For my next installment in the series of working with a web designer, I will decode the mysteries of actually choosing your designer. It’s not as simple and easy as it sounds – especially if you are unprepared.

Before you choose a designer to work on your project, you should complete the steps outlined in the first installment of this series – In the Beginning. In that post, I talk about some things you can do to prepare yourself for working with a designer. You’ll be much better off if you’re prepared when you start looking for someone to work on your project.

So, now that you’re prepared, how do you start looking for the perfect designer? Here are a few ways to get started:

1. Referrals. Did someone you know just have a killer website designed? Do you like the site and the style it uses? Ask your friend about the designer. (See “Questions You Should Ask References,” below.) If the designer gets a good recommendation, get their contact information.

2. Google. Search engines are your friend! If you prefer to look for someone local, search for “Tulsa web designer” or whatever your town or state may be. If you have a specialized project, like a non-profit website or eCommerce, search specifically for designers and developers that specialize in that area. See what comes up. Go through the results, look at portfolios, read blogs, check out their styles. If something catches your eye, put them on a list to contact.

3. Twitter and Facebook. Send out a Tweet to ask for recommendations. It never hurts, and you may get a few designers to respond directly. Just check out their work before you ask for a quote.

4. Freelance websites like Elance. If you can’t find anyone using the above methods, you can post a job on Elance and see what you fetch. Many freelance designers hang out there and you’re likely to get good work for a decent rate. Just be careful, read reviews, and don’t work with anyone who can’t communicate well in your language.

How to Decide if the Designer is the Right One for You

Once you make contact and outline your project (don’t forget to give details and budget information), you may have a few potential designers to choose from. If the estimates you get from the various designers are close in cost, you may have to use factors such as communication style, art style, friendliness, or experience to help you determine who to choose.

A good place to start is your gut feeling. If the designer is easy to communicate with, helpful, knowledgeable, and highly recommended, you may have your person. If you feel “iffy” about the designer, it may be best to keep looking.

You can always ask for references, if you feel comfortable calling them. And all designers should be willing to give you  at least one or two people to call or email about their work.

Questions You Should Ask References

1. Does the designer communicate well? This is key to the success of working with your designer. If they don’t communicate well, you may feel “in the dark” about your project. This can lead to sour feelings and bad experiences. Make sure they are available by email during reasonable hours, but don’t expect them to be available by phone. They should be able return all emails within 1-2 business days, but the nature of the business makes it difficult to take calls. This is especially true for designers who work from home and have small children…ahem.

2. Did the designer treat you like a “difficult” client or make you feel like your requests were bothersome? In other words, were they professional? Some designers aren’t the best at customer service, but some are. Even though some clients do ask for things outside the scope of their projects, good designers will gently but firmly explain that a task is not included in the project budget. A good designer will not make a client’s request seem troublesome.

3. Was the project completed within a reasonable time frame? Design work takes a lot of time over the course of several days, weeks, or even months, for larger projects. However, if the designer drags their feet on the project, it could take longer than needed to be finished. Remember that your project is probably different than the person you’re speaking with, so you can’t necessarily expect the same time frame. It also helps to keep in mind that even though you were quoted 6 hours for your project, that 6 hours won’t be done in one day. On any given day, a designer must juggle several projects, emails, invoicing, and all kind of non-billable items that require them to spread their projects out over a period of days or weeks.

General Advice for Choosing a Designer

1. Try to avoid working with a designer who does not have a portfolio. They may say, “Oh, I don’t have time to make one,” but that’s no excuse. You must see examples of their work.

2. If you’re on a tight budget, you might consider working with a student. Don’t expect them to know how to handle some situations, though, and don’t expect to get high-quality work. In this business, you usually get what you pay for.

3. If you don’t have a lot of money to spend, don’t expect a fancy logo and website. Fancy, intricate designs and websites can cost literally thousands of dollars. Don’t expect perfection in user experience and illustration if you don’t have the budget for it. Start small and spend the big bucks later down the line – once you’ve made some money.

That should give you a good start for choosing your designer. Next in the series – Getting Started with Your Designer.

