What Clients Want Now
By Billie Harber, President, Industrie
Brand Partners
Clients are focusing more closely on their customers' wants.
Are consultants focusing on their customers?
 |
 |
| Billie Harber |
These days, multiple-vendor relationships are very common, because
clients’ needs for specialized skills keep growing. The group
that does packaging doesn’t usually provide the brand strategy.
As a result, our firm's clients work with us on design systems,
primary branding, change management, etc., and with others for implementation
and additional services.
What we’ve heard lately is surprising, especially in an economy
where you’d think everyone would be particularly careful to
focus on business at hand. Several global clients have related stories
how they’re being treated by other consultants. Many feel
they’re not getting what they need. What are clients telling
us they want? Some pretty common-sense things.
Ability to trust
Yes, this is No. 1. (Funny, DMI just did a summit on the
subject.) “Trust” can obviously be interpreted a number
of ways. Trust to provide strong thinking. Trust to solve the problem
and get the job done. To price fairly. And especially to preserve
confidentiality even when disclosing might benefit business, but
create an exposure for the client.
Enthusiasm!
One long-term client complained about a whole team of consultants
arriving at what should have been a fairly minor meeting. Only two
of them engaged and led the discussion. Five others sat mutely and
doodled the entire time. True story, and big news: doodling shouldn’t
be billable.
Don’t ever act as if an assignment is a bother, or they might
not bother to call you back.
Attention
Whether it’s a big or a small assignment, it appears clients
get annoyed when they need to call and ask: “Where’s
my stuff?” All because projects have languished while you
attended to other things. (I know. I’m a consultant, too.
Every single deadline we commit to runs on a parallel path. But
we’ve all got to figure it out.)
Communication
Call clients when something unexpected and inconvenient crops up.
E-mail to tell them the status of the work. It’s also important
to let clients know in advance when their entire team will be out
on retreat for a week.
And by the way, if they call or write, get right back to them.
Commitment
Give them good people. At the appropriate level of experience. If
you say you will, do it.
Professionalism
Where to start? Do good work, of course, but also try to make your
time with clients count. Show up on time, leave them with some strong
ideas, and above all, pay attention to the little details.
Take and give
When their budgets can’t take it, but they need it? Give it
to them. In 14 years of being in business we’ve had few instances
when doing this didn’t pay off in the end. We’ve also
had few clients who didn’t pay the bill for our services.
Sensitivity
To their culture. You may be a creative who does your best thinking
in cut-offs. But if all your clients are sweltering in suits, you
do it, too. Be aware that every organization has its own spoken
and unspoken rules of conduct. “When in Rome…”
Respect
You’re not the only one who ever has a clue. Our clients live
and breathe their businesses. Everyday. Do not be condescending.
Act expertly but don’t be “the expert.” Listen
and you may learn.
Politeness
Every once in a while, tell clients you appreciate their business,
instead of just complaining that payment is late and that they didn’t
give you enough lead time on your last job. They already know that,
and in most cases, they can’t do anything about it.
Play well with others
Generally speaking, integration doesn’t often work that well.
Finding the best people for what needs to be done and pooling talents
often does. Unfortunately, clients have turned to integration out
of frustration. Why? Because it can cause coordination difficulties
if all the players aren’t working together.
If you’re a branding professional, on a team with an advertising
agency, working with a strategy consultancy, realize that there
needs to be a group leader. Then follow them, don’t challenge
them. Give up the ego, give up the need to control. If you have
the lead, let everyone do what he or she does best.
Don’t meddle or undercut the others’ efforts. It’s
not perfect, but it’s also not integration. And these same
clients are saying they’re now disillusioned with integration.
Which makes a place for a lot more of us if we do it right.
What to make of this?
Notice that “creativity” didn’t come up once.
Not because it’s not important. It is. But because clients
come to us expecting great creative as table stakes.
What they want is value-add.
No statistics are available. But this isn’t made up.
Just can’t reveal the sources. Thank you, sources.
Billie Harber is President of newly formed
Industrie
Brand Partners, a New York City design consultancy.
Previously, she and her partner, Randall
Hensley, were Executive Directors of FutureBrand, also in New
York. Prior to that, they were President and CEO, respectively,
of their own firm for 12 years, C3 Incorporated. Together and
individually, they are appreciative to claim that they have client
relationships that have lasted 20 years.
Billie hopes you found this informative
and worth a smile or two.
This article appeared in the December 2002 eBulletin.
Feedback on DMI Viewpoints and article proposals
are always welcome! Please email jtobin@dmi.org.
|
