The continual quest to keep clients happy
Research regularly finds a client’s discontentment is generally around miscommunication, not dissatisfaction with design.
The antithesis of miscommunication is clarity.
This week’s article introduces a way to start a client relationship with clarity.
Wooing a client
Like the start of any relationship, there’s detail you don’t cover when wooing a client… problem is, once the project is won and a prospective client becomes a real client, the devil is always in the detail.
That’s where an onboarding pack is valuable. It can document the details of an ongoing relationship — the perfect opportunity to outline how you would like to work.
It could include detail like:
- A social contract. I’ve written in more detail about social contracts here (an article with a lovely pen illustration 😉 but if you don’t want to click through the gist is social contracts are the perfect way to state, politely, it’s not appropriate to text changes late at night, or over the weekend. Nor is it appropriate to not supply copy then complain about a missed deadline. Put simply, designers use social contracts to clarify how they like to work.
- information about you and your team. Each of your skillsets – content that may not have been relevant for the project you won, but valuable to share because it may lead to more work.
- communication details for your team. Email addresses for relevant contacts even if they don’t get used, it will help the client feel part of an extended design team.
- an explanation of typical project touchpoints and what’s expected at each stage. What you will expect from a client and what they can expect from you.
- A definition or glossary list – important because there’s a lot of ambiguity around how we work. Not all agencies use the same terminology or work in the same way.
The so what
Not many designers onboard clients, doing it well will set you apart immediately. It will clarify how you prefer to work, what clients can expect from you and what you expect from them.
And it’s an inhouse project – the chance to design something without client input. Bonus!
Want more?
Here’s more information on designers making change to stay head:
1 New business opportunity – onboarding staff packs for clients
2 Is your studio fit for purpose?
3 Mini case studies – designers doing business development well
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About Carol
After 30+ years running a design studio, I accumulated a pretty special network of fellow designers. One thing most have in common: a need for more information about the ‘business’ side of design. Most are impatient with any task competing for time spent doing what they love – designing so they wanted more info about how to work more efficiently and effectively.
Not me. I love that intersection between design and business. I built a career working with Ombudsman schemes, the Emergency Services sector and the Courts. My special power has always been an ability to use design to translate the difficult to understand or the unpalatable message.
I now use exactly the same skills with creative business owners. I translate the indigestible into bite-sized chunks of information. I share insights, introduce tools and embed processes to help others build confidence business decision-making skills. More confidence makes it easier to grasp opportunities. More confidence makes it easier to recognise a good client from the bad.
Outside DBC I have mentored with Womentor, AGDA The Aunties, and most recently Regional Arts NSW.
And I’m a proud volunteer and board member of Never Not Creative.
Always happy to chat, I can be contacted here.
Our second site is designbusinessschool.com.au – Australia’s only business school for designers
