We Love Our Clients
It’s right there on the front page of our website: “we love our clients.” And it’s true. We mean it. We love all of our clients in that wholesome, totally non-creepy sort of way that’s conducive to a healthy, professional relationship. To paraphrase Martha Sterwart, that’s a damn good thing.
But let’s be honest here. Any relationship can bring about difficulties, sometimes making the conflict trump the work itself. It’s fairly easy to get lost in the drama. It starts with a few grumbles about the details, then soon grows and festers into something bigger and more problematic. Before you know it you’re at each others throats while the work itself becomes an afterthought that isn’t the least bit beneficial for anyone. For a project to be successful, that can’t happen. For creativity to continue to flow and evolve, that can’t happen. For the message to reach the masses, that really can’t happen.
As a creative shop, we have to stay focused and keep things moving toward the goal-line without getting distracted with the silly friction that sometimes, no matter how rarely, pops up. It’s a necessary skill that has to be developed in order to make the project the center of attention at all times. We aren’t likely to put our best foot forward if we’re doing the work with a sneer on our face. “Take that really cool website design… jerk.”
It’s a tired comparison and everyone thinks it applies to them, but marketing really is like jazz music. You have to dodge and weave. You have to improvise and think on the fly while letting a note, an idea, push you into a place you weren’t expecting to go when you first started. You have to adapt and come up with something fresh when people least expect it. That can only happen when your mind is light and untangled from trivial diversions. It doesn’t matter if you’re crafting ad copy or designing a logo. You have to be focused to do it right. Being at war with one another isn’t the ideal scenario for producing great work.
Having a mutual respect for one another helps alleviate professional conflict, but it isn’t always enough. The real solution is communication. Once that breaks down things begin to go sour. As the firm-for-hire it’s up to us to listen to you, the client, orchestrate what we think you want, and then, in turn, allow you to respond and course-correct us when we’re off the mark. The blueprint has to be right from the start so that everyone is expecting the same results. But, going back to that irritatingly clichéd reference to jazz, improvisation is often necessary. The trick is to keep everyone on the same page when there’s a change in tempo before branching off in a new direction.
That’s not to say there won’t ever be disagreements along the way. Like our clients, we’re unapologetically passionate about what we do. But, like our clients, we’re also thoroughly committed to making each thing we do count. If everyone involved basically, kinda, mostly knows what the other person is thinking and expecting, making that happen becomes much more likely.
Tags: clients, customer service
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