Quick, run out and sign up for a Facebook, Twitter & Youtube account.  Hurry!
DefCon 4
July 23. 2009.



“Uhh..yeah, we need you to post links on our home page to all our Social Networking accounts. How much will this cost?”


Have you heard this one before?  It’s a classic.  The problem with businesses trying to jump into the social media spectrum (and not having a clue) is like a young white male going to a hip hop club, dressed in parachute pants and a mullet - then jumping out on the dance floor and doing either the cabbage patch, or the sprinkler.  Little do these businesses know that they are spotted from miles away.  Yet there are sooo many of them!  I’m still trying to figure this one out.

This post is not to figure out the people behind the ‘make money online’ schemes or ‘keys to success in 3 simple steps’, but it’s to point out that even smart companies start doing the same things that the mullet factory employees would do when they go to sell, well...whatever they are going to sell. 

Get with it marketers!  Tell your clients to stop doing dumb stuff online and create a plan for them to follow.  Your pain today will turn into acceptance of tomorrow.  After all, it takes 6 months to a year anyway before a good client/agency relationship can be developed.

Send to a Comrade Comments (1)
Suggested for Villains
Back
A day in the life of a designer, developer or marketer
DefCon 5
June 13. 2009.

Nothing else here, just the video on the first page. smile

Send to a Comrade Comments (0)
Suggested for Villains
Back
Disjointed Marketing Efforts & Dead-End Websites
DefCon 3
May 21. 2009.

People are spending less and paying less attention to monotonous advertising.  They don’t like to read a lot of text and they sure as hell don’t like random phone calls.  Consumers are stressed about their home, their job and pay attention only to offers that they ‘need’ and bring value to them.  And if a business is doing the same thing they were doing ten years ago, chances are that you aren’t creating much marketing momentum or growth.

So how does a company move from the old to the new?

First, you need to talk to someone (agency or consultant) that knows what the heck they are doing.  Brace yourselves clients, as some of these people may actually help you grow your business.  Alien concept.  Yes, we know this comes as a shock to you that there are some marketing quacks that can actually help.  I think it was a VP of apple who once said that the only thing worse than having marketing people to deal with - is ‘not’ having marketing people to deal with.  Love us or hate us based on your past experiences with your web guy, there are some out there that rock.

But as much as we’d like to help the client put together a ‘big picture’ plan to tie their overall marketing efforts together...in a linear or non-linear fashion, I think that we can first get them to place their website at the center of their communication ‘engine’.  There are exceptions to this depending on the company, but for many small businesses a well-thought-out website can work wonders.  Consider these comments by Seth Godin, Marketing Guru:

How to create a great website

We love #1.  So true.  But this is just the start. The online landscape is certainly different and has provided many arms & branches that allow us to go beyond a static website; social networking platforms, applications, tools..etc.  Still, clients still need to hire the right company (or person) in order to make everything work.  Complex websites are out, simple is in.  A good message, product and/or service can easily be placed at the center of your business - not a dead-end as most websites are.

Send to a Comrade Comments (5)
Suggested for Villains
Back
Customer Service, Attitudes and THE Recession
DefCon 4
April 03. 2009.

Customer Service, Attitudes and the Recession...continued.  Nothing else here.  Just the article.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30014675/

Send to a Comrade Comments (0)
Suggested for Villains
Back
The Fire Under your Ass and Creativity - They Go Together like Peas and Carrots
DefCon 4
March 06. 2009.

Human beings, if everyone hasn’t quite forgotten yet have the ability to be very resilient.  We, like little ants, have the means to navigate around very difficult obstacles and still find a way to make things work.  Many of us in this industry have had a very good run, for many years.  And perhaps this will continue...if we do the right thing. 

First, if you haven’t already lit a fire under your ass, you better be striking the match right now.  Why?  Because WE are the creatives. We make our money by using our heads and coming up with ideas that work.  The Internet will remain a primary source of information, business communication, sales, and community for everything and everyone.  It is up to us that we help make this process easier and create more opportunities along the way for others. 

But before we run out, coffee-high in full swing, and proclaim from the mountain-tops how good we are at what we do and that more companies should work with us, it wouldn’t hurt us at this point to check ourselves, evaluate our attitudes, become more efficient and stretch our imagination.  For business ingenuity, complacency is the great destroyer.  Success can be even worse. 

Right now, it’s about time to take a look at everything we do in our profession, from how we handle new clients, existing clients, our communication processes, our relationship with our employees or contractors, the loyalty that these employees and contractors have shown us (or not shown us), evaluate our good and bad clients and make some decisions. 

Change for the better.

There are many things that we can re-evaluate along the way that will help us become more efficient, do better work, take care of our clients and perhaps shed some weight.  And it all starts with a good kick in the ass.  So BLAM!  - you’ve just been kicked in the ass.  I don’t know what you’ll need to do in your profession to become better and more efficient at what you do, but the point is that you should already be doing this.  I’m just reminding you before a ‘learning experience’ does it instead.  Now get out there and make something happen, because ‘business as usual’, complaceny, and old ways of thinking probably won’t work to well for anyone right about now.  I’ll leave you with the folowing quote from Sun Tzu - The Art of War.

“Do not repeat the tactics that have gained you but one victory.  Rather, let your methods be regulated by the infinite variety of circumstances. - Sun Tzu”

 

 

Send to a Comrade Comments (0)
Suggested for Villains
Back
Tough Times - Tough Marketing.  Invest in Your Customer, be Creative and Do More with Less.
DefCon 3
December 23. 2008.

Ways to Bounce Back Stronger From Tough Times (Source: AdAge, Bob Liodice, President - CEO ANA)


1. Passion And Leadership Are Imperative
A Successful Brand Needs A Strong, Visible Leader Who Oozes Belief In The Business And The Consumer Proposition. That Passion Cascades Throughout The Organization And Becomes Infectious.


2. Invest In The Brand And Be Courageous
Defy Conventional Wisdom And Spend To Grow Market Share. Studies Have Repeatedly Shown That Businesses That Increased Marketing Investments During A Recession Grew Market Share, Increased Margins And Had Better Long-Term Growth Trends Than Their Competition.


3. Let Creativity Fly
Innovation Through Consumer Insights And Experimentation Can Produce Breakthrough Ideas.


4. Develop Trust And Connectivity
Give Them What They Need To Be True Brand Believers—And Loyal Forever. At Ana’S Masters Of Marketing Conference, Coca-Cola Cmo Joe Tripodi Said, “We Went To Our Core Audience, Asked Them What They Wanted, And Gave It To Them.” The Result: The Immensely Successful Launch Of Coke Zero.


5. Integrate All Communications
Reach The Consumer Base Through Multiple Avenues—But Creatively Deliver The Same Message Across All Platforms.


6. Be Accountable
Create A Culture Of Accountability And Partner With Finance, Research And Analytics To Measure Everything You Can. Ibm’S Success Is Grounded In A Disciplined Process That Started With A Cross-Functional Marketing And Finance Team That Reviewed All Activities.


7. Invest In People
Build Skills, Build Capability, Build Knowledge And Watch The Bottom Line Grow. Zappos Brings Employees To Its Las Vegas Headquarters For A Week Of Training To Ensure They Embrace The Company Culture And Philosophy.


8. Trust Your Agencies
They Are Your Ultimate “Brand Consultants” In Forming Strategy, Developing Breakthrough Creative And Expanding Media Platforms.


9. Strengthen The Marketing Supply Chain
Aggressively Pursue Efficiencies And Productivity, And Watch The Dollars Flow.


10. Be Socially Responsible
Do The Right Thing. Your Consumers Will Notice And Reward You For Giving Back. Jim Stengel, Former P&G Global Marketing Officer, Says It Is Time For Us All To “Go Beyond Cause Marketing Or Ideals-Based Branding And Have An Inspirational And Motivational Reason For Your Brand.”

Send to a Comrade Comments (0)
Suggested for Villains
Back
Pondering Inbound Projects - A quick study for an Agency
DefCon 4
December 15. 2008.

Nothing more here.

Send to a Comrade Comments (0)
Suggested for Villains
Back
The Website is Down!  All interactive agencies will love this one.
DefCon 1
September 13. 2008.

Nothing else.  Just the video.

Send to a Comrade Comments (0)
Suggested for Villains
Back
How to NOT be a Jack-ass during the client-agency introduction process
DefCon 2
September 12. 2008.

In a previous article, we mentioned that inflection of your voice can make a big difference in how people perceive you.  So the key is always; in life, relationships, and business - is to speak your mind, address what you truly believe but do so in a way that doesn’t make the person dislike you.  This is easier said than done.  One thing I’ve realized is that people are much more perceptive than they realize.  They pick up on frustration, desperation and negativity.  So in some ways, the client introduction process (as wasteful as the process sometimes is with ridiculous and not-so-serious requests) should really be an exercise in this realm.  Speak your mind, watch your inflection, and don’t be a jack-ass. 

The marketing industry is not for the faint-of-heart.  Many of the clients that are inquiring about our services have already been burned by knuckleheads who call themselves designers and marketers but did nothing for their client but piss them off.  And many other clients enter the relationship with hang-ups of their own: attitudes, lack of experience, thinking that you are there to be their slave.

It boils down to this. It is important to keep yourself in check.  Firm, but fair.  Tell them what’s on your mind but don’t sound like a curmudgeon in doing so. smile

NOTE: This scenario can also apply for clients.  You too can prevent yourselves from sounding like a donkey yourself.  First off, when you approach and agency, try to actually spend a little time thinking about your project and the services you’ll need.  Calling or emailing an agency and saying; “I want a website to sell my 150 products...how much does this cost?” (very common scenario) Agencies don’t expect clients to know everything about how a project rolls out, but we do appreciate those companies that actually put some thought into their project and have at least a general understanding of what they want/don’t want.


SP

Send to a Comrade Comments (0)
Suggested for Villains
Back
Beware of the RFP! Get over your giddyness and take a closer look at your RFP’s
DefCon 4
August 28. 2008.

