Creating a brief | How to make the correct brief.

The brief is a technical task or a customer questionnaire that is drawn up between two parties who is planning cooperation. Market research questionnaire is a more general and vague idea of the customer about a specific task. Whereas a technical requirements is an exact instruction. A brief reflected the main parameters of the future project.

The main purpose of the brief is to eliminate all misunderstandings between the two parties and to protect the customer from an unscrupulous executor and vice versa.

In addition to the fact that using questionnaires in research allows to identify the responsibilities of the parties before the start of the project, the quality of the work of the accounts, and consequently the c satisfaction, depends on a competently drawn up product survey questionnaire.

The brief should firstly answer the questions:

• To whom and what do we want to say?
• What do we want to achieve?
• Why do we think this is the right thing to say?

When the developing a questionnaire is necessary?

Briefs should not be used by everyone and not always. A questionnaire is a real opportunity for the customers to get what they really want, because even the most experienced contractor will not be able to guess the wishes of the customer.

The questionnaire tool is needed in the following situations:

• The сcontractor provide complex services. In this case, making a questionnaire should structure the thoughts and desires of the client. For example, a client wants to order a website, but has no idea what functions should be in his project. The сcontractor give him a brief with a list of possible functionalities (product catalog, feedback form, online consultant, etc.) and the client selects what he wants to receive.
• The сcontractor’s work in the segment of high prices. In this case, the questionnaire should cut off non-professional clients who are not ready to order an expensive, but effective service. As a rule, such clients want to explain everything use one-syllable words and are too lazy to fill out a brief. By introducing work with briefs, сcontractor will cut off those who are interested in his services out of curiosity or just like that, and will only work with those who really aim to work effectively with the appropriate budget.
• The process of selling the сcontractor’s services takes a lot of time. In this case, the developing a questionnaire should reduce the time spent on preparing a proposal for a client and concluding a deal. The marketing questionnaire for should contain basic questions that are need to answer to calculate your budget.
• The contractor does not understand the concept of project development, which the с is trying to convey to him.
• The project has many small, but important nuances that need to be taken into account.
• The с has a vague vision of the future project and it is necessary to structure the ideas.

Development methodology of the product questionnaire

Сustomer questionnaire is compiled before planning an advertising campaign and usually after the customer makes a prepayment for the work.  The clearer the questionnaire, the brighter the creative can be.

In the case of online questionnaire, it is recommended to conduct a debriefing, where all aspects of the project will be clarified by voice, as well as understanding by each side of the terms used in the brief.

The main questions of business brief

It is worth to add necessary questions to the brief. The optimal number of brief points is about 10. However, if it comes to ordering a complex service, then there may be more points. In general, the following questions are best added to the brief:

• Project Prehistory.
• The company's position in the industry, range and sales structure.
• Company image and competitive advantages.
• Segment pricing.
• Description of current and potential customers of the company.
• Description of the main competitors.
• Goals and objectives of the project.
• Mandatory requirements desired dates and preferred work format.
• Project budget.
• Good project examples.

The following is an example of a business questionnaire.