What we do here at the offices isn’t just website development, design etc.  People often think that it’s just all “tekky” stuff, code and database work – but it is more than that.  And how our customers and their users engage with our sites and software is more important than the bare bones of what it all does.

We all know why we have technology – to make life easier, to enable us to do more and be more efficient.  But why do we select certain technology over other technology?  Sure there’s the geeks who pore over the hard facts, look up the stats and research every angle – but they are in the minority.  Most of us make our final buying decision on the following:

• How will this product make me feel?
• Will it make my life easier?
• What will others things of my new ‘thing’?
• Is it cool/smart/sexy/desirable?
• Will it solve a problem?

None of those questions involve RAM, CPU Speed or Power-to-Weight ratios, yet they are chief amongst factors for buying technology.

Think of the iPhone – it’s not the quickest, hasn’t the best camera, not the most feature-full nor advanced.  And it certainly isn’t the cheapest nor gives the most valuable.  But its success has been based on the fact that it is desirable, people love using one and it just works.  All three things are because it has been well designed, built and coded – but at no point does the end user ever think “wow – that’s sliding button to unlock the phone is beautifully coded” – no, it just works.

This is where we come into the fold – when I visit a prospective customer I don’t tend to talk about pixels, fonts, colours and code.  I talk about the emotion of the project.  We have been brought in and it is taken as read we can code and design; or else why would we be here?  What we have been asked to do is a solve a problem, cure an issue and (without sounding all Jeremy Kyle) fix an emotional problem or two.

Here’s some common statements:

• The website makes us look bad
• This system is rubbish and makes our lives a misery
• We can’t be as good we want to be
• I hate using our site/system
• I wish we could get our systems working together
• Customers have complained about our site and I don’t like that
• I’ve heard so many bad things about website developers/designers
• I love using competitor-X’s website – is so fast, fresh and modern
• I spend all my time doing the same thing, why can’t the site/system do it?

Have a think about technology in your working life.  How much emotion does it invoke?  Do you find yourself liking, hating and wishing?  Our approach is based just as much on solving those emotional issues that you and your clients have, as much as any technological challenges.

A happy customers tends to be a valuable customer.