Before we begin, why don’t we clear up a common misconception? Most people confuse web design with web development. But always remember, web design and web development are two vastly different fields. Web design involves the design, construction, functioning, and maintenance of a website. It revolves around your client’s business right down to every odd detail. Web design is a strategy to serve a client’s business needs, garner the attention of the target audience, and fulfill business requirements.
Now that we know what web design is, let’s talk about how in today’s fierce market, a well-designed website can help a business owner get ahead of the competition, grow their business, and keep a steady stream of clients.
The Importance of Web Design
When someone starts a business, they realize it is a fiercely competitive market out there. To get an equal footing with an established brand or to get ahead of a million other startups, they need to stand out. This is where web design comes in.
Web Design Is the Expression of the Brand
If a business has a poorly designed or outdated website or does not have any, to begin with, then sooner or later it will be turning off potential customers. When you come out with a startup, the first step should be to establish a landing page that converts views into customers.
If someone already has an established business but is a little old school and a complete skeptic about website designs and their importance, here’s something they should know.
Getting noticed on the Internet is what it takes to build a successful business. In this digital age, nobody browses leaflets and reads through brochures. However, the number of people surfing the web is rapidly rising. Business owners realize the impact an Internet presence can have on their sales, and have dedicated their efforts to building impressive websites.
And this is where web design comes in.
How to Sell Web Design?
An easy sell is when you comply with the industry’s standards of a product and convince the client to procure your service or purchase your product. But what happens when a cynic and a complete disbeliever walks your way? How will you convince them to procure your web design services? Tip one: be transparent.
Nobody likes a seller who gives strong pitches and hypes up his offer with little substance and information. Especially, a potential buyer who is already teetering off the metaphorical edge. Convincing a skeptic may be hard work, but we are here to help you out how to sell web design with four simple steps.
Understand Your Clients’ Needs
The mistake most newbies make is that they offer the same standard services to all clients. Here’s the thing: all clients have different requirements. This is why you need to modify your standard offer to accommodate your clients’ business needs.
To understand what your client needs, you first need to understand the following:
Know that the client wants to outdo the competition.
- Clients always look at the bigger picture: Better sales, more expensive products, and better recognition.
- Fast sales and new opportunities
- They want you to listen to them, appreciate their opinion, guide them well, and show your support.
Understand the Psyche of a Buyer
You need to have a strong understanding of a buyer’s decision-making process if you want to sell your design. Decisions are all about the balance of intuition and ingenuity. Decisions could come from gut instinct or be a product of some serious calculations.
To be a successful seller is to be one step ahead of the buyer. You must be intuitive enough to predict the next move of your buyer. You need to understand what could appeal to a potential buyer enough to procure your service. Offer them benefits that fulfill their requirements, connect to their emotions, and satisfy their minds.
To win over your client’s trust and to get them to buy your web design is to help them make a decision in your favor and make it feel like a smart one.
Provide Useful Information
Instead of hyping up your pitch with marketing jargon, make it an informative one. Explain to your client why he should invest in UX. Clients only invest in products and services that guarantee to benefit their business. Convince your client by providing substantial information that a finely designed up-to-date website will help their business grow.
Provide them examples of business ventures that failed due to absence on the Internet. Convince them that creating a converting landing page is not an accessory but a necessity.
Shift Your Mindset
Once you both have agreed, it’s time to change tactics. You are no longer selling a product or offering a service, you are partnering with a business to achieve one common goal: financial growth.
Going into business with your client with a seller’s mindset will get you nowhere. Ultimately, the client will see that you are not interested in the partnership but only in it to make money off your service. Once they realize that, the business relationship will come to a quick unsettling end.
On the contrary, if you shift your attitude and dedicate your efforts as a designer towards the success of your client’s business, you will get referrals, grow as a seller, and build successful business relationships.
Final Thoughts
While UX has come a long way, many clients still do not completely comprehend the importance of good web design. As a UX specialist, it is your responsibility to make them understand the significant role of web design in business growth.
Skeptics and doubters will challenge you, set in their ways and reluctant to part with them. But you must build a strategy to convince business owners that for their business to grow, they must invest in good web design. Along the way, you will learn new things from your clients, improve as a seller and a partner, and build a steady clientele.
