Stop! BEFORE You Hire a Seattle Flash Website Designer…
Filed Under Website Project Success Tips |
So, you’re scouring the Web for a good Flash web site design company in the Seattle area. You’ve got a project that needs to be done, and you’re ready to talk to someone about it.
Or are you?
One of the secrets of success for any creative or technology project comes into play before you ever talk to anyone outside your company. Going into a discussion of your project with a design studio before you have these things outlined in written form will greatly impact the effectiveness of your meeting.
Know Thyself
It may seem obvious, but the first thing you’ll need to communicate to your potential Flash designer is who you are and what your company does. What is your niche or position in your market? What is your brand identity and unique value proposition? How do you want to be seen by your target audience?
Even if you feel that you are intimately familiar with the answers to these questions, it will help immensely if you take the time to write these things down.
Don’t write a novel. Just write a single-sentence description of who you are. Then expand that into a paragraph about your position in your market. And finally, write a paragraph about where this particular Flash design project fits in your overall business marketing strategy.
Put this page of information on a piece of letterhead, and stick it in a folder along with your primary marketing materials — maybe a business card, a brochure, a print-out of your current website home page, a photo of your storefront, etc.
The better your new Flash project partner understands your business, the better results you will get throughout the project (e.g., fewer revisions and design tangents, more accurately targeted creative ideas, more effective final result).
Know Thy Audience
Who are you targeting with this Flash website project? What age, background, technology skill level, and personality are the people who will be using this Flash site or object? When they start interacting with your web site, or whatever interactive multimedia object it is (for now we’ll assume web site), what will their goals be?
You need to put yourself in the shoes of your website visitors and figure out what they’re trying to do. Are they searching for a product or service? Are they hoping to download a manual for a product they already bought? Are they researching your background and experience before contacting you to do business?
Regardless of what you are trying to accomplish with your website, if you do not take into account the needs and desires of your website visitor, then you are shooting yourself in the foot.
Know Thy Purpose
Speaking of what you want to accomplish, what are your goals for this Flash website project? You will save yourself hours of indigestion and headaches by clearly mapping your objectives for the project in advance. Yes, we mean even before you talk to a Flash design firm.
What results do you want to see? If you are re-designing your website, then what problems with your existing site are you trying to fix? What do you want to improve, change, remove entirely?
If you are creating an interactive Flash tool on your website, what is the ultimate purpose of it? If it’s a product comparison tool, for example, you might keep firmly in mind that the end result you want is SALES. What is it you want the website visitor to do when they arrive at your site and after they leave?
Knowing your objectives will streamline so many parts of the design and production process. Many options will be offered, whether visual subtleties or technological choices, and knowing what you’re trying to accomplish will guide your decisions.
Know Thy Budget
You may not be certain how much it will cost to do what you dream for this Flash web site design project. However, you should decide in advance how much money you have available to put towards this project. Most designers can work within the budget that you offer, although some negotiations may take place. Combining an understanding of how much you can spend with knowledge of your objectives, you can negotiate together exactly what can be done and how best to meet your needs.
Worst case scenario, you discover that what you want done cannot be done with the money you have available. Even that isn’t the end of the world. Armed with that knowledge, you can then decide to save up for what you really want, or decide that you will take it one step at a time and do a little now and a little later. A big benefit of coming to the table with a budget already in mind is that when you get a quote or estimate from a designer it’s so much easier to decide your response. You can immediately decide to get an estimate from someone else or begin negotiating details with them as necessary. No time is wasted stewing about whether or not you can afford their price.
When approaching a Flash website design project, every moment that you spend on it is part of the expense of the project. Although putting these thoughts down on paper for yourself seems like more work, it will absolutely save you expense in the long run. Invest the time up front to be clear about what you’re doing, and you will save yourself both time and money.
Other Considerations
Remember, you’re not just hiring a Flash website designer to do a project for you. You are bringing a creative and technological expert into committed partnership with your business. They have skills and creative ideas that can take your company to a whole new level of online marketing effectiveness if you arm them with a clear understanding of your business, your target audience, your project objectives and your resources for accomplishing your goals.
Don’t miss out on the rich resource that your Flash designer can be, when properly informed from the start.
Now, go out there, choose a Seattle Flash Website Design company to contact, and get it done!
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