Every time before I start on a project, I’ve noticed that I need to help or remind clients about what their aim(s) and goal(s) are for their project. The only difference between the aim and goal is that one of it is the results they’d like achieved when the project is done.
If a client has got a ton of aims with many more ideas to strengthen the aim, it would still be a waste of time for you because you’ll be catering for something without thinking of a solution in achieving the goal.
When the client has more than a single aim, it becomes your responsibility to help the client prioritize their aims according to their goal.
For instance, if the client wanted to aim for these things:
- promote my products
- promote my company
- sell more of my products
- attain more new members
- attain more subscribers
- add a new blog section
These are the general things a client would request when you ask them for their aim. They feel like climbing Mount Everest though they’ve not even been to the first camp of it yet. However, because you’re the website designer doesn’t mean you aren’t the consultant or advisor. Besides, that’s actually one of the main reasons being hired by them.
Helping a client in these circumstances, you need to try and arrange their aims in order of their goal. So the safest step before organizing their aims, try asking your client what is the goal they want to achieve from this project.
The goal is the affect or result wanted from the accomplishment of this project. It’s ridiculous if the client repeats the same thing like the aims. That would only mean that the client is confused and have no idea how to approach their project.
As this becomes a bigger challenge, you’ll learn to become a better consultant from it. So what should you do? Well, sit down with the client and from the research you’ve gotten about them, use that as the base to figure out the importance of their aim.
If they are an advertising company for print with an old website, then what they are really asking is for a revamp. A redesign is only needed when they need a face lift. The revamp is the whole nine yards of providing them a new website strategy with a new design.
If the client mentions that he likes the website now, ask him why. His answer will help determine if it’s a revamp or redesign that is needed. Then from there, you can slowly rearrange the list of aims and figure out the goal of his project.
After that, it’s about briefing the client what’s the best solution for their project and how you intend to handle it.
If you get a stubborn client, continue to patiently persuade or worst case scenario, amend some of his suggestions to the project and explain what are the results that might falter from it.
Learning to manage the aims and goal together with the client can be smooth sailing or taxing. Just remember that you should be the hired consultant and remember to sometimes listen.
Designers just don’t listen!