A friend on LiveJournal asked me* to write a little something about managing client relationships. I assume this question is the product of countless less-than-ideal clients who could have made people’s lives a lot easier if they were ideal.
Yes, the ideal client does exist. This type of client has done his/her homework on the target market, knows what the creative strategy should incorporate, has prepared all necessary materials for you to do your job, and understands that your time equals money. You meet on a frequent basis with this client to review progress on the project, receive constructive feedback, and coordinate with other team members on final deliverables without anyone getting in the way. You love this client. Managing this relationship is, by far, the easiest since you are being treated with the respect due any working professional and you will always look forward to working with this client again on future projects.
Unfortunately, the ideal client doesn’t always grace your workspace. More often than not you will encounter clients that fall into other less savory categories. This is when it pays to know how to manage these client relationships, and really there’s no better way to learn than from other people’s experiences. Without further adieu, I present you, dear reader, with tips on how to manage almost any client relationship.
Client Myopia
If you are working on a flat-fee project – this should always be a rare scenario in your business – you will encounter the client that doesn’t know what he likes until he sees it. You, my friend, have just entered the gravitational pull of a black hole. If you were charging the client by the hour, the decision-making process would consist of “yes, yes, no, that one, yes, good.” But now you are not getting paid for any of the iterations you are expected to create for the client until he sees “the one” that speaks to him. If you’re smart, you included a clause in your agreement that limited design iterations to a finite number of rounds with additional versions being produced at $x per hour. If you forgot to include this clause, then your best option is to remind the client that time is money. Rather, the time spent on the design iterations will impact the rest of the schedule which will delay the final release and ultimately hurt the bottom line. Of course, you don’t want to say that to the client unless you want to have your ass handed to you in your hands.
The client is suffering a spell of nearsightedness: he’s lost sense of perspective on the project. You are not working on the project for the benefit of the client, rather the client’s users. Refer your client to the demographic and psychographic information about the users. Gently steer the visual designs away from the client’s personal wants and toward the users’ needs. Somewhere between the two is the visual solution, and the sooner you implement this practice the faster you can escape the black hole.
Mr Right Now
Who doesn’t love the client that wants to communicate with you every fifteen minutes? Who has a idea bursting out of his head that he just has to share with you as you prepare visual mock-ups? No, really, who enjoys this? I don’t, I just want to focus on the work at hand instead of having to stop everything to entertain a client’s notion. You’ll be told by the client that he wants to be an active part of the process but why would you to work for a client that is deliberately undermining your skills, experience and talent? It’s easy to diagnose this type of client with ADHD but what you are experiencing is, in fact, a person whose experiences are rooted in immediate gratification.
A great way to deflect this behavior is to assign your client with tasks: the ideas you are given by the client are great (big smiles, everyone!) but how do these ideas impact the expected target audiences? Will the content change in tone or approach? How many steps will it take for the user to understand these ideas? Is anyone else using this idea? You are not shooting down your client’s ideas, you are requiring them to put additional thought into their inspirations. You are also allowing the client to realize that not having a clear, succinct vision in the marketing strategy will greatly impact what is presented to users. The need for immediate gratification will dissipate as these ideas are explored in greater detail by the client. And if the clients’ ideas turn out to be worthwhile, you have all the necessary information ready for use.
The Micromanager
I will keep this client type to the point: if you are experiencing a client that has a deep desire to manage you and every last detail of the project, adopt scrum management practices and conduct a daily 15-minute status meeting that outlines tasks completed, issues that are preventing task completion, and tasks remaining. Tell the client that the rest of the day is devoted to completing the project and you lower the volume on communication so you can focus on the project. Unless the project spouts a leak or erupts into flames, there is no need for the client to be tapping your shoulder throughout the day.
The Nanomanager
Not only does your client feel the need to manage every last detail of the project but he is appointing himself the role of project manager. You will encounter this client if you are working on a startup project that was conceived and funded entirely by the client. You do not want to lose your footing in this relationship, the project can easily veer into catastrophe for you and the client if you are unwilling to assert yourself. You are the authority, make the client understand that using a bit of diplomacy. “I appreciate your dedication to and passion for this project, and I am more than willing to visually communicate those feelings in the presentation. I’ve worked on similar user processes and I think some of those elements could be incorporated into the project in beneficial ways.” You are not shutting down the client, you are providing what was asked of you and you are demonstrating other, possibly better, methods for attaining the desired end result.
