Keep Your Client Happy.

Keeping clients happy is a job in itself. You can be the hottest designer in town, creating the coolest work this side of the equator, but without a little insider knowledge on keeping your clients smiling, it can all go way down south.

You will need the know-how to juggle impossible deadlines, hardware hic-ups, software glitches and the dreaded creativity blocks, on top of the often ridiculously pressurised task of crafting stunning work, all this while maintaining a friendly island of inner calm and outward cool.

Delivering on time is the most important requirement in keeping a client happy. You can charge great fees, always be polite, invite clients around for coffee and cookies, but all of that will count for nothing if you fail to deliver projects on schedule. This is no time for excuses. This is the real world, with real deadlines and no excuses will fly. Deliver on your deadlines and you will have a happy client, or at the very least one that isn’t angry.

2.    Be Reasonable

So you can deliver your projects to clients within the specified deadline. Now you’re really up and running. But don’t take anything for granted. Getting the work done on time is a given, not a luxury for most clients. You need to crank up a gear if you want to establish a great and continuing working relationship. Be reasonable, be gracious and above all else be a warm, accommodating human being. Being polite on the phone and in person can really pay dividends. Who wants to work with a grouch?

3.    Be Professional

There is never an excuse for being less than professional if you want to stay the right side of your client. Being professional should be part and parcel of the service you offer. Even if your clients do not complain directly to you, they can and will quietly leave if your levels of professionalism fall below par.

4.    Ask Questions

A client likes a designer who is informed
About and interested in a project. When you attend a briefing session with a client, be interested, be motivated, and be sure to equip yourself with the information and knowledge you’ll need to get the project underway. You can only solve the problems if you are informed about the project or service of the client. Get behind the scenes, really get to grips with the problems that the client is facing – only then can you actually start designing.

5.    Don’t Demand the Impossible

Your client has a life too and they, at least nine times out of ten, prefer an easygoing one to a stressed out, on the edge one. Try to make life easy for them. Don’t call with a thousand questions on a hot, uncomfortable Friday evening; they want out of the office and into the pub. Do not scream at them down the phone line or send irritated emails when they forget to call. Relax.

6.    Keep In Touch

Keeping in touch costs nothing. Well, not exactly nothing, but not a lot more. A card at Christmas, a change-of-address card at the right time … that kind of thing costs only the price of a stamp, and the card of course. Whatever the financial outlay, sending a card sends the message that you care about your client. A huge and tacky calendar may seem like a cheap marketing ploy, keeping your name on the wall of your client throughout the year is generally seen as a gimmick, but a business card handed over at the right time can work wonders.

7.    Look Smart, Think Smart

Dressing the part is important. How you turn up to client meetings is crucial. If you can’t present yourself well, how can your client trust that you’ll present their project well? So your style may be more jeans and T-shirt than suit and tie, but however you dress, make sure you’re clean and tidy. Don’t arrive looking like you’ve been up all night, either at a club or working on their project. Brush your hair, brush your teeth, and brush up your act.

8.    Lay Down Some Attitude

How clients perceive you and your working methods is down to your overall attitude. A bad attitude gives a bad impression and is completely unnecessary. You can and should maintain a cheerful, professional approach at all times. You are stressed, overworked, and underpaid, and the clients-from-hell are changing their minds every three minutes; smile, be positive, and feel at one with the world, or at least try.