Crafting Better Client Relations
By not giving them what they want.
Not long ago, we had a client for logo design at Humane Space. Everything was clear & simple. The task was to redesign their current logo.
Since the brand made and sold suitcases, we started by gathering up all our resources and creating a mood board based on the initial brief. After showing the mood board, the client told us they were not liking the tone.
Then, instead of giving us space for revisions, they started dictating all the elements we should eliminate from the current mood board. And guess what, we followed.
Struggle for Control
Based on their strongly put forth suggestions, we made all the required changes. Following this, we gradually lost control over all the strategic and creative decisions. We were merely acting as a pen in their hand.
They were dictating each and everything. Our creative opinions and suggestions (something we were charging for) were ignored right off the bat as they were not aligned with their thinking. We found ourselves in the vicious cycle of taking orders and implementing them.
Our transition from creative thinkers to order-takers was apparent and gradual throughout the process.
Finally, all the milestones were checked off and we were ready to hand over the design. We sighed as our days of struggle were getting over, or so we thought. Although we didn’t reach for our potential, we were satisfied as the clients were somewhat happy with the end results. We gave them the finalized designs and parted ways. Little did we know, the nightmare is yet to start.
What happened next?
After a couple of days, we received an email regarding the logo review. As the email explained, we figured that their logo was not doing very well on different platforms. Moving ahead, it explained how the KPI wasn’t met and they were not satisfied with our services.
The fingers were pointed right at us. We were taking the blame for something that we were told to do, and by the same people who told us to do it.
What did we do?
Then and there, we made a decision. A decision to not let our clients take control from us. It was not the fault of our clients to try and dictate our process. It was simply ours to let them.
Critiques and suggestions are always welcomed but not when they are disguised as dictation. (The Win Without Pitching Manifesto - Blair Enns)
We decided that we will fight for our process and creative thinking. Not only because we love our freedom to try, but also because it is something we get paid for. We, as creatives, have an obligation to use our imagination.
We will drop the notion of “Customer is always right” and practice our right to assess and figure out the right answer. We will not give out clients what they want, we will give our clients what they need. That’s what good practitioners do.
Our Inspiration
A lot of our actions mentioned above are inspired by a book for creative businesses called The Win Without Pitching Manifesto. In this book, Blair Enns talks about the seven proclamations of winning clients without pitching. Amongst those, he summarizes the struggle for control between us and our clients.
