by By: Kelsey Fagan
We’ve received our clients, so now it’s time to think about how to best work with them.
A blog post from Shift Communications gives some quick tips on how to work best with clients. I think the most important tip is to go above and beyond for your client. That may be hard to do as a student with a million other responsibilities, but is there anything to lose if you do go above and beyond? As a student, any experience, whether big or small, is going to make an impact on our education. Going above and beyond for that client and having tangible evidence of hard work is what is going to make the client the happiest. They’re going to recognize that you truly care about their mission and appreciate the work you’ve put in.
It may be easiest to do the cookie-cutter standard of whatever the client wants, but don’t be afraid to step outside of the box and try something new. Worldwide Breast Cancer did just that when talking about breast cancer awareness with their #KnowYourLemons campaign. Who would have thought that using lemons would be an easy way to talk about breast cancer? Be prepared: the best policy to thinking outside the box is to always have those ideas planned out and ready to present to the client. Be ready for questions, be prepared to defend your idea and expect to perfect it.
From my own experience working with clients, the most important thing is to talk with them. Really listen to what they need and what they want. Don’t be afraid to reach out to ask them questions. Ask them to clarify. Ask them to be specific. Be an active listener and take notes. They want to hear your ideas and work through those ideas with you. If you can, set up a meeting time with them as often as possible to just chat and get all the information you can. The more information you have, the easier the project will be.
And of course, we are all working together as teams. Meet often and stay in contact: communication is key. Make sure you are all on the same page and understand the overall goal. Stay on top of things and manage these next seven weeks effectively.
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-Feature Photo courtesy of Štefan Štefančík – In-Text Photo courtesy of Nikita Kachanovsky
Thank you so much for writing on this topic. I have never worked with a client the way we will for this class so I have been nervous and unsure how to approach it. I am taking this post as advice! I greatly appreciate this and will use all of these tactics throughout this project!
This post will be very useful for many of us moving forward in class. I am looking forward to implementing some of your tips in my group’s work together as a team and as individuals! I like how you said to be prepared to defend your ideas, but to also be prepared to perfect them.
I was excited to see this title header because I knew it would be something useful to our class right now. The hyperlink to the PR website was an amazing help, and I noted what they had to say about prioritizing clients. It’s comforting to see you may have some of the same concerns when approaching such a large task, but this article definitely offers the first few steps to start off on a good foot.
Having worked with clients for many years I can attest these simple tips are a great foundation to have when wanting to develop a positive client relationship. However, there is a difference between just having a positive client relationship versus having a successful client relationship. I have had successful client relationships by abiding by 2 rules: 1) do not over-promise and 2) always be honest and straight-forward. Consider trying to impress a client and earn their business or not wanting to hurt their feelings or worried about the consequences if something turns out not what was expected. It’s easier said than done.
Nice post. Communication is so important. Your clients may be external or internal, but the basic need to keep on the same page with them is crucial. I’ve worked in too many companies where communication between departments was an afterthought, with each group stuck in its own silo, and watched processes fall apart because someone thought changing something in their spot would make things better for everyone, without even asking about it first. And with outside clients, it is essential that you understand their expectations, and that they understand what you can (and are willing) to deliver.
Thank you for the great advice and motivation! I agree going above and beyond will always produce a high reward. I think being in constant communication with out clients will help better ourselves and definitely further our future careers. We’re practicing for the real world so why not make it perfect?