45+ Key Questions to Ask Your Clients (for Web Development and Software Agencies)

The phase between the client approaching your agency and you building the client requirements is crucial for you as well as your clients. As clients need to explain what they want. And you will need to help them answer the right set of questions.

Remember, most customers know what they like, what they don’t like, what their problems are, and what they don’t need. However, they don’t know what it is that you can produce for them that they may end up wanting. Many people do not realise the need for something until it actually exists.

If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.

– Henry Ford

Having a checklist of what needs to be asked always helps as it ensures you that you have all the necessary information before you start the hard work.

Never assume you know it, Just ask for it.

– Brian Tracy

Let’s lay down some of the key objectives of a web-designing and software agency.

Agency Objectives

• Understanding clients and end-user needs.
• Understanding the client’s business model.
• Understanding challenges (discovery, competition, delivery, time constraints).
• Understanding how the client visualizes the finished product (any prior thoughts, likes or dislikes).

Here are some of the key questions you should ask your clients before you start coding a single piece of line.

Questions to ask your clients:

• What is the problem statement and what are all the pain points being addressed (by the solution)?
• How are you different from your competitors? Is there anything unique you’re offering to users?
• If there’s nothing different, how is your product or service better than others in the market?
• Are you an eCommerce or service-based business?
• Do you provide cheaper deals, better customer services or anything else that affects end-user decisions?
• Who is your target audience?
• What is their age group, gender, occupation, interests, etc.?
• What are the skill levels of these users, and how tech-savvy are they?
• What core features and functionalities do you expect? – responsive design, multilingual support, cross-browser support, social media integrations, etc.
• What discovery channels (where your users can find your product) are you planning to use?
• What are the biggest challenges you see in terms of resources, distribution and ROI?
• What is the expected time to market and why? Would it be a deal-breaker?
• Who is the closest competitor in terms of popularity as well as market share?
• What are your immediate goals? Is it to spread awareness about the product/service? Is it getting visitors’ contact details for cold email marketing or for setting up a demo etc. This will help the UI/UX team to design the solutions accordingly.
• What is your budget?
  
• What would the approval workflow look like with your team? Who are the decision-makers? Generally, how long would it take to decide?
• How often would you like to receive updates on the project’s progress?
• Is there anything extra you would like to see in the finished product?
• Are there any other things you would not like to see in the finished product?
• Are there specific platforms, devices, or operating systems the software needs to run on?
• Are there any existing systems or databases that the software needs to integrate with?
• Do you have a preference for Agile, Waterfall, or another development methodology?
• How are you planning to measure the project’s success? Do you wish to set up Google Analytics, some CMS or a helpdesk service?
• Are there any specific security measures or compliance standards that the software needs to adhere to?
• How will sensitive user data be handled and protected?
• What are your expectations for testing, quality assurance, and bug fixing?
• What long-term goals do you wish to accomplish? What are you expecting to achieve in the future?