It’s always been cool to get, whoooaaahhh a super-duper RFP!  It makes us feel good.  We didn’t ask for it.  It magically appears - beckoning you to believe that your agency or team has been singled out to pull of the greatest project in the history of the web.  This...yes, THIS PROJECT is the one that is going to push you to the top!  [Earth to nimrod...Earth to nimrod..come in Nimrod]. 

Yes, we all have to know how to play the ‘game’ if we want to survive in this industry.  And, in fact, this most recent RFP that we received was probably the best written/constructed RFP I’ve ever seen for a marketing project.  I couldn’t believe it - they (probably a consultant) had really put the time and effort to write down what they wanted to happen with the project and did so with very fine and practical detail!  Thank the maker, right? 

Well, we put on our thinking caps, postponed my vacation, pulled out the big guns and started proposing, what would be, the single greatest achievement in the history of pixels. 

Skip forward a couple weeks.  I envisioned this team of decision makers huddling around 4, maybe 5 proposals from the select set of agencies that they had researched.  The decision was coming.  It wasn’t going to be the Red Ryder bb gun that my home-boy got in Christmas Story, it was going to be a, ‘You guys are the shit and completely blew us away.  You done got the job!’.  The project was freakin’ coming our way!

And then an email came…

“Due to the large number of proposals received, the Town will not select a consultant this Friday as originally scheduled...”

Uhhhh… Large number of proposals?  WTF?  Come to find out, they had send out 20RFPs!  What’s worse is that the project mysteriously hit a list-serve and they received even more proposals than they antcipated.  So they were very busy going through all the proposals sent from infinity and beyond.  Are you kidding me?

Now some readers might be saying, ‘So, what’s wrong with that?  They have the right to send the RFP out to as many prospects as they want’.  Indeed they do.  But the problem is this.  My family grew up in construction - and in this industry you have a ‘project’.  This project is fixed.  Meaning, it is not dependent on people who can do something different than any other team.  It is entirely based on pricing (to the lowest bidder) and there is only one way to (the right way) to lay down asphalt, concrete or whatever.  That said, they will often get 20+ bids for these types of projects.  In the end, it simply goes to the bidder (with all the right permits and insurance of course) who can do it for less.  In fact, many city/government projects go to the lowest bidder. 

But the difference here is that we are in the marketing/advertising realm!  Much of what we do is guided by experience, creativity and our ability to drive traffic and business to our customers.  Each proposal should be unique in its style, method and strategy.  So the question then is, ‘who in the world has the time to completely absorb 20+ proposals from agencies that are pitching unique ideas?’.  They should get off their ‘behinds’, be do their homework by researching a select few agencies to send a proposal to these agencies.  Period.

So all I have to say is this.  If a company has done their homework and sends out a proposal to a small group (or possibly a small handful) of agencies.  This is fine.  But if this company blasts out 20+ RFP’s to random agencies that they probably know nothing about, this should be a red flag to all of us.  It doesn’t mean your team shouldn’t send in a proposal, it simply means to pay closer attention to your process, which RFP’s feel right and the time you spend on knocking them out.  So one quick way to head them off at the pass (irresponsible RFP’s) - is to ask them how many RFP’s they are sending out and factor this in to the equation before you postpone your vacation.

Below is a list of links (albeit slanted) for some additional reading.

~ SP smile


>> Despicable RFPs
>> Why RFP’s are bad
>> Why RFP’s are a bad idea
>> Just say no
>> Scope

Send to a Comrade Comments (8)
Suggested for Villains
Back
Get Paid to Think - not task.
DefCon 1
August 08. 2008.

There is nothing worse than dealing with clients who mysteriously turn into creative directors when they have no business being part of the process.  We all know that this happens all the time though.  But the important point to remember is that you will grow and develop by finding clients that expect more of you.  For example…

Bad Scenario:  Someone contacts a design agency and asks, ”We have a marketing concept that we tackled internally and now we need someone to build this out for us.” You then look at the ‘concept’ and realize they have absolutely no idea how to market themselves - yet they intend to control the entire project.

Good Scenario:  ”Here is our budget, we have some ideas, but ultimately would like to hire someone who’s really f$%$’in good in the online marketing realm who can make this campaign work for us.” ”We don’t know enough about this industry and thus we’re looking for an expert in the field who can make shit happen, consult on how to tackle this properly, where to allocate our budget and have the creativity to pull this off.”

Though the 2nd scenario may catch you off guard, these are the types of situation that we should live for - someone paying us to think and perform.  Everyone wins when a client tells us what they need then says ‘go do it, and it better be damn good’. 

Though, I don’t know why this is such a difficult concept in the marketing realm.  I don’t tell my dentist how to drill into my tooth, or a home-builder how to build my house, nor do I ever hire any service provider and tell them how to do their job.  They should already know how to do it.  If they screw something up, of course I’ll ask them to fix it but I’m hiring these people for a reason.  This doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t pay attention to how they are doing something or be involved in the process, but there is distinct reason that I hire a particular company (or consultant).  It’s because they already know how to do their job.  And if they can’t do it, then I’ll know fairly quickly regardless of what the topic is. 

I think that everything (including marketing services) tends to fall into a few categories.  5/20/50/20/5.  There is the top 5% in their industry - the ones who are really freakin’ good at what they do.  These could be individuals, very talented, extremely good and are very comfortable in their industry.  There is the 2nd tier of companies/agencies who are above the rest.  They may more expensive than the others - but you can be sure that if you are utilizing this company, they will absolutely steer you in the right direction.  Then there is the group in the middle where everyone is basically the same - and for the most part mediocre at what they do.  They offer nothing better or worse than most others.  From there it gets worse..and you don’t want to ever hire services from the two remaining categories.

I guess the problem will always be that businesses don’t know how to distinguish from these different groups because they simply just don’t understand or have enough knowledge of the industry, can’t tell the difference between good work from ‘Bob’s Cyber Marketing Squad’, or are forced into action by their competitors and will choose the cheapest option, the easiest option and don’t care whether it works or helps their brand stand out.

In any case, if we are good at what we do, the beauty of this topic is that we work better under pressure.  And finding clients that expect quality out of us is what we should seek.  So if you have a client that allows you to ‘think’, will listen to what you tell them, and expects you to perform, this is a very good thing.  Keep them happy!

Send to a Comrade Comments (0)
Suggested for Villains
Back
We are looking to appoint a marketing firm. Could you put together a proposal?
DefCon 5
June 30. 2008.

Can you send me a proposal?  Muuhhaaaaahaahaaa.



Send to a Comrade Comments (0)
Suggested for Villains
Back
The Communication Process - Importance of Educating the Client
DefCon 3
June 02. 2008.


Continually reinforcing the scope of the project and the deliverables involved will certainly help your cause.  And most of the time, sending over a document is simply not enough.  Agencies and consultants really need to walk through the document point by point to ensure that the client understands what is, and is not to be delivered.  Having the clients sign their initials on these bullet points and setting milestones for sign-off are all good practices.  Yet, there never seems to be enough time for these type of scenarios and it can become very redundant.  That’s part of the landscape though.  Do your best to remove the drama, keep this process simple and business-like and it will certainly help your cause.

Here are a few links.  Read up!


* A List Apart (In Defense of Scope Creep)
* Project Perfect (Scope Creek Management)
* About.com (Project Management 101)




Send to a Comrade Comments (0)
Suggested for Villains
Back
Introducing New Concepts:Communicating Value to Clients
DefCon 2
April 15. 2008.

So you were able to communicate value to your client on general online marketing concepts.  Now, how do you introduce Youtube, Digg, Squidoo, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Eventful, Flickr..etc..and explain to them this wide-ranging concept of online marketing.  It’s a tough sell if the client is not familiar with this landscape.  But for marketing agencies, it is our job to stay on top of these things and ensure that our clients don’t have to do all the leg work to understand these concepts.  Furthermore, it’s our job to go out, find out what works, what doesn’t work, what works at the local level, national level, the best drivers of online traffic, viral potential...the list goes on.

Then, there is the question of driving traffic.  Traffic to a website (or social networking site) is great, but the value comes from traffic that is needed - or falls in line with the target demographic - something that makes a customer do what we want them to do. 

So the question remains, how do we introduce these new concepts?  Is it our responsibility to educate them?  Perhaps.  But at the same time, our goal should be to deliver results.  In the end, there are many businesses that don’t necessarily care about the what and the how (assuming the methods are white-hat), as long as you can deliver.  So a refresher/overview for the client? Yes.  Days worth of consulting at no charge? No.  Small details about the best practices that you’ve learned over the years which have made you the expert?  Naaahh.  Developing your relationship, cutting some corners and saving the client a little money? Maybe.  De-valuing your services by charging way below market rate when you can outpeform most agencies.  Not.

The online world moves extremely fast.  It isn’t going anywhere.  Agencies that have aligned themselves to adapt to this ever-changing environment will benefit over the long run.  One of the keys to leverage our knowledge, I think, is to find a way to fuse our expertise and effectiveness within our services offerings.

Send to a Comrade Comments (0)
Suggested for Villains
Back
Kenny Rogers and His Marketing Genius
DefCon 1
February 21. 2008.

You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when youre sittin at the table.
Therell be time enough for countin when the dealins done.


Now evry gambler knows that the secret to survivin
Is knowin what to throw away and knowing what to keep.
cause evry hands a winner and evry hands a loser,
And the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep.


Sad, pathetic, cheesy to be posting this on a blog for Marketing Agencies?  Perhaps.  But let me tell you that it is very important to know one’s self...or one’s service offerings.  And like I’ve mentioned on several occasions before, it is extremely important to know when to say ‘No’, knowing what type of clients to be leary of, and red flags to watch out for.


In the end, agencies just have to be smart.  Sometimes we get over-focused on accounts/clients that really aren’t doing us much good except elevating our stress levels.  Sometimes we should be standing our ground and fighting (professionally) over a specific topic, and of course sometimes we just need to keep our pie holes shut.  Knowing when to ‘hold’, ‘fold’, ‘walk away’ or ‘run’ is something that we all need to master. 

