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July really has not been a good month for me. It has been full of stress, missed deadlines, unhappy clients, bills, lack of time, and lots more. But there is one positive thing that I’ll be taking away from this month, I’ve learned a huge amount about myself, about business, and about client communication; which is the subject of this particular post.
We’re Quick to Label Them “Problem Clients”
As web designers we often talk about problem clients, and it is a reality of the industry that we work in that some people are more difficult to work with than others. This can be extremely frustrating and stressful, and we often feel that the client is being unhelpful or unrealistic.
What we frequently forget (even though we think we’re completely aware of it), is that we know all this ‘web design stuff’ inside out, and they don’t. The result of this is that it’s very easy to make assumptions about what a client ’should’ be able to understand.
I don’t mean that I tell clients about my php and mysql configuration or start talking to them about css3 and semantic markup, I think most people know not to do that. The problem arises from far more simple conversations (in our eyes at least), where we might send an email presenting a problem during the development. We assume that the email contains a single problem with two fairly obvious solutions, so the client needs to choose one – but does the client understand that?
A Lesson in Effective Client Communication
Yesterday I got a real shock to my system that’s forced me to really think hard about how I speak to my clients.
A couple of weeks ago I discovered that I had a big issue with a Magento project that I was working on, and I needed to bring in some outside help from a company who were serious Magento specialists. After a couple of Tweets I was put in touch with the guys over at Elias Interactive, who are definitely some of the coolest people I’ve ‘met’ this year.
Yesterday we had a phone conference about the project, juggled some variables, and generally discussed what approach we were going to take to this Magento issue. It ended with me requesting that they give me an estimate for some work based on the information which I’d given them. Here’s a small excerpt from the email I got from their technical director, Lee Taylor, which I hope he won’t mind me sharing with you.
Hi John,
We are excited for the opportunity to work on an initial project with you. Regarding my review of the documentation you have sent over, please read/note the following:
1. SKU attribute
Sku’s are not present in the .CSV file. In order to associate the appropriate “Stock quantity”, “size attributes”, and “manufacturer”, we will need to match Sku’s in the CSV file with the Sku’s created in the Magento inventory.
Example: BBsuit is a valid Sku in Magento, but is not present in the CSV file you sent over.Action: Can you send us a revised CSV file with corresponding SKUs that are used within Magento (or match Magento to use the SKUs exported into the CSV file)? Either way will work.
2. Manufacturer Attribute
Every “manufacturer” value in the CSV file is “null”. Note, assuming the field name for manufacturer is “STRMANUFACTURERCOUNTRY”. Otherwise, there is no other field name with “manufacturer” within the name.Action: Can you send us a revised CSV file with corresponding “manufacturer”
It seems really simple doesn’t it? He explains an issue, provides an example, then specifically notes what needs to be done next.
Why have I not being doing this??
It really is a *headdesk* moment, I’m 100% sure that if I structure my emails to clients in the same way, with care and efficiency, that I will improve my relationships with them tenfold.
Taking a Moment to Reflect
How many of our supposed “nightmare clients” were always going to be a pain, and how many of them became that way because we weren’t clear or concise enough in our communications? As web designers this is a huge issue to consider, and potentially directly affects the total success or failure of our businesses.
When I left my job and took the plunge into the life of an entrepreneur at the beginning of this year, I never dreamed that I would need to learn so much in the first 6 months. Even more so, I didn’t expect that I would need to re-learn things that I thought I already knew.
I just hope that as I continue to develop and learn as an entrepreneur, my business ventures will become stronger as a result.
Would love to hear your thoughts on all of this, and have a great Thursday!
**PS. I know about the error in the sidebar, going to get that cleared up when I roll out the new design. (it’s almost done!)
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Fantastic post, I sometimes have issues with communications, so laying out your emails/letters in a way like that above really helps to be clear about what you’re doing.
Luckily, I’ve never really had a ‘nightmare’ client, but it will happen one day and with advice like this, I’ll be able to counter-act that.
Communication is absolutely key. I make it the #1 priority and selling point for my business.
I agree – that is a well-structured response. Organizing it into issue / action is perfect.
Client communication and email writing is a skill that constantly evolves, just like any other skills we develop as web designers.
What a great way to lay out an email. You’re so right John, I’ve been going on my own for about the same time as you have and am slowly learning to think like a client as well as everything else.
This is a really interesting one. It really is true that the ‘problem client’ can about through lack of clarity in the first place. In every aspect of life people like transparency; and when they feel like something is hidden from them, or they don’t understand something they tend to get defensive.
So many future problems can be avoided by transparency in the first place. People in every industry are guilty of it, but I have to say that web designers (or people who work online) and car mechanics are two of the worst! And I know this because a) I work online and b) I don’t understand the inner-workings of a car engine!
Very insightful post, John. Isn’t always the way that these things often happen just the wrong way around? But then maybe it had to happen that way for you to get as much from it.
I’m certainly taking notes about that email too. It’s an excellent example.
Hi John, I can relate to your pain in this article, as I have just recently had the same experience with a client on quite a large project.
I thought I had quite clearly outlined the project requirements via email and on the phone with my client, but it turned out (at the 11th Hour!) that they had not clearly understood my proposal details at all!
This is of course led to some serious major revisions to the project, but like yourself, I have learned quite a lot from the exercise!
You learn and develop your communication skills from situations like these, and I think its part of the process in strengthening your skills as an independent freelance / business owner.
Thanks for a great post!
Karl
Hi Karl, thanks for commenting, great to hear that I’m not the only one! :)
Great post. Definitely something we need to be reminded of.
I did tech support for several years and, especially when I was working for MSN, we used the PAR format when we were writing notes into our ticketing system:
Problem:
Action:
Resolution:
I’ve pretty much blocked that whole period of my life out of my memory as tech support is a soul-sucking pit of despair that entices you with ideas of “getting your foot in the door” of the IT Industry, but the truth is that tech support drones are the lowest on the totem pole, even escalation support agents, and are destined to sit and rot in tech support for eternity.
HOWEVER, the email you received from your Magento experts sounds very similar to that format, and, I agree, could benefit client communications immensely. It’s a very simple format, and very easy to adopt with little room for confusion or argument. It’s definitely something I will start thinking about when communicating with clients.
~c
This is something that we suffer from from as well. Often we’ll send emails to clients with a list of points that need addressing only to receive a reply to perhaps 50% of the points. It then becomes a nightmare to chase the missing answers. This is something we’ll have to look at.
Since reading this post I’ve been sending all my e-mails in that format and you would not believe the difference it’s made. Usually I get responses back that only answer half the questions or answer the wrong questions altogether but now I’m finding clients understand what I need first time which saves time and frustration for both me *and* them.
Awesome!
I’m glad it helped Hayley and Japh :) I’m sure we can all improve!
Wow, Hayley! That’s brilliant! I think I’ll make myself a template so I remember to use the format… I think it’ll make a lot of difference for my clients too.
I’m a developer, and I’m having to communicate both with clients and with designers (who are also my clients). Each needs very different things!
Thanks for this post, John! I think it could be my favourite yet! ;)