Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Needs Analysis

Step One: Find out what the client wants.

This is what I call the Needs Analysis stage. Though it sounds very basic, trust me a lot things can go wrong here. It is very important to capture the correct requirements from the client. Based on this information, the next steps will follow. First and foremost, it is very important to realize that not all clients are tech-savvy. Thus what they are looking for in the first place is consultancy. It is very important to make a distinction between needs and wants. For Phase 1, ask them to prioritize the needs. I go through a series of questions that helps me to determine:

  • What the client's business does
  • Why customers buy from them
  • Who their competitors are
  • What their objectives are for their site
  • When their deadline is
  • How often they will update the site and how they will do it
  • What style of design do they like

Once you've found out exactly what it is that your clients want, you're ready to begin writing your proposal. And because you've used a simple question and answer process during the Needs Analysis step, the task becomes so much easier.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice Article. This provides good insight into the first steps of marketing. Certainly will help beginners to start of effectively. Keep writing...

Abir Roy
Manager Web Development Operations
Global Systems Technologies

Neil said...

Sure will!! Thanks Mate!