From Designer to Strategic Partner (Day 3)
Day 3 of My Client Acquisition Sprint
Taking My Time with the Basics
Day 3 of my sprint, and I'm still working on my website updates. I thought I'd be further along by now, but I'm learning that good positioning takes time. And that's perfectly okay!
Giving This Foundation Work the Time It Deserves
I originally planned just 1-2 days for website updates, but I really want to focus on getting this foundation right. Instead of rushing to check boxes on my schedule, I'm making sure these updates truly reflect the value I provide. After all, my website will be the first impression for many potential clients.
A New Way to Present My Services
My services haven't changed, but how I talk about them has. I'm moving away from listing individual ux deliverables toward presenting a cohesive journey that evolves with my clients:
Discovery: This is where we learn about your business goals, understand your users, and identify opportunities. Instead of just calling it "UX Research," I'm framing it as the strategic foundation that guides all our work together.
Design: Here we create solutions that connect directly to your business goals. Rather than focusing solely on visual appeal or usability, I'm emphasizing how good design drives specific business outcomes like increased conversion, better retention, or improved efficiency.
Develop: This phase turns our designs into working products. I'm highlighting my no-code development skills as a way to quickly bring designs to life without the complexity of traditional development processes.
Grow: This is the most significant shift in my positioning. I've created two distinct tiers to accommodate different client needs:
Essential: This existing tier provides ongoing support and maintenance to keep digital products running smoothly after launch.
Comprehensive: This new tier offers a true strategic partnership, including regular strategy sessions, continuous optimization based on analytics, feature expansion as the business grows, and adaptation to changing market conditions.
This tiered approach gives clients a clear path to deepen our relationship over time. They can start with essential support and upgrade to comprehensive partnership as they see the value of strategic design thinking.
Seeking Feedback
As I work through these updates, I'm also engaging with design communities and getting feedback on my progress. Their insights have been invaluable in refining how I communicate my value proposition.
Teaser
I'm also running a bit behind schedule due to an exciting opportunity that has come up - I'm in the early stages of building a design community. I can't share all the details yet, but this aligns perfectly with my goal of positioning myself as a strategic partner and thought leader. More to come on this later!
What I'm Learning
Today reminded me that how we talk about our work is just as important as the work itself. By reframing familiar services in terms of the client journey, I'm making it easier for potential clients to see themselves working with me both now and in the future.
It's not about changing what I do - it's about helping clients see the full potential of what design can accomplish for their business.
What's Next
Tomorrow, I'll continue this foundation work and hopefully wrap up most of my website updates and then move on to revamping my case studies. While I'm not as far along as I'd hoped, I'm confident that this careful positioning work will make the next phases more successful.
Have you ever rethought how you present your services? I'd love to hear your experience in the comments!
Until tomorrow,
Kristi 🌱