?

I also understand your issues with convincing them they need a site. Its not a designer's role to determine their marketing strategy.

They come to us typically with no ideas whatsoever. They'll either be a start-up with no logo or branding or an established business just finally making the money to afford a site. Then, amazingly, once they see the design, they are miraculously filled with artistic visions which are sometimes the opposite of what we created for them. We don't mind fine-tuning here and there. But, once a site is built, having had no input on their preference for, say -- professional, progressive, technical, whimsical, youth-oriented, baby-boomer oriented, etc. -- having to completely scrap the design and start from scratch is just not practical on a small, $1k site.

I simply respond now with, 'A complete redesign of the existing draft can be done, but would require additional fees.' Then they freak about going over budget. If they want 3 different designs to choose from, they need to pay for 3 different web sites. We don't work for free, nor do we sell templates.

The problem seems to be in their lack of understanding about their market and business in the first place. We are designers, not their marketing department. If their web site fails, that is not our issue. We're not here to market their site, nor are we trained in this area. Nor can we make their strategic, business, marketing decisions for them. We leave that to their CEO or owner. Our long-term clients understand that.

*off soapbox* = )