Does Design Yield Customers?

Thoughts on why a logo, business card, and website do nothing to produce paying customers.

I run a web design company. We do everything from logo design to web development. On occasion we sign a client who has a new business looking for the works. Logo, brand positioning, messaging, web design and development, their own email at their own domain, and hosting. No problem. Done!

But then what?

Launch day arrives!

Your logo is finalized. Your business cards just came in. Your beautiful website is online. Your contact form is connected to your new email address ready for messages. You have your login to update the blog. Hosting is setup on your credit card. You are up and running!

So when do the customers come?

I count myself as more than just a designer. I’m a problem solver. When I have clients with a new business in front of me who I’ve done extensive design work for and consulted them on best practices for blogging and search results, I can’t help but want them to succeed.

But it’s launch day. My job is done, right?

Sure, we’ll be around to fix any bugs, update something small here and there moving forward, answer any questions you might have. But how do I help them understand that it’ll take a long time to be “on the first page of Google”? How do I tell them that it may take years of quality blogging to establish a notable readership?

How do I tell them that their beautiful logo, business cards and website alone will not produce paying customers ?

As a web design company, we produce the look and the story of the company. But it’s up to the business owner to show that face and share that story with their potential customers. Advertising, promotions, discount offers, social media management, shareable content, videos, and more. The list of how to promote your business these days is endless. You must attack on all fronts, with the right voice, without being imposing and still have time to actually run your business. As a web design company, we don’t do any of that for our clients. We can point them in the right direction, but any more would require an on-going retainer fee or even a full time working relationship. You literally have to hire us to be your customer-generation team. And that’s if we even want to do that. (Which we don’t)

There seems to be a disconnect between the actual value we provide our clients and the value they think we provide them.

I want my clients to do well. I want them to succeed. I want their new branding and website to wow and amaze. I want them to be inundated with new customers upon launch day. But we don’t do marketing and advertising. And without those, the best logo or website won’t do much for you.

Do you think a web design agency should do more?

How do you communicate to your clients that it’s up to them to push their newly created material to their potential customers?

Where does YOUR job stop and their’s begin?

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I’m Phil Chairez, Creative Director at Barrel Roll Creative in McAllen & San Antonio, Texas. We design & develop websites . You can follow me on Twitter @philchairez or check out our Journal. If you like this post, hit recommend. Always appreciated.