Send to a Comrade Comments (1)
Suggested for Villains
Back
Marketing & Creative Consultants - Are We Doing Our Job?
DefCon 3
February 15. 2008.

When sending out projects to an internal or external (sub-contracted) team, my expectations are very simple.  I put together a brief, provide details of the project and describe what I’d like to have done.  And in many cases, I receive comments to the effect that ‘I’ve never seen so much detail before’.  And when it comes to the timeline, In many cases I ask only one question: “How much time do you need to complete this project?”.  Now, in some circumstances, if it is a really tight deadline, I will set a timeline myself.  However, in many cases, I leave it up to the developer, designer or producer.  I’ll even go as far as saying, “Be sure to give yourself enough time to finish the project”.  Naturally, one would think that this creates a very easy scenario for the design person or team that is executing that portion of the project - to simply adhere to their own timeline.  This is pretty straight-forward...right?  Apparently not.

Isn’t this what college is for?  Outside of the drinking, partying and utter waste of time that college affords many people - one of the skills we have to learn is to deliver something on time.  If we don’t get that paper in on time, we get penalized for it.  Life also provides us other examples..ie bills, payments, relationships, everything tends to get worse when we don’t do what we say we are going to do.  It’s as simple as that.

Procrastination happens.  Many of us wait too long to get things moving...which doesn’t help us as we come close to the final hour.  But let’s forget the potential damage this can have on the client-agency relationship for a moment, the lack of trust that it can develop..etc.  Instead, let’s look at the selfish side of missing deadlines.  We all know that projects tend to grow in scope in the first place, but what happens when an agency starts to miss deadlines? Well, for starters, it cuts into our other projects - and this can have a snowballing effect - reducing morale, hampering creativity, increasing stress...and the list goes on.  There is nothing worse than starting a brand new project with a lot of potential - and having to grind through a project that’s still on the table - that shouldn’t be.

So let this be heard!  Though in many cases the project will be delayed by the client, let us not forget how important it is for us to live up to our end of the bargain.  It won’t only hurt our relationship with the client, it will stymie our growth as a professional service provider and can stifle creativity.

Send to a Comrade Comments (0)
Suggested for Villains
Back
Helping Your Cause | Helping Clients Prepare for their Marketing Project
DefCon 5
February 01. 2008.

When asked to provide as many details as possible, client’s can mistake this request as a ‘blow-off’, or ‘pull a number and get in line’ type of response to new business.  Though this process can be a means of qualifying projects (and it certainly is), having details about a project allows a marketing agency to get more intimate with the project and truly understand what the client is after.  You see, a client doesn’t have to understand CSS, or be a usability expert or even know what Flash can or can’t do, they simply need to be able to convey their thoughts and intentions like a good little business should.  Is this too much to ask?  Certainly not.  I think many agencies will tell you there is a higher correlation with businesses that write their intentions down on paper and good projects, than those companies that provide a minimal amount of information. 

Having clients come back (after the agency’s request) with a detailed project overview or RFP is a good qualifying process, because it will give you some great clues as to how they are looking at this project.  Are they sending a minimal amount of information it to 15 different agencies - solely after the lowest bid? Does the company have a good understanding of the services they are asking for? Or, is their information riddled with assumptions and ommissions (that will most certainly be needed)?  Is the client trying to over-simplify a very complex project?  Does the client have good business sense?  Are they able to articulate their needs even though they may not be familiar with the particular arena, online marketing, web development, SEO?

There is much information to be gained by this initial communication process.  While it is not our job to make the process of hiring an agency or consultant a painful process, or create unneeded hurdles, but getting details on paper and coming to a better understand of the project’s deliverables and goals will absolutely make your life easier in the long run.  And it will also help you to be a better judge on leads and their potential to be a good project.

Send to a Comrade Comments (0)
Suggested for Villains
Back
Clients, contractors, designers & developers…will always busier than you
DefCon 2
January 14. 2008.

When I first noticed this..well, I think in some cases the person I was talking to may have been more busy than I.  This may still be the case in certain circumstances, but this isn’t really my point.  It’s just one of those mindsets that most people fall into.  Everyone, no matter what their job is, what their title is, how many friends they have on myspace or facebook - or even how many kids they have.  They will always be busier than me and you.  Try this...next time you chat with a client or business associate..ask them if they are generally busy.  They will probably give you this long speech about how hectic their life is and that they don’t have any extra time...and there will be an ever-so-slight tone of, ‘I am the busiest person on earth’.  Being witness to this mystical yet common occurence, this actually got me to thinking a bit and I eventually ran across a book a that sort of confirms this (actually it confirms that people don’t manage their time very well).  It’s a book called The Four Hour Work Week. 

This is a very interesting book which offers a dramatic departure on how most people handle their time.  I can certainly improve on my own time management skills and this book offers a wild, yet very interesting and digestible, method of getting control of one’s schedule.  I think anyone in this industry would really find this to be a valuable read.  No, Mr. Ferris is not paying for this blog post, but I’m impressed enough to include a mention of it as I amusingly hear so many people try to convince me why their schedule is busier and more important than mine. 

Enjoy - SP

Send to a Comrade Comments (0)
Suggested for Villains
Back
Dealing With Client Delays and Extended Timelines
DefCon 4
December 04. 2007.

I’m sure all of us have dropped the ball at one point or another.  But we aren’t going to focus on these occasions because they are so few and far between (right?).  Rather, let’s touch upon this mysterious occurence where clients simply don’t produce on their end.  You see, when a project is tackled, it takes effort on both parties to make it right.  I think that, in many cases, clients tend to want to close their eyes, click their heels and have the project materialize before their eyes.  What many of these newbies don’t realize though is that if they don’t manage their own time very well, have underestimated the work/effort that needs to be put into a project, or realize how important efficient and timely communication is - the project is destined for some problems.

How many times have you started what was supposed to be a 3-4 month long project and it extended to over a year?  Sounds crazy, but every agency I speak to has very similar stories.  And most of these stories have a very consistent theme - where the client basically just delays the project.  Whether they fail to get back with timeline feedback, from some reason can’t deliver an approval on a piece, are unable to deliver needed materials or direction, or simply just have to ‘put the project on hold’, it is nearly always the client that will delay a project.  And this is even more mind-numbing, because nearly all clients are very concerned at the beginning of the project as to whether the agency will be able to deliver on time or not.  (scratching my head).

So, what to do?  I’ve heard many o’ rumors that there are compensation plans that are tied into the timeline.  I’ve also heard that agencies will charge for client delays (let us know if you have examples of this).  But if you think about it, this can be an interesting issue.  Managing the client/agency relationship is tricky enough without a payment penalty looming over a contract.  A wise man once said that its better to dangle a carrot that crack a whip (or something to that effect).  Yet, even this requires some delicate manuevering if one tries to create a payment incentive for keeping with a project timeline.  Does that mean that you mark-up the costs by default and offer a standard pricing if the client hits their requirements (ie. responding to all requests within 48 hours)?  Not sure.

I think the important thing to remember is this.  The longer a project lasts, the more it will cost the agency.  Period.  So, when a project that was supposed to last 4 months reaches month 12 the agency has already lost money. It takes a lot of resources to continually close and open (close and open...) a project over time.  Not to mention, an extended project can kill creativity, reduce morale and hurt other projects.  This is unacceptable.  So be very careful what projects you take on, watch for warning signs, avoid certain personalities, but always commit yourself to doing good work...but not at the expense of your client’s shortcomings.

Send to a Comrade Comments (0)
Suggested for Villains
Back
CEO’s and Business Owners Do Not Design! …..   Let Agencies do the Work!
DefCon 4
November 07. 2007.

Could you imagine if the CEO of Ford, in wanting to save money, asked someone he met at a wedding (because this person mentioned they like to draw) to design some forward-thinking cars? (Wait, this isn’t a good example because I think that is what Ford actually does).  I run across scenarios far too often where a larger company handles their creative projects like they are in a high-school art class.  Actually, come to think of it, I’d prefer high-schoolers working on a project for me versus some of the clients I’m speaking of.

Companies will spend millions of dollars, or hundreds of millions of dollars or more, in a blink of an eye for legal costs, physical products, contruction costs, equipment and various other goods.  Yet, when it comes to representing their own company within the Marketing realm, there attitude goes from ‘let the experts take care of it’, to ‘hmmm, maybe Sarah in Human Resources can take this on, after all - she said she took a couple art classes in college’.

I am sometimes asked why I don’t do certain things myself, ie. Why I didn’t do my backyard? or paint my house? or lay a wood floor..etc.  My answer is always the same.  It’s because there is someone else (service provider) that can:

a. Complete the task in much less time that I can
b. Do it much better than I can do it
c. Time is money

Now I know every man must have his cave (ie. Men are from Mars) and there is certainly nothing wrong with a man working on this car, saving money by installing a carpet, a husband/wife painting their house or the wife tackling various projects around the house to save money.  But why...why!..for the love of Jakob Neilsen, do supposed ‘businessmen’ (people) try to do bring things in-house when they should absolutely be hiring a professional to do it?

As a business person you learn very quickly that the overused saying “time is money” is actually very true, and I’d much rather spend my ‘extra’ time with my wife and kids. Again, this is not to disrespect anyone who wants to take on their own projects because this can be a great thing for a number of reasons, but for love of God’s green earth - let a professional do it - not your cousin damnit!

I personally learned this lesson when I was building applications myself so I could maintain control over projects and such.  I went about as far as I could until reality slapped me in the face and I finally realized that there were a lot of developers much better than myself who could build code much more quickly and efficiently than I could.  In the end, I preferred to pay a developer say 25 hours worth of work, versus taking 50 hours to do it myself.

In the end, it really boils down to common sense.  There are far too many companies who do not understand the value of properly marketing their company and committing a budget for this purpose.  If you are a developer or agency and sense this, you need to think twice before engaging this prospective client as this is one of many warning signs to be on the lookout for.

