Making the most of an expert
Fri. Sep, 2009 by Amy
We have had a variety of experiences with clients in the last 8 years- not to mention the years before that within other agencies. Things are very clear to me now as far as the best relationships and how projects can be most successful. We are working on a remodel project now with a professional where we are the clients. I am shocked (and somewhat amused) to find myself falling into some of my own pitfalls. I am catching myself doing these same things, and learning along the way.
Here are some things to keep in mind.
1. Know who you are. It is essential that you have a business plan or all the information that is needed to create the materials for your brand. If you haven’t laid the foundation, it will harder to build anything around it.
2. Don’t be afraid to tell us what you like, want, your budget. Some people want it to be a magic curtain where we create an amazing solution for them without their input. Some want to tell us exactly what they want, some are afraid that if they tell us too much about what they want, we won’t be creative with the solution. We need to know a lot of information about your target market, your goals, your competition and your general aesthetics to then create the original solution for you. Instead of telling us exactly what you want it to look like, we’ll ask for information that helps us determine your best solution. We work as a partner with you, but also the expert in what we do.
3. The best projects have a strong need and a firm deadline. That is not to say things don’t shift due to external factors, but we have found that projects keep on track when they have momentum. Timely responses on both sides is key.
4. Outsource anything that is not an expertise. One of the hardest things to do is your own self promotion. Maybe it is being too close, or just the pressure. There are many websites that just need some writing or photography that the person in-house wanted to handle but just does not have time on top of their workload. Also, the quality of work you get from professionals is worth it. If you are investing in redoing your website or brochure, the additional cost of photography or writing is money well spent.
5. Let us guide you through the process. For example, unless you have created 100 identities, we probably know the best method for working through the project. No matter how much you want to jump ahead and see a color logo designed with the business card, trust us that the logo needs to start in black and white.
6. Have just one or two core decision makers. Too many cooks in the kitchen is never a good thing. Make sure that anyone who is critical to the decision is involved early enough in the process.
7. Finally, once you receive your style guidelines or brand spanking new website, please keep all that hard work and investment intact by adhering to it religiously. Be careful of corrupting your brand with new fonts, colors or adding things to your website in an unorthodox way.
That’s it. And if you recognize yourself in any of these, rest assured, I am probably not even thinking about your project- these are quite common issues.