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~ π΅πππ πΊππππ
I'm currently working on two projects at work for clients and I was thinking about them both this morning after dealing with both of them and how very different they are in terms of their communication style and general work demeanour.
The one client is extremely critical and inspects absolutely everything with a fine tooth comb. I have had to go through four rounds of revisions up to this point and I expect there to be at least two or three more before this brief is signed off. It's not out of a lack of workmanship on my part. Originally, the brief that they sent me was extremely vague and didn't provide much "meat" or substance for me to work with. I had to provide my own example copy to prompt them where we needed to extrapolate or expand and I also think they felt rather overwhelmed at the beginning of the project. I broke it down into sections for them so that we could move it forward one step at a time to make them more comfortable and the process seem easier.
Once they grasped that concept, I could tell that their confidence was growing and they took more of the reigns from me in steering the steps. I do this slowly on purpose so that they feel empowered and can make decisions on their own without having to continually seek external input.
The other set of clients are completely the opposite and simply wanted me to drive the entire process from the start with no real brief being provided at all. I had to ask a variety of probing questions to flesh out the framework in my mind and then translate that into a proposal which I am not actually even sure if they read entirely. They simply want the project done and are not particularly fussy as they are more deadline driven than brief driven at the moment. The fact that I put a lot of thought and effort into my work means that I always do the first round of quality control myself before it gets passed to management and there are not very many changes that come from that (on average), so when the client receives the first round of work for approval, it tends to be close to the required standard anyway.
Even though I work for a relatively small company, they are well known by their previous clients and associates for good quality work standards and customer satisfaction. This takes effort, patience and attention to detail. My manager understands that and would prefer work to take slightly longer to ensure that we are delivering what the customer wants instead of giving them sub-par products that are on time. Meeting the deadline means very little if the product is inferior.
Working with a range of people who have different ideas and ways of interacting is a fascinating part of my job and I've learned so much in the process. It has helped me to be prepared for any type of product specification, various personality traits, communication types and I adjust my style of approach to best fit them. That way, I know that at the end of a project timeline they will leave happy and I will be satisfied too knowing that I produced top notch work.
I still believe in the old adage "Customer is King" and my company's customers have put their faith in a reputable team.