Send to a Comrade Comments (0)
Suggested for Villains
Back
Top Eight People to Watch Out For in Creative Projects
DefCon 5
October 18. 2007.



The New Guy Be careful of the ‘new guy’ or someone who has ‘ownership’ of a project.  Remember that the wise person is the one that hires you for what you are good at (i.e. [Client says]"We know we want a brochure, and we know the message we want to get out but we want to hire a good designer to execute our idea"). This is a good thing to hear.  Conversely, if you hear something like “Hey, I need a designer to knock out my website.  Here, have a look at what I came up with (they then proceed to send over an awful mix of photography, graphics and, well...’their ideas’ - something that resembles a website circa 1993).


The Management-Level (or higher) Person Who Wants to Inject Their Own ‘Ideas’
Just because you own your own succesful business and have been a General Manager for eons, or have made a butt-load of money in whatever industry that you are familiar with DOES NOT mean that you have any idea whatsoever as to how to build or conduct business online...let alone design an effective website or marketing piece.  Please, in the name of Odin’s Hammer, leave it up to someone who knows what they are doing.


The Engineer Guy Who Wants to Design
Engineers make very poor UI and design. They can have an IQ of 10,000, but couldn’t design a usable interface if their life depended on it. Though there may be an exception here and there - someone who can do both, these people are few and far between.  And if you are an engineer that is reading this, in all likelihood you are not one of those exceptions. smile


The IT Guy Who Thinks That He Can Do Anything With a Computer and Mouse
IT guys are almost as bad as engineers.  They think, because they know the ins and outs of DNS, IIS, NAT, PPP, VNC or can operate the entire universe from a command line, that they can also build a good application or e-commerce system...and furthermore, they should bring the design of the company website (and almost always the Intranet) in-house.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  (Boooonnnnggggggg - Ancient Gong has rung...pay attention) Every sizable company (who has an IT department) has at least one massively arrogant, piss-on-the-world, I-am-smarter-than-everyone-else and don’t-speak-to-me-unless-you-are-spoken-to-first, type of IT guy.  Pray that this is not your point of contact on a project that he felt should have been brought in-house in the first place.  He will push you to the very edge of the fiery depths of Mount Doom itself.


The Super Enthusiastic, Short-Deadline-Requesting,
No-Budget-Having-Are-You-Interested-in-a-Partnership-Guy

Someone comes to you, super enthusiastic - wanting a quote IMMEDIATELY, essentially tells you that the fate of Millions of dollars are in this project - and now in your hands, says that he will follow up TOMORROW, then disappears for a few weeks, comes back - animated, wondering why you are moving so slow or not responding quickly to the message they sent two weeks ago.  You foolishly do some work for them, and realize very soon that this person no longer cares about this project and you then become a nuisance to him because you are simply trying to finish the project.  Nice…


Super Tight Deadline Guy or Gal
This person often does not listen.  All they are concerned about is how tight their deadline is.  And interestingly enough, the more a potential client talks about the deadline and how fast things need to move, it almost seems that these are the type of people who are least reliable in terms of managing their own time.  Yes, I know we are providing the service and we are to be a good provider - and helping the client to execute their vision.  Still, does this mean that we want clients that won’t listen to us, suggestions, experience...?  Absolutely not.  This is what they are hiring us for, right?


Mr. or Mrs. Scope Creep
I’ve been saying ‘Guy’ up to this point because, in my opinion it is easier to work with women on creative projects than men.  Not sure why, but it may have something to do with the male ego (yes, I’m a male with an ego myself).  I think women are more likely to admit when they don’t understand something or need you to explain things better.  Men just kind of shake their head yes as if they’re an expert - then you realize later that they didn’t listen to a word you ever said.  But, with this one, Mr and Mrs. Scope-Creep.  Women and men are about equal on this one.  I think it is important to note that when someone increases the scope of a project it is not always intentional.  Nevertheless, this is a VERY DANGEROUS scenario - one that will not only send you into a bezerker frenzy - but can ruin a project, client relationships and even the relationships with your fellow designers and developers.


The Young Marketing Manager
This one can be a he or she - or maybe even a he-she.  Regardless, they are young know absolutely nothing about design, marketing or the web but said company has decided that they are now ‘in charge’ of the corporate redesign.  So they strap on their ‘make a good impression on my boss’ hat - and, behold, you are now their beootch.  Doesn’t matter how long you’ve been doing what you do..or how good you are.  You are now under the watchful eye of an untrained, marketing beserker.  By the end of this project you will need some time off..mark my words…

Send to a Comrade Comments (1)
Suggested for Villains
Back
Maintaining the Upper Hand: Don’t Send That Email!
DefCon 5
September 26. 2007.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that email can be very dangerous as it pertains to relationships...business or other.  Being an emotional person I tend to want to immediately respond and I’m prone to over-reacting to people’s comments via email.  In business, this presents a critical moment of vulnerability which can lead to opportunity if handled correctly.  Here again, we find a very interesting scenario where we have to choose our actions (or reactions) very carefully. 

The Storm Pilot would never suggest that you sit down, roll over, show your belly and asked to be scratched with the best non-alpha-male persona you can summon up.  Rather, there are soooo many ways to handle a situation like this that to respond instantly with something that will put you in weak stance, or even further inflame the sender is just not advisable.  Furthermore, this goes beyond the question of whether the sender is right or wrong and whether the sender deserves a good swift kick in the ass.

There are many things you should consider before sending out an email - much of which is covered in the the previous link.  The primary defence against the dark arts of rabid email is ‘time’.  You absolutely have to take some time (at least 24 hours) before responding (if a response is even necessary).  Just think.  Don’t be a jerk.  Be a professional.  Acknowledge your own mistakes, fix the situation, pick up the phone, watch your tone of voice and stay cool.

In the end, assuming the sender is reasonable, they’ll feel a little guilty and be open for discussion, but only if you chill. ‘Beware of the dark side. Anger, fear, aggression....Consume you, it will,as it did Obi-Wan’s apprentice’.

wink
SP

Send to a Comrade Comments (0)
Suggested for Villains
Back
Tone of Voice | Make Like a Pilot, Speak Easy and Gain Trust
DefCon 2
September 04. 2007.

Marketing and design professionals are often judged by how comfortable we are about what we are doing.  Therefore, if they detect any hesitation or lack of confidence in a project they tend to want to take over the project - which is really bad.  As I’ve mentioned before, they can also pick off desperation very easily.  So, how do we combat this?  Make like a Pilot.

Higher pitches in voices (speaking from the chest) can be interpreted as stressful - and less perhaps less trustworthy.  Speaking from the gut (stomach) deepens the tone of one’s voice and will help to avoid varying inflections.  This doesn’t mean you have to sound fake.  Just try to avoide too much emotion - where the pitch of your voice is all over the place. Tone of voice is very important in all walks of life.  I’ve worked on this (still a work in progress) over the years as I get too emotional/amped-up in conversations that I’m passionate about. Anyway, I figured that I’d post it.

“Control...you must learn control!”

SP

Send to a Comrade Comments (0)
Suggested for Villains
Back
2+2=3 | Scoping Projects and Compensation - Tales from the Dark Side
DefCon 5
August 24. 2007.

I just had to post, and analyze this recent lead...shame on me.

“I am looking for someone to help me with a company I’m starting… I posted the following on Guru, is this something that you do also?”

“I am starting a #### service company. I need a new site that will effectively get my message out to potential customers.  The site design will need to be excellent and I require someone who can come up with several different excellent homepage designs for me to choose from. The company/website name has not been picked yet but will be shortly...”

[In his next paragraph he details what the site will be able to do: forms, coupons, db interaction, getting financial approval & a quote..etc]

Said entrepreneur then goes on to talk about the Illustration, Design, SEO, more development/functionality that the site will need and even includes several links to sites that are very comprehensive in their scope. So I’m thinking to myself that, ‘hey, it seems he’s done a little homework - this might just be a good lead!’.  Yet, somewhere in the distance, I heard a faint voice, gentle, but stern. This echoe in my mind was...yes, a warning...no...a ‘red alert’, pleading me in a desperate voice to “run luke, run!”. 

At this point, I think I must have blacked-out or passed into a nether-world of sorts and my eyes, as if they were controlled by some force unknown to me, passed right over the point about his budget. 

Back in the world of the living, I skimmed down to the lower part of his message and found some questions, that once again might just reveal that this person is really doing a good job of presenting his project.  Like a good potential customer, he wanted answers to some very reasonable questions like:

* What specific similar experience do you have?
* How many work hours do you expect the project to take? When will you be able to finish it?
* What suggestions do you have to make the site better?
* What programming langauges and elements will be used to make the site?
* How easy will it be for me to update and make changes to the site?

“Yes, good.” I said to myself.  So now, in my head I’m already scoping this project.  So let’s see, there is the planning phase, a corporate identity it seems, a definite need for a wire-frame, functionality review, third-party tools assessment, creative brief...”.  This project, after reviewing the sites he sent over - more importantly the significant functionality of these sites, we’re talking about a fairly large project here indeed, yes?  And this are all pre-project and planning items, not even breaching into the blissful realm of project execution/production!  I’m now having visions of a larger staff, longer vacations, hiring the best of the best - stealing the best minds this industry has to offer with cold hard cash.

I think this was the point that I zeroed back in on that sentence - the one I passed over during my previously mentioned black-out.  I read it to myself trying to understand what it meant.  It said:

“I would like to keep the total budget to under $500-$750 I might go that high if you have top ratings and are in the USA. I will be willing to pay with the following terms: 15% escrowed at project start to be paid after design has been finalized and accepted by me. 85% escrowed at project start to be paid after project is totally complete and running on my server. I do not need any hosting so please do not offer it. I will probably use godaddy.”

Reading this, I moved my right hand delicately over to the numeric portion of my keyboard.  And, as if readying my fingers to embark on a 3-movement, challenging piano sonata, I tapped the key that I’ve grown to love so dearly over time, D-e-l-e-t-e.  This email, and my frustrations for ignorant business-people, where wisked away to the same nether-world that I visited ever so briefly when reading through the email of this great lead.

