| LED Digest 1898: Special Issue - Web Design Client Conflicts |
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================================================== The LED Digest Moderated Discussion List "Effective Online Advertising, Since 1997" pair Networks: The LED's Web Host Hosting and Domain Reg. from a Trusted Leader pair.com for Hosting | pairNIC.com for Domains ================================================== List Moderator: Published by: Adam Audette LED Digest adam,led-digest.com http://www.led-digest.com ............................................... November 19, 2004 Issue #1898 ............................................... .....IN THIS DIGEST..... ====== NEW ====================== --== Special Issue: Design Conflicts ==-- ~ Scott Wang ~ Roland Matzke ~ Thomas Yoon ~ Mark Frank ~ Dan Emmons ~ Martha Retallick ~ R. Neilson ~ Tom Aman ~ Kathy Wilson Anderson ======== NEW ==================================== From: Scott Wang Subject: Conflict of Interest > [My client's] opposition... saw [their website, which I developed] > and immediately contacted me about designing them a website. > Today my original client rang to say... that he felt I was in a very > bad "conflict of interest" position. - Mark Medlicott, LED 1893 I don't think you're in a very bad conflict of interest position. I maintain websites for 3 realtors, 2 car dealerships (soon to be 3), and I've built computers for multiple local realtors, car dealerships, and flower shops. I don't have any problem doing business for a few different companies who provide the same services. Like you said, it would be compared to them selling trellises to multiple contractors. You should be careful not to play favorites and make one website much better than the other, and don't try to sabatoge one because the other is paying you more, etc. Be fair, be professional, and I don't think you should have any problems. Scott Wang Scott's Computing ------- next post -------- From: Roland Matzke Subject: Conflicts of interest Dear Mark, I think your client is being unreasonable by expecting you not do business with his competition. He is obviously not a good businessman and acting in his selfish interests. We deal with lots of clients who are in competition with each other and to expect exclusivity is ludicrous. The best you can do is offer that all web site material supplied by him is not to be used by his competition and keep all correspondence confidential, etc, etc. But those are common business ethics anyway. And don't worry about the church business -- they normally don't spend decent money on web sites, anyway. Regards Roland Matzke Web Connect CC www.web-connect.co.za roland, web-connect.co.za ------- next post -------- From: Yoon Chee Tuck Subject: Conflicts Of Interest I feel that as a website designer, you should be free to accept work as you think fit. I have created cartoons for clients before. The ideas are the same, but I designed the cartoons to suit. I may change the character, the setting, the props, etc, but the joke is almost similar. Perhaps, you can change the page layout, the links, the navigation, the graphics and photographs, the color scheme, and you will have a different website. Very often, because we learn from our work, it may happen that the latest website may become better than the old one. I think it is just too bad for the old client but good for the new client. That is continous improvement. I think business must also keep moving on with improvement. We should not let the old arrangements stop us from developing our own business. Thomas Yoon http://www.free-engineering.com ------- next post -------- From: Mark Frank Subject: Conflicts of interest Mark, I think your analogy of selling to only one carpenter is right on the money. You have not signed any exclusive or non-competing contracts and you are free to provide services to anyone who may need them. There are some designers who design only for real estate agents or doctors. There is no conflict of interest for these designers. There is none for you. You may want to avoid using the same graphics or layout for the new design, but other than that, you are free work with any clients. It's good that you have a personal relationship with your clients, but you have already been paid for the first site. If they walk away, you may lose maintenance fees, but your business will gain another client. In the final analysis, it all comes down to cash flow. Take the new work. Grow your business. Mark Frank, Author Start Your Own Home Based Website Design Business http://www.websitedesignbiz.com ------- next post -------- From: Dan Emmons Subject: Conflicts of interest Does your local paper only accept advertisements from one company, and then refuse all the others? If plumbers do work in one building, do other buildings go without their services? Even a local lawyer could represent both companies -- just not in matters where they were litigating against each other. The service you provide is web design. If you have signed an agreement limiting you to creating or updating a site for just the one business, you would have a breach of contract - but not a conflict of interest. On an ethical note, you should consider how much of the first site development is unique to that business and not use it in the second site -- but certainly accept the work. Dan Emmons ------- next post -------- From: Martha Retallick Subject: Conflicts of interest In answer to Mark Medlicott's question about conflicts of interest, here's what I suggest. In fact, it's what I do in my own design studio: I would limit my Web design efforts to one business in the same industry in each market. For example, if I was creating a website for a bicycle shop here in Tucson, Arizona, that shop would be my sole bike shop client here. This, I believe, would head off the "conflict of interest" problems with the other shops here. But it wouldn't stop me from pursuing further business from bike shops in the Phoenix, Arizona area, or outside the state of Arizona. Hope this helps! Martha Retallick "The Passionate Postcarder" ------- next post -------- From: R. Neilson Subject: Conflicts of interest This is a judgement call of sorts. You have to determine if accepting this second client is