I recently attended a special CHI Atlanta event regarding a relaunch of a major news website. It was very interesting to hear how they engaged users throughout the entire redesign process; they utilized surveys, qualitative interviews, and iterative usability testing.

They mentioned that they engaged an agency to help them with the overall redesign direction and user personas. Why did they choose this particular agency? According to the company’s Director of User Experience and Site Integration, they chose the agency whose “powerpoints sucked.” Many agencies presented them with snazzy powerpoints and lots of “swag.” She joked that she had drawers full of this swag, such as an entire booklet full of words that represented their brand. The agency they chose simply presented them with a non-flashy presentation and then sat down with them for what ended up being a “good conversation”.

Whats the moral of this story? “Know your audience”, a phrase commonly tossed around by user experience architects, holds just as true for sales professionals. Some clients are interested in the sizzle and others are interested in the steak. So, it’s always good to engage your client in a dialogue and get a good idea of their expectations before offering them unique services or solutions.