It’s a win-win!
Communicating with clients to create an authentic design will only help you in the long term.
How you communicate with clients can make or break your design! Clients will always be an integral part of the process. But you don’t have to see them as an restraint. Instead see them as an opportunity to grow. Ask them questions about their visions, get to know their mission. Knowing your client will guide you better. It will streamline the work while connecting with them. Check out these 4 simple steps to build a better relationship with clients!
Many times, designers put their heart and soul into their projects. They get too attached to it. The design is perfect, and the designers have already romanticized their work. It’s hard to get external opinions from people who are not really in that field. But it is in these times that the designer must remember that the client has the final say. The design wouldn’t exist without their work. Just like the designer, the client needs the designs to be perfect for their product. They have toiled for it just as much. The client’s opinion isn’t just important because they pay for it. It is important because of their experience with their own product. The objective isn’t to create the best possible design. It is creating the best design that fits with your client’s product. Time, money and energy should be used optimally in order to manage expectations. Okay, great, so what is the solution?
“Clients are like teeth. Ignore them and they’ll go away.”
-Anonymous
- Understand and Adapt: Understanding your client’s needs and expectations is very important. Listen to them. Help them realize their vision; don’t block it.
- Communication: Communication is a skill that every designer must cultivate. Asking questions and clarifying doubts is as important as some amount of small talk for building a good client-designer relationship
- Show; don’t say: A client-designer relationship is based on professionalism and delivering. If you can’t deliver, be clear. Don’t create false hopes and expectations. It is better to say that you can’t than you couldn’t.
- Take it in your stride: Many times, clients will have strong opinions about certain elements of the work. Being a professional, you have to handle criticism. You have to take responsibility and have a plan of action. Use the criticism to better understand your client and work accordingly.
“Although your clients won’t love you if you give bad service, your competitors will.”
-Kate Zabriskie, Founder Business Training Works
Take these points and inculcate them in your careers because, let’s be honest, you need the clients more than they need you. Hope this article helps you have a better relationship with your clients. Not having one is also not the end of the world. Sometimes things don’t work out. Who knows, maybe it’s them, not you!
Do you have any unique experiences with your clients? Let us know in the comments below! Thank you and stay tuned for more articles from UP Studios!
