Speaking a Client’s Language
Like a many agencies, we work with a wide range of clients: nonprofit and commercial organizations focused on things like energy security, healthcare, marketing technology, financial services, and even online coupons. And while clients often come to us with a similar range of needs, we need to remember they are experts in their own fields but not ours.
This is particularly true of organizations that do not have dedicated marketing staff. Even though they come to us for help, often they are unfamiliar with the nature of our work, how solutions are described and even what the descriptions mean. Adding to the confusion, sometimes we see problems and opportunities that they do not, and our perception of the “right way” to solve these problems and take advantage of these opportunities on their behalf does not match up with how they see the world or what they think they need. A client may say logo and we offer a visual identity system. A discussion about “fixing our website”, turns into a lesson on content strategy, information architecture and user experience design. For these clients, it probably feels a bit like someone trying to speak to them in a different language, talking over their heads, or upselling.
We’re passionate and vocal about our strategic approach to design and content—and the value of building comprehensive, cohesive systems. As a result, on occasion, we’ve probably lost opportunities to work with a great client that we were really excited about because what they had in mind, or at least their understanding of how a design firm could help them, was more tactical. They were just looking to get something “simple” done, while we saw an opportunity to approach things more strategically and develop a foundation for long-term success by doing things, yep, the right way.
Does this gap in understanding make them a bad potential client or us a bad potential partner? Most likely, neither.
A friend who works in mental healthcare once told me about the process of connecting with different patients. Sometimes he’s able to bring them over to his side of the fence, his reality, and other times he has to step into their reality in order to reach them. In my experience, this strategy applies equally well to connecting with clients in the commercial world (no cheeky reference to the mental health of clients intended).
To be better business partners for our clients, it’s incumbent on agencies not only to solve problems as we see them, but also to address issues in a manner each client understands and values. We should always look add consultative value, but in ways that resonate with each individual client’s experience.
Sometimes we can speak our language, but often we must learn to speak theirs.