Clients: Friends You Never Had

Clients: Friends You Never Had

A fruitful and balanced cooperation with clients is the dream of every designer. However, to bring this dream to reality, designers constantly need to prepare for the various challenges that different clients tend to bring along. But what can you do to generally improve the collaboration with your clients and — on a long-term basis — foster stable relationships in which both parties are actually pulling in the same direction?

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This eBook covers both the designer’s as well as the entrepreneur’s point of view and is sure to provide you with valuable advice that you can easily incorporate into your own workflow when working with your clients. From structuring meetings to managing dissent and staying connected even after the project has ended, the authors of this eBook cover a variety of aspects to consider before, during and after a project. As you will see, it’s the small things that make a big difference.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • Getting Engaged
    by Andy Rutledge
  • How To Build Long-Term Client Relationships
    by Jeremy Girard
  • Keys To Better Communication With Clients
    by Jeremy Girard
  • Guidelines For Successful Communication With Clients
    by Sam Barnes
  • Effective User Research And Transforming The Minds Of Clients
    by Leonard Souza
  • Why Account Managers Shouldn't Prevent Designers From Speaking To Clients
    by Paul Boag
  • How Do You Deal With Overstressed, Irrational Clients? An Entrepreneur's View
    by Brian Scordato
  • How To Sell The Value Of Mobile To Clients
    by Mark Reeves
  • Encouraging Better Client Participation In Responsive Design Projects
    by Andrew Clarke

Technical Information

  • Formats: PDF, EPUB, Kindle (DRM-free)
  • Pages: 85
  • Language: English
  • Released: April 2014
  • Publisher: Smashing Magazine GmbH
  • ISBN (PDF): 978-3-94454045-0
  • ISBN (EPUB): 978-3-94454046-7
  • ISBN (KINDLE): 978-3-94454047-4

Excerpt From Chapter 2

How To Build Long-Term Client Relationships — by Jeremy Girard

Everyone loves a happy ending: the hero slays the dragon, true love conquers all, the Death Star is destroyed, the new website is launched and both client and users alike are thrilled. While this last example may not have the Hollywood ending that the first few examples do, for those of us in the Web design industry, it is the story ending we want for all our project.

Much attention is given to how you kickoff projects, or how best to design and develop websites. But the final stages of the Web design process are never discussed as much as those early and middle stages are. How you wrap up a project, as well as what you do after the project is completed, is critical when it comes to building long-term relationships that will lead to future business.

Excerpt From Chapter 4

Guidelines for Successful Communication With Clients — by Sam Barnes

Most of us have been there: we’re working on a project for a client, we plan it, we set down a timeline with milestones and everyone is happy. We then complete our first task that requires feedback and wait for the response on the date mutually agreed, one that would keep the project on schedule... and then it happens. The response doesn’t come, or it does, and it in no way helps the project along. In fact, it actually makes you want to go and hibernate for a few months in a warm safe place and put the client into carbon freeze.

So what can you do to help avoid these Web project crimes? Hopefully, the following tips can save you some stress and ensure that you aren’t completely grey haired by your mid-twenties.

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