SP

Send to a Comrade Comments (0)
Suggested for Villains
Back
Conservative Clients & Interactive Agencies - A Bad Match-up
DefCon 3
August 13. 2007.

When chatting with friends at other agencies or reading my favorite web magazine - .NET, I often come across the same comments from designers and creative directors in the industry.  They say something to the effect of, “It is frustrating to deal with clients who want to hire an interactive agency, do so, and then turn around and go conservative - not wanting to do something that is too bold”.  I’m not talking about coming up with the next great viral video, or even coming up with some crazy-cool design...I’m talking about clients that hire agencies for our expertise - and then try to tell us how, or how not to do something.  Or even worse, the client edits, edits and edits some more, while converting you into a production (not creative) agency, until the final product looks like something from 1995.  Read on…

If I’m wrong, tell me different, but when you walk in a law office do you tell them that you just want to get some ideas from them and feel like you are doing the right thing by hiring a lawyer - but ultimately plan to represent yourself in court?  Ok, that’s a lame analogy.  Try this, you walk into the finest restaurant in your area...do you ask the hostess if you can bring your own food in because your not sure if you really want to try their food? Or better yet, do you often find yourself walking up to police officers who are arresting an individual and confidently tell them, “gentlemen - stand back for a moment, I think I can handle this situation.” What about when you fly?  Are you the person that knocks on the cabin door (before you are aprehended and beaten down by the on-board air marshal) and says, ‘Sir or ma’am, I can’t see who’s flying this plane, but I’m really good at Microsoft’s Flight Simulator, can I give you guys a break for a bit? After all, I paid a whole lot for my ticket and I want to make sure I get my money’s worth?...Hello...is anyone in there?”.  Ok, I think you get the picture now.  Pray tell though, why do so many web/marketing clients hire agencies and then tell them how they think the project should roll out, or somehow get sociopathically fixated with a ‘sketch’ that they did - something they thought would work?

I can tell you this.  If you work in this industry long enough - whether you are a lone consultant, small agency or any sized team - you will run into these types.  Rest assured.

That’s it.  I’m not going to offer any more thoughts or ideas on this one from my alternate life as the Storm Pilot.  I just wanted to ask the question is all.  cheese

SP

Send to a Comrade Comments (0)
Suggested for Villains
Back
Internet Marketing | Design Industry Truisms meets Murphy’s Laws
DefCon 1
July 20. 2007.

Designers, and Developers alike have to fight the tendency to get bitter over time.  Why?  In our industry, it’s easy to get stepped on, kicked when you’re down, and turned turned into a slave.  Furthermore, the process can easily repeat itself if you don’t choose your clients correctly.  And sometimes, even when things do seem to be going ok, Murphy’s law can kick into effect.  So if we combine Murphy’s laws with some industry ‘truisms’ we get something that looks like the following…

Standard Murphy’s Laws that apply to the marketing industry:

  • Nothing is as easy as it looks.
  • Everything takes longer than you think.
  • Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
  • If anything simply cannot go wrong, it will anyway.
  • If you perceive that there are four possible ways in which a procedure can go wrong, and circumvent these, then a fifth way, unprepared for, will promptly develop.
  • Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse.
  • If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.
  • Every solution breeds new problems.
  • Smile . . . tomorrow will be worse.

Now, if we take these and combine them with some of Murphy’s computer laws, and throw in a few of Storm Pilot’s own truisms, we get something like the following:

  • If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker that came along would destroy civilization.
  • If builders designed buildings the way most designers design, then the woodpecker would die before reaching the building.
  • An expert is one who knows more and more about less and less until he knows absolutely everything about nothing.
  • An application will not fail until it has passed QA.
  • To spot the expert, pick the one who predicts the job will take the longest and cost the most.
  • Computers are unreliable, but humans are even more unreliable. Any system which depends on human reliability is unreliable.
  • If an online application hasn’t broken yet, it is waiting for a critical moment before it breaks.
  • The most excited and praise-worthy potential clients are the ones with the smallest budgets.
  • If there is a possibility of several things going wrong the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong.
  • A developer’s level of technical competence is inversely proportional to their design and usability skills.
  • ‘Usability Engineer’ is an oxymoron.
  • Friendly reminders, like friendly fire...aren’t.
  • A great lead...isn’t
  • Back-ups...don’t
  • If you estimate a project’s cost, and then double that figure, you will still end up over budget.
  • When ‘downloading’ says “99% Complete” there will be a flux in the space-time continuum and the download will inevitably fail.
  • The bug that causes numerous of hours of troubleshooting will be caused by a mis-placed comma somewhere within 5000+ lines of code.
  • Everyone else will always be busier than you.

I rock, You Rock, We rock.
SP

Send to a Comrade Comments (2)
Suggested for Villains
Back
Why Consultants & Developers Need to Protect their Time
DefCon 4
July 10. 2007.

This post is dedicated to all those hard-working and competent (yes, I said competent) designers, developers and marketers who happen to be nice guys/gals.  Running a business and/or being a consultant tends to wear on the psyche over time.  I remember the days when I was young, innocent and the only thing that ever came out of my mouth is ‘yes’, ‘sure’, ‘golly gee Mr. client you are asking for a lot, but ok I’ll do it’.  I will give you a piece of advice before you click into the meat of this post.  Are you ready?  Ok, here it is.  If you do not value your time, no one will. The bottom line is that consultants and developers need to protect their time.  Read on.. by clicking on “more” below.

It really isn’t rocket science.  Yet, I had a tough time figuring out when at the end of project, after payment had already been made, we were often still doing work.  This phenomenon can be caused by underbidding project - which is a separate topic, but I’m speaking directly to the amount of time you spend on a project and the fact that this time has to be accounted for.

So the first question you have to ask yourself when bidding a project is whether you are going to work under a ‘project fee’ - which includes the delivery of a completed project to the client - or work on an hourly basis. I had this conversation recently with some friends at a Bay Area Video Production agency.  Ok, before you tell me that a client would never go for this I will assure you that if you stay in this industry long enough, you will come back to this post and realize that this is not such a far-fetched idea.  Does this mean that you can hire a junior developer who, say..takes three times as long to complete a task (not counting research) when you could be using your go-to guy - and then charging the client for these excess hours?  No.  This is not the case.  Working on an hourly basis on a project means that you (and/or your team) is good and efficient at what they do.

My first horrific experience with a lawyer came several years ago when I foolishly hired counsel at a Law Firm at $375/hour.  This was my first introduction to someone who truly values their time.  This jack-ass was charging me for the time it took him to read emails, send emails, lick an envelope, think about what he was going to do, and of course - telephone time.  When I received the first bill, I was shocked.  The second, I damn near fell over.  And the third, man, I was pissed.  All I could think about was this guy in the bathroom, sitting on the pot, thinking about my case, charging me for it, then after he was done - running back to his computer to log the time.  Did you ever see that scene in Office Space - where the lead character was dreaming about his boss doing some dirty things to his girlfriend?  Well, it was kind of like that only it was in the scenario I described above.

Ok, so what did this experience do for me - other than shortening my life by about 6 months because of undue stress on autonomic nervous system...well, it definitely made me think.  One of his comments, when I confronted him, was that his firm pays them a lot of money and every minute of each day has to be accounted for.  You see, I had become so used to doing work for free, that it never occurred to me that my time is valuable.  EGO ALERT, EGO ALERT....Does this mean that you can, out of the blue, start charging the client for thinking about the project or demand that the project be set up on an hourly basis?  Pipe down Spartacus, all I’m saying is that:


  • You should think a little more about the time you spend on a project and whether this time is being accounted for in your project price
  • You should spend some time thinking about the boundaries of a project - when a project is officially started and officially finished.  Should you be doing work (beyond included services) after the project is finished, this should be paid for.
  • Learn how to matter-of-factly explain to a client your thoughts on these types of subjects
  • Be more aware of client requests, and whether these requests fall under the scope of the current project
  • There are only a handful of hours in a basic working day.  If you have multiple clients, you’ll have to get better at time management or you’ll never get anything done.
  • Time is money
  • It doesn’t matter if you are charging $10/hr or $1000/hr for ‘additional work’, the principle still applies - account for your time.
  • And remember...if you do not value your time - no one will.


I’m out

SP

Send to a Comrade Comments (0)
Suggested for Villains
Back
Hair Pieces and Desperation | So very easy to detect
DefCon 4
June 29. 2007.

Have you ever noticed that it is super easy for humans to spot any type/form of a hair piece?  Someone could spend a butt-load of money to have a very special section of customized hair to place on their grape, but no matter what they do they just can’t fool human perception.  I mean, ‘the flop’ (aka: comb-over) is bad enough, but a hair piece is always easily spotted.  So why the heck am I talking about hair pieces when I should be talking about websites, applications, print & marketing?  Well, when you really want a project and are desperate for income, your potential clients will sniff this out like nobody’s business.  Read on..

I don’t know what it is, but it’s so easy to see through people when they have even an ounce of desperation in their speech, body language or aura.  I’ve spoken with experienced sales professionals that said they started to finally sell things when they stopped caring so much about what the client’s answer would be.  This of course reminds me of those guys in college who could walk up to any girl and walk away with a phone number or date.  Hmm.. I think I’m on to something.

So anyway, you’ve lined up a good prospect.  Maybe it’s for video production or application development and inevitably you start fantasizing how wonderful it would be to finally start paying off your credit card debt with this ‘HUGE’ potential project you are going after.  Well, first thing..be careful of any red flags you may come across.  Then, when you realize that it really is a good lead and this could actually lead to some consistent income, be sure to check your emotions because potential clients become very skeptical of super-zelous behavior, too much excitement, the fact that you are falling all over them - telling them how great they are and how much you are looking forward to working for them (..ie..it’s like saying to a girl how beautiful a girl is over and over - then trying to land a date. Not gonna happen).  And in the name of Odin’s Hammer, please don’t freak-out and lose all composure (like I always did) when you start talking pricing.  You should know that if you under-price or over-price a project you will probably lose it.

