How Clients Can Get the Best from their Marketing, Design or Web Firm.
Two Simple, but Important Tips:
1) Be as clear as possible upfront.
Try to cover every nuance of the assignment — what you want/don’t want, like/dislike, etc. The more you talk before the project, the happier you’ll be with the results. (I had a client who, just before the final presentation, mentioned a specific preference that he’d never mentioned before. I had to bite my tongue and calmly remind him of that explaining that I’d be happy to address his new comment moving forward, if we needed to. Fortunately, we didn’t.) For the benefit of both parties it’s always best to document all project related discussions and agreements in a simple memo. It may seem like a pain sometimes, but it’s a smart insurance policy.
2) Never use the expression “It just doesn’t ‘wow’ me.”
When responding to a creative presentation it’s not constructive to speak in vague, negative, personal terms. Because eventhough it may be how you’re feeling, it doesn’t provide specific, constructive feedback necessary to help your Marketing/Design/Web Firm give you what you want. And, chances are it’ll just make them feel frustrated. Try to speak from a more professional, analytical perspective (ie. is it off the mark strategically? How? What is it specifically about the work that bothers you from a marketing communications standpoint?) The better you can articulate that, the better you can be helped. And, when critiquing, always begin with what you like before saying what you’re not sure about.