Why is it that Dave from Duct Cleaning decided to call me, not once but twice, right in the middle of when I was making dinner for my husband and 2 kids? And why does Dave call me “the home owner” rather than Shari, which is my name? I’ll tell you why….it’s because Dave doesn’t care about me. And neither does his employer, Duct Cleaning. If Dave really cared about me, THE CONSUMER , he wouldn’t be calling me at dinner time and he wouldn’t be calling me “the home owner”.

In all fairness to Dave, he’s just doing his job. But, he’s not doing it well. And that’s the problem with telemarketers in general. I blame that on the companies who these people represent. The companies don’t train their staff very well in the art of customer service.  In fact, I doubt they train them at all. I score them a big ZERO on the customer happiness scale.  Not a great way to get sales in my opinion.

In all the years that telemarketing has been legal, (and I really wish it wasn’t) I have only ever encountered a handful of callers who actually cared about me enough to at least acknowledge that dinner time wasn’t the best time to be calling and could they call me back at a more convenient time. But not Dave. No, Dave continued his spiel even though I told him that I was making dinner. Dave made me hang up on him.  Not a great way to forge a long lasting customer relationship Dave.

So much for the Do Not Call List in Canada because it really is a joke.  I get that telemarketing companies are in business to make money. But there are better ways to market a business.  How about investing some of your hard earned cash in some honest to goodness inbound marketing. You know, the kind that doesn’t infringe on people’s privacy? The kind that lets me, the consumer, decide when to buy your products and services. I bet you’ll make A LOT more sales that way.

So guess what’s going to happen the next time I need my ducts cleaned? (that kinda sounds disgusting but lets not go there right now)  I won’t be calling Duct Cleaning and Dave won’t be making any commission off me! See how well telemarketing works.

To the telemarketers of the world, let me just say this: stop it. Stop it right now. Give me back my dinner hour with my family. Stop taking it from us. It’s not yours and you can’t have it. If you really want my money then you’re going about it the wrong way.

I’ll just ask you this – who is doing all the shopping for the holiday season even as I write this post? Moms. Mothers. Madres. That’s right. Mamas are hot in the marketing world right now, as more and more companies are taking note of the purchasing power of mothers.

One company in particular is targeting moms in a new, exciting, and beneficial way. Vocalpoint, which is owned by Proctor and Gamble’s word-of-mouth marketing company called Tremor, takes a unique approach to finding out what consumers really think about products, while using moms to do most of the marketing. Who knew one mom’s voice could be considered so powerful?

Tremor’s branding encompasses movement, like waves, tremors, etc. by word-of-mouth marketing. They use Vocalpoint to get their clients’ products in front of over 500,000 mothers who have selected their interests via their Vocalpoint profile. This helps them target specific groups even more. The goal is to sign up mothers who spend time online. Moms who are online are generally interested in news, products, and sharing their experiences. Tremor and Vocalpoint capitalize on those aspects.

Vocalpoint signs moms up with the promise of recieving samples and being able to review the products they sample. And boy, do they deliver! I’ve received samples of Kashi cereal, granola bars, and countless coupons for Del Monte fruit and other food products. I’ve even written a few reviews.

The most recent piece I received in the mail is what caused me to write this article. It’s an incredible marketing piece, designed to look like a DVD (but not in a plastic case). Here’s a sampling of the printed piece’s design. You have to see it in person to get the full effect, but this link is a start.

A small, lift up flap made to look like a clapper board from a movie set contains valuable coupons for Del Monte fruit. Clever. Who wouldn’t want to open a piece of mail that looks so tempting? But that’s not all. Inside, where the DVD would reside, was a rubber-gripped jar opener, designed to look like a DVD. It’s in my utility drawer in my kitchen right now. Every time I look at it, I see Del Monte fruit. Talk about brand resonance!

All that being said, I think Proctor and Gamble, Tremor and Vocalpoint have discovered the valuable and unlimited power that moms and their word-of-mouth recommendations can bring. More companies should harness this power. The possibilities are literally endless.