The reason why I felt it important enough to include this post is because I’ve made every single possible mistake in the book.  And, ironically enough, I didn’t start landing projects until I finally, well… didn’t care anymore whether I got it or not.  Now, it is hard to ‘not care’ about getting a project when you need food to put on your plate each day, but it’s the wierdest damn thing I’ve ever seen.  The very moment that I stopped wanting projects and had more of a ‘take it or leave it’ mentality, everything changed.

One note I do want to make though is that this does not mean that you should be cursing the client under your breath as you are pitching the project.  This does not mean that you should be sticking pins in a little doll while calling back your potential client.  Nor does it mean that you should half-ass anything that you do or have an over-the-top F$%# the world mentality.  What it does mean is that you should loosen your grip just a tad. Wasn’t it Leia Organa who said “The more you tighten your grip Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers..”?  Damn I’m such a nerd.

Introduce yourself to the client, scope the project, propose the project and let the chips fall where they may.  I am certain that good salesmen could easily break this down even further and tell you more about the ins & outs of what to do and what not to do, but this is my experience.  Do not Despair!

SP

Send to a Comrade Comments (0)
Suggested for Villains
Back
‘Content’ or Discontent | Educating the Client About Copy
DefCon 3
June 12. 2007.

This post is primarily for web and print gurus.  Remember that project where you finished a design of the website (or print piece) and the client realized that ‘Lorem Ipsum Dolor’ just wouldn’t be enough to sell their product or service?  Then, after the client realized that they don’t have any copy, they kept hinting about you just ‘filling in some content’ or ‘can you use this or that to put some content together’?  Well, if this sounds familiar read on…

It’s a funny thing how clients place certain value on certain mediums.  I’m certainly guilty of his myself as there was a day not so long ago where I placed design over usability & common sense.  But this notion, of clients placing too much or too little emphasis on specific services is rampant.  Some clients think the most important thing in the world is their print marketing materials, for others it will be the website, and still others will place all their emphasis on a small order processing application that is so old it makes noises like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.  Well, they’re all wrong...it isn’t one thing that is the most important.  It is the whole process of marketing their business that is important and this includes all these pieces and more.  But that is not what I’m getting at here, its that client’s will sometimes expect you to fill in the blanks, or add this, add that...and ‘can you come up with something’. 

Yes, I’ve written web content and I have the writing skills of about...say, a 7th grader.  But why write content for client’s when it is not included in the project? If the client is ultra-cool, is putting food on your table, and you can write half-way decently, then yes - there are always exceptions. 

Though the client may not place any value on Copy, I am becoming more of a believer that specialties (web, print, video, copy) should all be knocked out by specialists.  Rocket science..I know. 

I personally, have done (tried) everything. I’ve written copy, code, designed for print, web...you name it.  I’ve even tried to be a salesman (ohh that sucks).  In my elder age though I am coming to the realization that all of this should be done by people who are much better at these things than I.  If you don’t know any copywriters, find them.  They are around.  They will add to the quality of your project and can help the client sell their product or service by not confusing readers and rambling on...like I’m doing to you right now.

You must make them realize that anything they say on a website, print material, video, commercials is THEIR responsibility once it hits the public eye.  They ask you to put pricing online (or in a brochure) and this pricing is wrong, BLAMO!, big problems to come.  More specifically, they ask you to list a certain price and you accidentally place an extra zero (or worse, remove a zero) from pricing shock - let the reckoning begin!

Now, I’m sure there are some of you, or even clients who think that ny take on this is wrong, but there are two things at work here to really focus on.  If you are not providing official copywriting services, you should not be writing any client copy!  Though many of us fall into this trap, all it will take is one type-o or mis-print and they will come back for your head - even though it is always their responsibility to proof-read everything.

Now, on the other hand, if you’ve been hired to provide both copywriting and proof-reading services and have a contract that specifically states that you are responsible for any errors and omissions...then this is a different story.  The moral of the story is simple though - if you find yourself just ‘filling in’ content in a brochure, website, script or any media piece when it is not part of the deliverables, you are taking on additional risk.


My 2 cents
SP

Send to a Comrade Comments (1)
Suggested for Villains
Back
Learning When and How to Say “NO” - Web, Print & Marketing
DefCon 5
June 02. 2007.

One of the hardest things I had to learn in creating a business was to learn how to say ‘No’.  I came from a mentality that I must take any project that comes my way.  There are a couple schools of thought on how young independent contractors should look at their business, but I have certainly learned one very important fact: ONE MUST ABSOLUTELY LEARN TO SAY NO TO EXISTING AND PROSPECTIVE CUSTOMERS.

To grow an Interactive Agency, as I’ve mentioned previously, may require you to do some pro bono work. Before you learn how to say yes to doing work for free, or for very little, you better first learn how to say “No”.  If you do not learn this, you will be beaten down like a petite Ice Skater who wants to participate in a local UFC / MMA event.

You see, when a project:

a. Has bad timing (interferes with other events or important projects)
b. Deliverables to Cost ratio is way out of balance
c. There are too many warning signs.
d. The client’s request will not let you approach the project creatively.
e. Your point of contact is an asshole.

It basically boils down to this, unless you want to die penniless, get grey hairs much faster than you would prefer, or achieve various kinds of gastro-intestinal or anxiety disorders because of your stress levels, you must learn to say no.  Of course, the key to saying no is that you come off as a non-emotional professional versus sounding like someone who wants to physically strangle the client, or is having some kind of nervous tick (vocal or auditory).  Let me provide an example:


The Right Way:

“Richard, I really appreciate you contacting us about this project.  As it turns out this is really bad timing for us and may not be an appropriate match.  Nevertheless, I think I can point you in the right direction and help you find someone who can help you out given your budget”


The Wrong way:
“Dick...are you f&*#’in nuts?  You expect us to do this project for this amount?  You just had your ‘friend’ (who was ‘in marketing’ [whatever that means]) design your company website and you want us to massage it for you?  Furthermore, you and your staff have absolutely no clue how to market your business and are completely out of touch with your customers.  Your are, and always will be, and idiot.  Does this answer your question Dickie?

Be able to explain, without any underlying anger, why you are unable to perform a certain task or continue in a specific direction for such and such a reason.  Inflection....the INFLECTION of your voice is very important when you do this! Think cool! - Cool as the other side of the pillow - and offer a alternate suggestion.  Kindred spirit!  And remember, “Anger...fear...aggression. The dark side of the Force are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight.”

Send to a Comrade Comments (1)
Suggested for Villains
Back
To Charge or Not To Charge | A Design Portfolio Conundrum
DefCon 3
May 28. 2007.

I was once told by an old wise man that “The number one mistake young entreprenuers make is that they don’t charge enough for their services.”.  In many cases, this is certainly true.  Yet, when he told me this I couldn’t help wondering how I would have been able to build a solid Marketing Agency Portfolio without doing a little work here and there for free.  In a previous post, I mentioned some of the deadly sins of marketing and one of these sins was doing work for free.  Since I am contradicting myself a bit here, I’d like to explore this a little further, so let’s have a look…

To get right to the point, you can’t take consistent, or even semi-frequent, work for little or no payment for your services.  But, there are a few exceptions that it can be worth it to knock out a project with little or no compensation.  Do this too much, or at the wrong times and you’ll sink for sure.  Choose wisely and only for the most specific projects, and it can certainly help your portfolio.  Your own best judgement is the key.  But please, for God’s green earth, don’t take this to mean that you should do work for free on a regular basis or even semi-consistent basis.  In doing so, you will completely de-value your work and, not shockingly, if you ever try to charge that client a market rate for your work, they will look at your like you are some kind of transient asking them to take you into their home for a few months.  Remember that you set a precedence by what your first charge a client for a project or service.

So when do you make this fool’s errand?  Well, even the great Storm Pilot smile cannot answer this for you.  One example though is if you are going after a vertical market.  To go vertical, you need a showcase that pertains to that particular industry.  If you have some financial padding and are intent on going after a particular industry, this could be the time to build some portfolio items. 

Another time to consider pro-bono work is that there is a high-probability that this site would drive additional work to you.  I’ve accurately made this gamble before so it is possible.

Behold the poor decision though! Lo to those who make an ill-prepared decision and choose to do work for an ungrateful client or a client that will chew you up, spit you out and then try to sue you.  They are out there and the only way to avoid them is to pay careful attention to any warning signs you may come across and make damn sure that this is the client you want to do this for.

And always remember that it is the clients who pay the least, will expect the most and will be the biggest pains in your asses.  They are just like those people who eat dinner at a restaurant (for those of you who have worked in food service) who are oblivious to all other patrons in the restaurant, and expect you - the server - to give them your undivided attention.  And for those of you who know what I’m talking about, if you slip up even once (ie. not bringing them their diet coke within 30 seconds of them asking for it) - they will most likely stiff you.

In the words of Yoda, you must “feel the Force around you, here; between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere!...”

Send to a Comrade Comments (0)
Suggested for Villains
Back
Managing the Project Timeline (Do or Die)
DefCon 3
May 21. 2007.

This is a topic that both parties (Heroes & Villains) can read but I will direct this primarily to clients (aka Villains).  One of the questions asked of marketers and design professionals is ‘How long will this project take?’ or ‘We’d like to finish everything by such and such date, are you going to be able to do this?’.  My answer for potential clients is usually the same.  In 90+% of all projects it will be the client who will delay the project past the projected launch date. This is not good, this is not bad, this is just the way it is.

Why is this?  Well, I think it has a lot to do with familiarity on how projects unfold.  Let’s take application development for example.  A client wants a provider to build and application that will interface with their existing website or internal systems.  This usually involves coordination with an internal team.  (Red Flag #1).  The more players there are in a project, the greater the chance for the delay.  It creates a dependence on various schedules that an original estimate may not live up to.  But, if the provider has thought this out then they may have already accounted for situations like this.

