Have you ever been too demanding as a customer of other small businesses?
If you have, then you may have missed out on opportunities to increase sales. As small business owners we are often asked for recommendations. If you had to choose between two customers with similar high quality work with one being easy to deal with and the other isn’t who would you recommend?
One group that seems to get their share of demanding customers are those in the creative field. They have various titles such as designer, graphic artist, copywriter, art director etc. I have worked with so many over the years and I am still in awe of the way their words and visuals bring your marketing message, advertising, website and brand identity to life.
If you think about it, everything they create is up for criticism and yet they continuously help us and our brands succeed. Here are a few tips to make sure you do not transform from an angel into a devil so you can earn respect and recommendations as a person to do business with.
Be Prepared
It is a good idea to write a brief for what you want to be developed. This is because it helps you clarify your thoughts and ensure the work produced is on brief. The brief does not have to be a long document and it may be just your thoughts that can then be discussed. Also give them time to produce great creative instead of always wanting something tomorrow or in a few days.
Listen and Learn
As most of these creative people have developed their expertise over a long time, they probably have forgotten more than we will ever know. If you listen to them you will increase your own knowledge. When you are presented with concepts, look at the big picture; see if it is on brief first before you get into the detail of changing the red colour to black.
Don’t Do Their Job
Have you ever been presented with creative concepts or copy and then changed everything? I have seen this and wondered why a business bothers to pay someone to create and then spends a lot of time redoing the whole thing. Or worse keep asking for changes to be made over and over again. This is a waste of your time and money and does not enhance the relationship.
Don’t Haggle on Price
Sure we all want value for money, but to expect someone to reduce their fees because you do not have the budget doesn’t sound fair. If you are a great customer, you will often find that they will go the extra step or help you out when need it most. Developing great creative takes time and sometimes you can forget how much work goes into producing or writing something that you love as a customer.
It is actually pretty easy to be a great customer and your reputation stays with you long after you have paid the invoice.
Do you have any great customer success stories to share?
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