Your best defense is to always present visual mock-ups of the clients’ ideas as well as yours. The final product lies somewhere in the middle of the two.
Pippi Longstocking Syndrome
You may also have clients who do not report to a superior, such as company founders or directors, which means you will be expected to drop everything else you are working on and rapidly respond to every request sent your way. I liken these clients to the Swedish fictional character Pippi Longstocking: smart, slightly smug bordering on self-righteous, and anathema to convention. The only way to solve a problem is Pippi’s way which is, of course, the best way.
A Pippi client requires an extra bit of finesse, depending on your situation. The easiest option is to find and leverage Pippi’s colleagues during a project. You may have an opinion about a design or an idea on how to approach a problem, but you will not be heard with the same level of attention as Pippi’s colleagues. You just haven’t earned that trust, baby, and you won’t have access to it until the project is complete and you have proven yourself to Pippi.
Colleagues or not, always let Pippi have the spotlight. If you are subjected to a two-hour PowerPoint presentation, bring popcorn. You will get paid for your time, regardless of however long it takes for Pippi to make a point. Speak when spoken to and keep the meter running. You’ll soon discover that Pippi just wants someone to hear every brilliant word that is uttered. Companionship, if you will. When all is said and done, you will have anecdotes to share with friends about the Instant Messenger chats you are subjected to by Pippi—to say nothing of the countless emoticons.
And you thought clowns were scary
There is a breed of client, let’s refer to this class as overpaid, that holds a position or title without the knowledge or experience to justify said position. The easiest way to spot these clients is a) hearing a logorrhea of buzzwords instead of actionable items, and b) having them make decisions based on repeating what other people said. Generally these clients surround themselves with other – sometimes smarter – people as to create the illusion of, well, being smart.
The comparisons to George W. Bush just draw themselves, don’t they?
The overpaid client will often ask the group “What do you think?”. This is when other people will either be your allies or someone you’ll need to bludgeon with a pimento loaf in the dead of night. The smarter people will be honest and respond with constructive criticism that makes your work easier. The sometimes smarter people will tell the overpaid client whatever will elicit happiness and a false sense of security.
If your team consists of you, the overpaid client, smarter people and a sometimes smarter person, you are in good company so long as you choose the proper allegiance. The sometimes smarter person will be ostracized by the smarter people and eventually replaced with another smarter person or possibly a plastic coffee stirrer. You may not be well-received by the smarter people but they will choose you over a sometimes smarter person every time.
If your team consists of you, the overpaid client and a sometimes smarter contractor, you will be dealing with a poltergeist interested only in disrupting the project flow to increase billable hours. And you, my friend, are Carol Anne. You need to run, not walk, toward the light. Finish this project to the best of your ability as quickly as possible, then get the hell out of there.
Are you client-ready?
Before engaging a project with any client, make sure you have a signed written agreement between both parties that stipulates your role & responsibilities along with a detailed list of requirements that are assigned to an hourly rate. Clearly define what you will and will not do during the project (you want to prevent assumptions as much as possible). If you only tattoo one word on your left butt cheek, make sure it’s “indemnify”.
Every client relationship shares basic principles: sincerity, patience, and diplomacy. Provide your client with professional tact and honesty about a business strategy or design proposal. Leave a meeting only when everyone at the table understands the means to achieve project deliverables. Offer constructive criticism with supportive examples and be willing to visually demonstrate your ideas to clients that may not understand what you mean when you say “_____”.
Never act disingenuous or condescending toward a client. This bit of advice should be a no-brainer but I’ve read articles on other websites that show you how to trick clients into choosing your design proposal which is about as smart as sticking a fork into a light switch.
And never, ever, turn batshit crazy in the presence of a client. I walked out at an agency when I realized its owners had no intention of supporting the efforts of their employees, and in my haste I went a few decibels over a calm, rational state of mind. That the first and only time I have acted in such a capacity, however I have witnessed colleagues go off the deep end in front of clients. Once this action occurs, nothing you say or do will ever repair the damage done to that relationship.
When in doubt, remember that the client is always right until otherwise proven wrong through visual mock-ups, user demographic and psychographic information, research focus groups, or site metrics.
*His exact words were “Can I compel you to write a book on managing client relationships?” but I figure this post is close enough.