If you are a web designer or a graphic designer, you would know exactly how it feels to be dealing with the clients. While some clients are happy with what you provide, some clients always come up with a couple of suggestions.
A phone call that starts to discuss a few points ends after about one and a half hours with tons of changes. Right when you are ready to leave the office for the weekend, your client asks you to change the layout of the website design that you have been creating throughout the week. As if that wasn’t enough, the client is asking to make all the changes within the budget.
What will be your reaction? Okay, don’t answer that question. But instead of pulling your hairs out, let’s find out how you can deal with this type of clients. Here are a few tips that you can try out.
Connect with them:
The first step to handling the complaining and demanding clients is to establish a connection with them. The more you connect with these clients, the better you will know what they are looking for and the more you will be able to deliver designs that are to the point. How would you connect with your clients? The first step to satisfy your customers is to understand what they are looking for. So, your duty is to find out why your client wants to include certain phrases in the design. Or why the client wants to follow grid design for the website?
To make things easy for you, do not start arguing right when the client starts describing his/her requirements. Even if you understand that certain requirements cannot be fulfilled within the budget, let the client finish what he/she is saying. Rather, you can add some questions to better understand the necessities. I realize that this seems time consuming for you and yes, it is. But the rest of the process becomes much smoother if the base is strong, right? Now that you know what your client wants, let’s move on to the next step.
Present your own idea:
Someone who is not from design background may come up with bizarre ideas. Obviously, you can’t follow those. So, you have to present your own idea. But you have to be careful about how to present the idea so that you don’t offend your client. If you have been doubtful about the first step, which was to listen carefully to what the client has to say, now you will realize the importance of it.
You can present your idea in a better way only if you understand what your clients want. Don’t try and present an idea that is not at all linked with what the client has pressed for. Here are a few things that you can do when you are trying to convince a client about the idea that you are going to present:
Give it your best shot:
I agree that sometimes you feel like bashing the client up for the amount of rework he/she demands from you. However, that will only lead to a worsened relationship because of which the client will leave you. None of us want that, do we? So, what can you do to maintain a healthy relationship? Here are a couple of things that you can try out:
Maintain professionalism:
Many a time professionalism is something that we compromise with. I can’t emphasize enough on the importance of maintaining professional attitude. By professional attitude I don’t mean the way you speak to the client (even though that should be professional too). What I mean is to maintain professionalism in all the aspects of your work. Here are the things that will help you maintain that effectiveness in your work:
Why is this necessary? Suppose your project manager has spoken to the client directly about certain requirements. Suddenly the marketer in the company adds some points that were not discussed before. This will only lead to confusion and chaos, which will result in delay of the project delivery date.
So, if you are consulting something over phone, make sure to send an email just to get a written confirmation on the changes or specifications that have been discussed. This will not only help you in keeping track of the project but will also allow you to keep a note of the steps that are taken by your clients.
The ultimate way of winning your clients:
Believe it or not, knowing your customers better can actually save you in a lot of ways. I know it is cliché and every other person might be giving the same advice. But when you know why a client behaves in a particular way or what makes a client happy, it becomes much easier for you to deliver the result.
As Digital Polo, the designing agency we have been in the market for many years, we have handled different types of clients. From small business owners to big enterprises, our growing clientele has taught us a million things. One of those million things that I have learned throughout these years is that there is no cheat-code when it comes to handling clients. Just like each individual client has some characteristics, the approach for each of them will also be unique. Each time you have to decode the behavior of your clients and work accordingly. I provided you with a guide that will make the process easier for you.