Let’s take another example - a web design project.  The client approaches the provider and desparately wants the site to be launched by a certain date.  The project is then scoped out, an estimated launch date is given - but not before the provider lists out various items/tasks that the client will need to do in order for the schedule to remain intact.  Once of these tasks may be something like photography.  It goes without saying that if a client is selling a product or service they should really have high quality photography available to help sell their services.  Well, now we’re dependent on the photographers schedule.  When the project started, the client had 2 months to deliver the final photography and 3 months later they have yet to send over a single photo.

What about copy?  If the marketing agency is not providing copywriting, then it is up to the client to provide all copy for the website, brochure or marketing piece for the project.  Easy right?  Sometimes clients forget, that when they embark on a large project they too will have work that needs to be accomplished.  Failure to deliver these assets on time will result in project delays that are not the fault of the service provider.

Although a lot could be written about the topic of project timelines, there is a very important item that has to be mentioned.  If the client is schedule to deliver project assets by a certain date - and misses that date by say… 7 work days, THIS DOES NOT ALWAYS TRANSLATE INTO THE PROJECT BEING EXTENDED ONLY 7 DAYS!  This is a very important topic to understand and realize before moving on a project.  If the service provider has carved out their schedule to account for this project (Let’s call it Project A) - and they also are engaged in Project B and C.  Then a 7 day delay on the part of the client will most likely not result in a 7 day delay for the service provider.  Why?  Time is money and the service provider’s time is equally as valuable than the client’s time.  The knee jerk reaction on the part of inexperienced clients is that on the day they finally deliver the assets, they tend to think that the service provider is sitting next to the phone ready to move again on the project at a moments notice.  The service providers other projects have now taken precedence over Project A.  While it is the goal of the service provider to efficiently tackle and knock out projects in a sufficient manner, we are not in the business of losing or damaging our reputation with other client’s at the expense of your delays!

I’m not saying that we don’t make mistakes ourselves or, at times, because of circumstances beyond our control - we are unable to live up to our original time estimates.  This happens and we should take responsibility for these situations.  What I am saying is that in nearly all cases of taking on marketing, web, print and video projects, it is not us (or at least it shouldn’t be my fellow heroes) that delays projects.  In fact, it is the clients that result in 90% or more of project delays.  This, as I mentioned before, is not good or bad.  It just ‘is’.  ‘Bad’ results from not recognizing this phenomenon and handling it appropriately.  This is not to be punitive, but systematic.  This is not about taking advantage of a client’s miscalculation, but in handling it appropriately so the service provider doesn’t suffer as a result.  And remember, time IS money.


SP

Send to a Comrade Comments (1)
Suggested for Villains
Back
Need a Design Quote ASAP!
DefCon 3
May 14. 2007.

Careful now.  I just received an email today where the potential client seems to be in a major hurry to get a quote.  Yes, I know everyone wants their quote yesterday, but it’s always a little odd for me to receive the rush act via email (Red Flag #1).  She is asking for a quote on a large, several page brochure design, copywriting and photoshoping and she says that ‘her company’ is in need of this.  Well, my little Princessant - let’s let’s see what Mr. P. Diddy Google has to say about your name...

Shocker!. Why is it that you say you are from ‘company x’ and when I do a Google search on your name (a very unique name at that), there is a girl with your same name who happens to work for a marketing agency - with a background in publishing and design?  Now, I’m not certain as of yet whether this person is for real or not, but the alarm bells are already going off.  First off, she’s using a Yahoo address.  Secondly, there is a person with her unique name who happens to work in Marketing, Publishing and Design.  And, if she is seriously considering us - wouldn’t she follow up with call?  You see, even though we can’t interpret body language in email, there are still some ‘tells’ that are given away when someone is trying to figure out what others are charging for certain projects.  One of these ‘tells’ is the rush act.  ie. ‘I need a quote ASAP! - can you tell me what your cost would be to yada yada…


I could be proven wrong on this one but remember that online leads (ie. emails) don’t stand up to a good old fashioned phone call in my experience.  This is not to say that I haven’t gained clients via an email dialogue, but stand vigilant against the pricing snipers - they are everywhere!  I’ve spent countless hours coming up with quotes (some very detailed) that, if I would have spent a bit of time quantifying the lead, I would have saved more time to spend on the golf course. smile

SP

Send to a Comrade Comments (7)
Suggested for Villains
Back
‘Creating’ Versus ‘Implementing’ a Design for a Client
DefCon 3
May 09. 2007.

If you’d like to save yourself some angst with future clients, please read further.  Picture if you would, a good lead.  Everything seems just peachy keen, potential client contacts you because they ‘saw some of your work’ or were referred to you by another one of your clients - and they may even mention that you do ‘really good work’.  There is one very simple thing that you need to know when taking on a project, and that is, ’What will your (the service provider) job be, and what does the client really want from you.’

Taking off from another post regarding where the creative direction falls on the project, this post focuses specifically on those clients who may be saying one thing but are really asking for another.  I do understand that design (for the most part) can be very subjective.  One person can look at a project and not like it, the next person loves it.  But my goal here is to expose those clients that will walk in your door, tell you how much they appreciate your style and work - how good you are at what you do..blah blah, and then when you start creating ideas and designing comps, they pay absolutely NO MIND to what you are sending over and instead assume the lead creative role and, well… ruin the project.  I’m sure there are exceptions to this scenario, but not many of them.

To clarify my position, I understand that in our industry our job is to provide a service to the client.  I also understand that we don’t always catch the right ‘vibe’ that the client is trying to convey to their audience.  In addition, I also understand that the client may have a good concept of the theme or style they are after (though let me know if you run into any).  Furthermore, sometimes we have brain-farts and our work certainly isn’t always FWA worthy, but you must pay careful attention to clients that have NO INTENTION OF USING YOUR OR YOUR TEAM’S CREATIVE SKILLS.  They will simply turn you (and your staff) into a production team.  Now, if you know this going in - this is fine.  I have absolutely NO PROBLEM with a client coming to us saying, ‘Hey look, we need someone to implement our ideas.  You may not like the direction we’re going, and we’re not very good at design, but this is what’s been decided.  Are you able to produce this site for us based on the designs we’ll be sending over to you?’.  This is how the client should approach this scenario but unfortunately the communication isn’t packaged this way.  At this point, you now have a decision to either point them to Craigslist to get someone to do the production work, or if you have the resources and are ok with it, by all means.


The moral of the story is to simply know and understand what your being hired for.  Clients don’t like surprises but we don’t like them either
smile.


SP

Send to a Comrade Comments (0)
Suggested for Villains
Back
Deadly Sins When Working With Clients in The Web, Print & Video Industry
DefCon 5
May 03. 2007.

We all make mistakes.  I certainly have.  And I am not always right in my opinions about the web & media industry.  Still, there are certain mistakes that we make as marketing consultants, designers, videographers & developers that can really make our lives miserable.  Here are a few:

  • Doing work for free
  • Failing to manage client expectations
  • Not drawing up a simple contract that covers some key elements

...

And here are some more…

  • Under-bidding
  • Over-bidding
  • If going by an hourly rate, not communicating those hours on a regular basis
  • Taking on projects that are not a good fit or seemingly small and simple
  • Not charging for work that goes beyond the scope of the project

We’ve all underbid projects.  In fact most of us do it all the time.  The point here is not to bleed the client dry, rather, to compensate appropriately for the amount of work you’ve done or are going to do.  Underbidding really sucks, because if you are a good service provider you always have to do what you say you are going to do..right?  This is a basic tenant of business.  The key is to bid appropriately.  Then, whether you get the job or not, you won’t have to constantly question yourself for the next several weeks on what you should have done.

Of course, the other side to this is over-bidding.  We’ve probably all woke up one morning, took on a little extra attitude/confidence for whatever reason (I don’t know, maybe you won an FWA or Webbie award or something...) then you figure that you are pretty much a gosh darn Designer or Marketing Rock Star right?  Now everyone has to speak to you as if you are Hillman Curtis or Shane Mielke yes?  Well, just take a deep breath and come back head back down to earth ‘Buzz’, because this goes both ways.

The other stuff, well, pretty self explanatory.  If you aren’t telling the client what you’re doing and the work you’ve done or hours spent, they will most certainly come back and say, ‘but you haven’t even done anything, why are you charging me?’.  This also goes for project based scenarios when you are silently adding things throughout the project that you didn’t promise to do.  I’m not saying to never do ‘extra’ stuff for a client (because there are clients that we very much need to take care of), rather, I’m saying that you need to tell them that you are doing extra stuff so when they recognize when you are giving a little extra.

Along these lines, you must know when to put a pause on a project at the precise moment that the scope of the project changes.  This doesn’t mean that you should blow your lid and cuss out your client because they (and the government) are conspiring against you, it means that you need to consistently manage the project, their expectations and ensure that the project stays within the confines (to an extent that is most reasonable for the client) of the project scope.  Always have that ‘change order’ ready to rock.  (Boooonngggggggggg...I just rang a bell so you’ll remember this).  Should you let this scenario slide (work performed going beyond scope of project) you will realize really quickly that it is just a matter of time before you are out of business.

But remember folks… Balance.  Assertiveness.  Not cockiness or arrogance.  This is the remedy.

Send to a Comrade Comments (7)
Suggested for Villains
Back
For Those Who Seek Designers, Developers and Marketers!
DefCon 1
May 01. 2007.

Ok, so if you’ve read the posts in others sections you may think that we have it out for all clients.  This is certainly not the case.  Amidst the many bad clients, there are also good clients that allow us to form a healthy, long-term relationship with the services we provide.  The ’Villains‘ section will hopefully help educate prospective clients on how to approach an agency - the things you should know, suggestions that we can give you that might make the overall process much easier for both parties.

