When presenting options for feedback, a common question is simply asking “which one do you like?”. While that might be a good question at times, it’s generally not a smart way to go.

Similar to the bad suggestion of “make it darker“, asking “which one do you like?” is pointing things in the wrong direction.

In “The Win Without Pitching Manifesto“, author Blair Enns puts it like this:

We will be careful not to cede our expertise by asking, “Which one do you like?” We will direct all discussions around the creative back to the strategy and ask if we are accomplishing our goals.

Asking about what someone “likes” rarely points back to the overall Strategy and goal. Given two options, I personally would probably like one over the other, but my preference is unlikely to consistently line up with the goals of the project.

In the case of our marketing work, that’s why we build user personas before we start any project, so we can always ask ourselves what would best Appeal to them. If you constantly focus on what appeals to your target audience versus what you tend to “like”, your results will speak for themselves.