Customer involvement

How much are they involved in content?

[Blelisa]

Hi,
My company has decided to branch off and start a web services division that they have asked me to head up. I am dong fine with it until it comes the point where I need to do content on the site. Do you create the content on the page and than let the cusotmer read it and make changes or do you have them create some content about their products and services and than massage it to make it acceptable for the web?

[HelenDev]

I guess it really depends what the site is about, and what it's purpose is. I would imagine that you would put some content on the site first and then invite feedback?

[Never_again]

It is a joint effort. You sit down with the client and jointly create their web content. Often you can start with current printed marketing material. They know what they want to communicate, but you know how to best use the web to get the message across.

My practice is to ask them to provide draft content. I then act as the editor.

[rogerd]

Blelisa, Never_again offers good advice. Try to find out what the client has already. I've had some clients who had, quite literally, nothing on paper about their firm. (I have no idea how they marketed themselves in the past, but assume it was by phone and in-person sales.) Others have a wealth of brochures, product tear sheets, white papers, photos, magazine ads, etc. Needless to say, the former type of client poses the greater challenge.

It's an interactive process - you'll have to get an idea of what is (or could be) available, think about the site architecture, and figure out what you need. The client should draft the content in most cases, but if you are a marketing pro you should organize, edit, and create as needed to make the site work.

[dwilson]

I have had the experience a couple of times of web sites waiting for weeks or months for the customer to come up w/ content. I was with a programming company and our attitude was that we make it work, and even make it look good, but we don't write content.

Now I believe that was a mistake, at least when the customer is so slow about coming up w/ anything.

[rogerd]

One thing we do in any proposal is have a "Provided by Client" section - that makes it clear what we expect, and gives us documentation if the project scope changes due to the client's failure to provide something in a timely manner.

[ccDan]

rogerd writes:

One thing we do in any proposal is have a "Provided by Client"
section - that makes it clear what we expect, and gives us
documentation if the project scope changes due to the client's
failure to provide something in a timely manner.

May I steal that idea? :)

I've lost web sites before because the customer didn't provide content, or never got around to approving the web site.

I had one that started with me. Then, their employee who was handling getting the content to me quit. Never got any more content, and the next thing I heard was when they were announcing at a meeting who was doing their web site, and it wasn't me!

If there is a bright side to it, it's that that was a couple years ago, and they still don't have a web site.

Gee, ya think maybe the new guy wasn't given any content either? ;)

[rogerd]

May I steal that idea?

By all means use it, ccDan, WebmasterWorld has sharing knowledge at its core.

Accountants often talk about "shoebox jobs" - that's where a client comes in with a shoebox full of receipts and papers and says, "do my taxes".

We've seen our share of shoebox jobs in the website biz, and sometimes there's almost nothing in the shoebox. Set your client expectations early and things will go far more smoothly. :)

[JessicatheCopywriter]

Another thing to keep in mind is that many clients are not in the business of the marketing themselves well so it is wise to develop a plan that gives them some parameters to work with. I worked for a radio station and they knew they needed a website, but didn't know what types of information should be on it. When they were asked to provide content, they stared at me like a deer in headlights. It was too overwhelming and they would put off working on it because they didn't know how to get started.

So, I came up with a list of topics for them and together we organized and categorized them. The exercise of working together caused them to mentally get on board with the project and gave me a good feel for the inner workings of the station. This way, we could effectively create content that was relevant for who they are and who they are trying to reach. This also helped me later when I took over writing the content for their site because we had been working on it together from the beginning. All the guesswork was gone.

[rogerd]

Hi, JessicatheCopywriter, welcome to WebmasterWorld! You've arrived at the correct forum (based on your nick!). Good points about organizing your client. The clients who are in the worst shape are often the most appreciative when you can pull things together for them. We've also seen spinoffs where work we've done for the web site ends up being useful for in-person sales, etc.

[digitalv]

You should know your industry better than your customers, I would keep them out of it initially.

Think about what you would want out of the website if you were a customer and design it with that mentality. After it's finished, open up for business. Customers will give you feedback, request information/features that aren't there, and offer opinions on what could be done differently to make it more efficient/easier to read/more relevant to their needs, etc.

Asking customers to proof your site in my opinion is not only unprofessional, but tells the customer you have no idea what you're doing and need their help. It's your business, you're supposed to be the expert, not them :)

You need not ask for customer opinions - you'll get it whether you want it or not. A simple "comments" area will do a good job of asking for feedback without really asking for it.

[webwoman]

I've seen this go both ways successfully. If your client has a good feel for how to present themselves on the internet, let them have the reigns. Like Jessicathecopywriter said, it gets them involved. If they have no clue, don't want to do it, don't have the time or do not know how to write for the web, I will always take control of it. I do charge extra for this service, and have found that they are happy to pay the extra fee. I had one client who was such a good writer, knew exactly what he wanted, and knew his business - I made minor seo changes to his content and this worked out very well. So - my point it that it should be done with the most appropriate to the client's needs.