The most important requirement that you need to be a good client is that you must let the service provider do their job (assuming that you have chosen someone other than your neice, or son, or close friend to tackle your marketing efforts).  You know your business, we know ours.  But this does not mean that you know how to properly shoot a commercial, or design a logo, create a brochure or get people to sign up or purchase your product online. If you are looking to hire someone to produce your ideas, your way, this is ok, but you’ll need communicate this.  Also, if this is the case, you should not be hiring an agency - but an independent contractor to do this.

There are many tid bits of information that we few, we happy few, can bequeath to you.  Check back with SP and we’ll try to post some good information for you.

Send to a Comrade Comments (1)
Suggested for Villains
Back
Bad Client Stories From the Front Lines
DefCon 5
May 01. 2007.

We’ve all been there.  Whether you are in Video, Web, Graphic Design, Marketing..etc, we’ve all been in scenarios where we just couldn’t understand what the heck was going on with the client.  Perhaps it was a project that you had long ago - one that made you think of doing things to the person on the other end of the phone that you only see in a Hollywood movie.  Or perhaps you got yourself into a nice little legal battle because your client wanted more than they paid for.  Or better yet, maybe your point of contact at said company was new there, and trying to make a name for themselves?  Whatever the situation, I know there are some good stories out there and we’d like to hear them.

I used to think that I was the only one that ran into these scenarios until I started doing a lot of contract work - and seeing that a lot of other agencies and independent contractors were facing the same nightmarish clients that I had to face.  And some of their clients worse than I had ever seen!  Simply amazing. But, enough about me, the StormPilot, what about you?  Tell we your woes.

Send to a Comrade Comments (0)
Suggested for Villains
Back
The Small Design Project - Easy Right?
DefCon 3
April 26. 2007.

We’ve all been down this road.  A small project comes along and it of course has a small budget.  You think to yourself, ‘hey, I get this project in/out, get a portfolio piece, and we’re done in two weeks!’.  Ahh, if life would only be so simple.

A friend who has been doing print design for about 15+ years mentioned to me once that it is the smallest clients and/or projects that will pay less, expect more and be hell bent on driving you to the brink.  He was right.  Though, it took me about 5 years to realize this because I’m a pretty slow learner.  It always seems to start the same way, the client comes in and immediately starts referring to the project as ‘small’, ‘not a lot of work’, and they ‘have a good portion of it completed’.  They further state something to the effect that ‘all I need you to do is..’.  To quote Han Frickin’ Solo - “Here’s where the fun begins”.

I don’t know what it is but if you try to be a nice guy (or gal) in this scenario and charge less, or God forbid nothing at all, you are quickly heading up $#&* creek.  Many of these clients will suck the very life force out of you.  And in case you haven’t noticed, creativity most often flows from a calm mind, focus and overall good vibes.  By the end of a project of this sorts you may be ready to pack your bags and head to the corporate cubicle (though there is nothing wrong with this). 

Ironically enough (though none of the things that I say are true all of the time), its the clients that do place value on design, development & marketing who will tend to give you more ‘say’ in the project.  They are also understanding that if you promised to do ‘A’, ‘B’ & ‘C’ - and the project ends up having ‘D’ & ‘E’ added on - they don’t freak out on you and look at you as if you are trying to steal from them.  They may want to negotiate an additiona price, but negotiation is a good thing.

Just be careful of the small projects please, they will give give you grey hair, anxiety attacks, and you will start annoying everyone aound you.  Don’t let the creative force die!

Send to a Comrade Comments (0)
Suggested for Villains
Back
Prospective Clients | Words and Phrases that Raise Red Flags
DefCon 4
April 24. 2007.

In the military there are certain acronyms, or one or two-syllable words that people can utter that let you know immediately that something is wrong.  Words like “Mayday”, or “Gun!”, “Fire”, “Bomb” or evn “Bogey, 6 o’clock”...you catch my drift. So should there be terms in the design industry that we can utter amongst ourselves when we hear or see things that raise red flags.  Picture if you would - a lead has been generated and you are speaking with the prospective customer for the first time and they say something like, “We are looking for a web designer to design something that will, uhh, put us up on the top of the web page - you know, with hyperlinks (annunciated dramatically) and photos - yeah, can we get have our company information on Google.com?”.  Say what? Hyperlink what!, WTF are you talking about?!

As it turns out, this customer did not know the difference between a company web page and the results that appear on Google.  It took me a while to figure this out because he kept wanting to know why he couldn’t just have a link on Google and not a website?  Yes, yes, this is one of those scenarios where, instead of being Mr. nice guy businessman who is there to hand-hold mom and pop, I should have run like the wind - away from this potential client. 

Why you ask?… my fellow Heroes… I’ll tell you why.  I wanted to treat this project as a ‘get it in, get it out’, kick out a logo, a site, and a data capture CMS - likety split right?  I’d keep the cost low for the project, do a nice simple site, botta bng botta bang. NOT. Well, the bottom line is that I budgeted about 30-40 hours for this project and it turned out to be about 100+ hours.  I could go through the various issues that came up in the project - why the client was mad because I couldn’t read their mind, or why they couldn’t figure out why ongoing changes to the site weren’t free..yada yada yada, but that would take too long.  My point is this.  Be VERY careful about who you choose as a client, listen for things like:

* over-use of the term “hyperlinks” (BLAM! - Red Flag!)
* consistently uses the words “world wide web” (BLINGO - Another Red Flag!)
* or comments like, “hey my daughter came up with this design, can you tweak it a little for us - how much will this cost?” (Zingo - BIG Red Flag!)
* or even the ‘cool guy’ (who for some reason thinks that he understands what you do) who says that he built the previous site in “C++, Macromedia and PERL”.  (RUN!...run for your very lives!)

Ok, here’s the deal, I certainly don’t expect every potential client to be able to walk in the door and know all the lingo, understand everything about the web, typography, design, usability and so on.  What I do expect though is that if they don’t know or understand something - they should say it.  Hearing something like, ‘Hey, I don’t know much about this stuff, but I’d really like to feature my company online in a much more professional fashion’.  This is what they are supposed to say. 

Also, I am not trying to tell you to not take on a project just because someone doesn’t have much knowledge about our industry… All I’m saying is that you should be careful, and listen for key words (no, not SEO words) - words that should make the hair on the back of your neck stand up.  And remember, it’s the smallest projects that can cause the biggest headaches.

SP

Send to a Comrade Comments (0)
Suggested for Villains
Back
Creative Control of a Design Project - For whom?
DefCon 3
April 23. 2007.

Before starting any kind of project (ie. web design, print design, interface design..etc), you must know what the client has running around in their grapes (heads).  You see, from experience, I’ve learned that everyone has the capacity to think that they are a designer or have some kind of creative talent.

The worst offenders are Engineers and IT folk.  Ok, I understand that most engineers are somewhat intelligent in the world of logic and reasoning, and I also understand that IT can be one of the most frustrating and difficult jobs in the world, but guys (and gals) just because you know how to network two rocks, and understand the intricacies of how systems are built - this does not mean that you should be designing the company website.  Stick to the Intranet fellas - no one really cares (with the exception of all your frustrated employees) what the company Intranet looks like. 

So, the moral of the story is this: PLEASE, for the love of 2Advanced, do not ever think you are a designer just because you can engineer the Matrix itself!  Most of you are downright awful!  Leave it up to good designers. 

I came across an article the other day - how good designers (with a sense of usability) can help build the overal functionality of an application. (See article: Rapid Prototyping).

Oh, and did I mentioned that this also goes for all you regular Joes, Sally’s, business owners, CEO’s, Presidents, Managers and even Marketing professionals?  Just because you know your business inside and out - or can build a rocket engine from scratch, or have been in business for over 20 years - please leave it up to someone that knows what the heck they are doing.

SP

Send to a Comrade Comments (5)
Suggested for Villains
Back
The “Lorem Ipsum Dolor” Warning
DefCon 1
April 22. 2007.

There are many things that you don’t want to hear from a client - especially a new client.  If one heeds warning signs of a potential client, you the design, developer or marketing may save yourself a lot of trouble.  One comment that can definitely send up a red flag and it is ”the site design looks great, but why is it written in Italian?”

shock This comment came from a brand new client of mine after viewing the first design directions for a new website.  The same would also apply for a print design project but this one happened to be a simple website design. Not only did they not understand the concept of getting a design comp, but they couldn’t figure out why we wrote the text in Italian ( “Lorem Ipsum Dolor...").  Yikes! Yes, this is not a good sign when you hear this.  Does this mean that they bad people?  Of course not, but clients that tend to be completely clueless about some of our most basic processes, can be very difficult to deal with over the long run.  In addition to not knowing that they would receive a design direction (yes, I know it’s our job to educate them to some extent) but they also wondered why they couldn’t click the buttons on the ‘website’ (jpg file).

This may not be the worst thing you can hear from a new client.  I can think of others (and will include those in other posts) that are much worse, but I thought this one was kind of amusing.  cheese

SP

Send to a Comrade Comments (0)
Suggested for Villains
Back
Designers, Developers and Marketers Unite!
DefCon 1
April 22. 2007.

This blog has been a long time coming.  I’ve thought of different ways to voice my opinion about this industry and the clients that I’ve run into.  When I talk to other agencies it doesn’t take long to realize that I am not the only one in the world who has suffered some.  I’m no saint, nor to I purport to be holier than though, but I would like to think that I have become somewhat competent within the Interactive Marketing industry.

I don’t know who will read this or where it will go.  If nothing else, it will simply be a place where professionals within this industry can get together and share some stories regarding their most memorable clients.  I’m sure there will be some occasional bitterness in some of my posts, yet I will certainly voice my opinion.  But that’s what blogs are for.  It’s just my opinion.  I may be off at times but I’m sure that any participants will call me on this.  This is my personal fortress of solitude -my opportunity to rip on my clients that just didn’t get it, or because of their ignorance - they chose to act without knowledge and ruin a perfectly good project.  But details will come in the stories.  I am not a writer or an english major but I have a story to tell.  Stay tuned.

- SP

Send to a Comrade Comments (0)
Suggested for Villains
Back

© Storm Pilot 2007, all rights reserved