Somebody asked me recently: Who is your ideal client?
A great question, I thought. It left me feeling that the asker was genuinely interested in hearing from me and in helping me find appropriate clients.
My ideal client — actually, I have three “types”:
1. Web developers or web production/application shops that need help:
- Vetting — actually “interviewing” — their potential/new clients.
- Teaching their new clients about the process of web development.
- Maintaining and tracking technical activities/requests/handoffs between their clients and programmers.
- Teaching their less technical clients how to use a CMS, how to create an eNewsletter, how to set up and use a WordPress blog, etc. Or perhaps, just doing those things for them.
- Facilitating client meetings, or development/production meetings. Standing at the white board, picking brains, and asking questions to get the nuggets out.
2. Small businesses that need:
- Feedback about what’s great and not-so-great about their website.
- Help finding resources for web updates, including design, development, writing, and SEO.
- Organization (project management) for their web updates. Figuring out what they want, and noting risks and interdependencies.
- Someone (me) to create and send their eNewsletter or other email marketing. Someone to set up and maintain their blog.
- Someone to help them learn how to do some of those things themselves, for example, how to use the CMS, how to do the email marketing, how to set up and use a WordPress blog.
3. Software Development organizations that need:
- Someone who understands the software development life cycle.
- A single point of focus to manage the project including facilitating weekly status meetings, possibly by teleconf, possibly with remote developers.
- A great communicator, internally and externally.
- Someone who can engage directly with strategic partners and clients.
So, who is your ideal client?