going to hurt your reputation or help it. While gaining new clients is the life blood of any new business, so is business ethics. Your first client may get so upset that his bad publicty in the community could actually hurt your business. Did your web design contract stipulate that you would not do any competitors work or was it open ended? You might want to consider revising your contract with your customers to assure your rights as a web designer to work with any customer that chooses your service regardless of the product. If this second customer is going to do more then trellis, then consider working with him on the basis that his site has to show a variety of his work available other then trellis's. Let your exisiting customer know that this client is making a variety of products and trellis are just one of his many products. You might use the comparsion of a shoe store. Everyone buys shoes, but they can purchase them from a number of differents stores and purchase the same or different types depending on their own individual tastes. R. Neilson H. L. Supply www.hansons.net ------- next post -------- From: Tom Aman Subject: Conflicts of interest If I understand Mark Medlicott's posting (LED 1893), he designed a Website for Customer #1 who makes / sells trellis walls, fences, gazebos,etc. Then potential Customer #2 sees the site and wants one for his business. But, Mark has also learned that #2 started business about 2 weeks after #1 took over an existing business, has his premises on the same street, and according to friends put out a flyer 2 days after #1 that was identical to that put out by #1. Customer #2 also claims that trellis business will eventually only be a small part of his overall business. (Question: does his business presently include anything else?) Finally, #1 calls Mark to say that #2 had phoned to say that Mark was going to build him a Web site. #1 felt that this would be a "conflict of interest". (Why did #2 have to make this phone call??) Mark, in spite of the money involved, I would suggest you take the high ground and turn down #2. My gut feeling is that there is a lot more going on here between these two than than appears on the surface so if you take on #2, you could well end up in the middle of a feud - potentially with a lot of "bad press" from #1. Your town is too small for you to be placed in that kind of position. And finally, building a Web site is not like selling a product. When you built the Web site you were part of the advertising team for #1. I can well understand that customers feeling the there would be a "conflict of interest" if you then built a Web site for a competitor who is located so close. Tom Aman Aman Software http://www.cyberspyder.com ------- next post -------- From: Kathy Wilson Anderson Subject: Conflicts of interest I've been doing website design in my geographically small community (8000 pop.) as well as within several demographically small communities for 9 years. Of course I am working for people who are in the same business. So far I've not run into the conflict of interest issue. All of them understand, because I carefully explain it to them at the onset of our business relationship, that each business is unique and so is the website I design for them. I also explain that they are a huge part of the creation of the website. Perhaps it's because they are so involved in the process that they don't look at the work I've designed for others as conflicting with their interests. They know that the website is unique for them and reflects them and their business, and doesn't look like a cookie-cutter design. Perhaps it's because I also tell them emphatically that the success of their website depends not only on my work, but on the quantity and quality of information they give me to put in their website. Each business is unique and has it's own particular benefits. Not everyone is going to be attracted to the same business. At some point, that uniqueness becomes the deciding factor in any purchase decision. For example, I have several Realtors for whom I've done websites. One promotes her roots in the community (her family goes back several generations in this area), one focuses on creating a relationship with her customers for life, another focuses on commercial properties, and yet another promotes the rental services she additionally offers. A potential client who wants to invest in real estate would likely be more drawn to the commercial Realtor than to the one who promotes her deep roots in the community. Not only do these clients have unique foci, they also have websites that reflect their personality - crisp and cool, soft and warm, bold and busy, etc. Businesses, too, have their own unique personality, and a website design which reflects that will draw the right customers and clients to it. Bottom line is that although the two businesses in question produce a similar product, the companies themselves are completely different, and the website can reflect those differences. Those companies aren't just selling their product, they are selling their company, what it stands for, and the people who make the company what it is. As I tell my clients, "if someone isn't drawn to you because of your website, then that's great! The reason they aren't drawn to you is because they aren't the kind of client you want. A website visitor who doesn't like the bold and busy website won't be happy with the bold and busy personality of that Realtor, either. Let them go to another, while you work with the clients and customers who are attracted to you and are in alignment with you. You'll be happier, and they'll be happier." In the future you may want to offer a non-compete clause in your contract, offering to not design websites for competing businesses which your client will, of course, need to identify clearly. For this you may want to charge a fee to cover your potential lost business. Love, Kathy Wilson Anderson http://www.under-one-roof.net ------------------------------------------------------- The LED Digest is sponsored by pair Networks: pair.com for Hosting | pairNIC.com for Domains Copyright 1995-2004 Adam Audette. All Rights Reserved. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "Well isn't that special!" - SNL |
