What We Offer and What We Don’t

May 7

A very important facet of every healthy relationship? Clarity about expectations.

This is true even especially with regard to relating to your clients. Websites, Instagram bios, intro packets, etc. are full of what businesses offer; less frequently available are lists of what businesses do not offer, but that information is equally valuable!

First of all, it’s simple kindness to your fellow humans to make clear what they’ll still need to hire/pay for after working with you. And it reflects well on your professionalism (may help you secure good recommendations to future prospective clients) to set reasonable expectations and then overdeliver, rather than the other way around.

So get granular. For example, we offer brand and web design. But what actually is that? What does that include? To confidently justify a strong investment, as well as to plan for what comes after, people likely need more information. The more specific you can get, the better. We’ll demonstrate.

brand identity design
- wordmark logo
- submark/favicon
- color palette and font selection
- brand package files

website design
- Squarespace and Shopify website design with some front-end CSS customization
- configuration for seamless user experience and mobile optimization
brand messaging + copywriting
- tagline development
- target audience and brand voice identification
- SEO-optimized website copy

What is NOT included, no matter the service we provide —

launch strategy

advertising
sales promotions consulting
photography
legal counsel on site policies
lifetime technical support and maintenance
full stack development
social media management

So here’s the takeaway for you and your business —

The quicker you can get granularly clear about what you offer and what you don’t, the fewer interpersonal or contractual issues you’ll face with clients.

We assume clients understand by default that if something isn’t listed in the deliverables, it’s not included. That’s not always the case. (Trust me!)

For example, as an interior designer, you might need to explain to your clients whether you will or will not provide the following services as part of your hourly / project fee:

storing furniture before install
hanging artwork
limitless revisions to design plan
order cancellations / refunds
handling customer service issues with vendors

You may need to verbally process with a friend outside of your industry in order to spot points of confusion. You mayneed to adjust your business plan if you realize you’re failing to offer a point of service that is important enough to keep people from hiring you. You will need to stay flexible and open to a likely ever evolving list of yes’s and no’s.