My business partner Mark and I met last week with Susie, a perspective web design client, to discuss building a website for her new specialty cupcake bakery she will be opening in Flower Mound, Texas. In this blog I will discuss some of the information Mark and I gathered from Susie, along with some our concerns about taking her on as a client.
General Information:
- She does not currently have a website.
- Bakery will serve specialty cupcakes, milk and gourmet coffee.
- Bakery will be located next to a community college (potentially alot of foot traffic from students and faculty).
- Target audience will be “everyone” – she wasn’t real clear on this.
- When Googling “cupcake bakeries in Flower Mound, Texas”, I found that Susie will potentially have some competition. There are at least 3 bakeries in Flower Mound:
- 8th Wonder Cupcakes;
- Flower Mound Cakes; and
- Swirl Bakery
Technical Functionality of Site:
- Only needs the site in the English.
- She wasn’t sure if she wanted a mobile version of her site, but Mark and I highly suggested that she have one due to the fact that she wants to market to everyone and should not limit her customer’s communication resources.
- Most important to Susie about her site is that it use colorful pinks, contain lots of pictures of her cupcakes, and that the user be able to order online.
- Of least importance to her were videos, animations, audio, and moving parts; she says that is very distracting.
- When asked about her budget for the site, she suggested that we do it for free.
- Susie is looking to open up her brick and mortar bakery around late March or early April of 2013.
Client’s Content and Extended Needs:
- Images and Photos: Susie said she will take pictures for her site, but that we could use stock photography if need be. We suggested that she use a professional food photographer to get the best results in her photos.
- Logo — Susie does have a logo that she will be emailing to us. She may want it redesigned.
- Colors — Wants to use pinks and the colors of the rainbow.
- Text Content — Susie will provide typewritten content for the body copy, menus with detailed descriptions and pricing in Microsoft Works file format.
- Maintenance — Susie will need someone to maintain her site.
- eCommerce — Will be an eCommerce site offering online ordering using a contact form.
- She was not interested in any other special features such as a blog, a login area, or a discussion forum.
- Printed Collateral — Susie will be needing some printed collateral such as flyers and marketing ads.
- Photo Gallery — Susie wants a photo gallery on her site with the user being able to click to enlarge image with detailed description of product.
- Google Maps — Susie wants a link to Google Maps on her site.
Comments and Concerns
While meeting with Susie, I found her to be very frustrated with the informational questions that Mark and I were asking of her. It seemed as though she hadn’t thought her website ‘plan’ through, but then again, that’s why she called us! Perhaps Mark and I should have taken a different approach and portrayed a bit more excitement about Susie’s new business.
I will take what I have learned from this client interview and improve upon my communication skills and be more aware of my client’s mood, characteristics, and personality.
sondrasblog 