Have you ever had clients that were actually understanding and patient with you, clients that weren’t? Clients that are just abrasive and rude, or even just weird clients? Yeah, we’ve had those before, and trust me, NO ONE would want to deal with the last two. That’s why I’m writing this article. Hi, my name is Demetrius Warden, and I’m here to list the types of clients people deal with.
So… Let’s say you were a web designer, waiting oh so dearly for your next project. A client finally reaches out to you. They tell you what they would like you to make for them, and how much they’re paying. You kindly offer! (because you most likely didn’t have any other job). So you set up a meeting with your newly established client. They tell you what they want on their website, and BAM!!! It is smooth sailing from there. There you are, making timelines on how it’s going to go, and…. There’s your first red flag.
Before I continue with what I’m talking about, the terms that I use come from Indeed.
Uncertain Clients
“Some clients may not know exactly what they want from your business. These clients may have clear ideas about what they don’t want but struggle to figure out or tell you what they expect.” (Indeed),
So your client has uncertainties about what you’re working on, you would expect them to be transparent about that right? … right??? Exactly! They don’t know how to actually TELL you. So you’d make sure your client knows what they asked for. Set up a meeting on what you guys have BOTH agreed on and base your client’s concerns from there.
There you go! You have yourself a success, making your client happy, and yourself money! You decide to branch off from there. You get another client that’s also happy to work with you. So you go through the same ordeal with the last client. Meeting, Timeline, Milestones. However, this client is quite impatient about your working period. Some might even say…
Urgent Clients
Pretty clever huh? “Urgent clients often request quick deadlines for your deliverables or services. These clients may fear being late with their own dealings or projects and want to streamline your business faster than your capabilities allow.” (Indeed).
This client might have business going on and they might have you work even faster than YOU ever thought possible. But you, being the sensible person in this business-client relationship, ask them what’s with the urgency in their messages?
They tell you, and both of you decide to come together and figure out a reasonable solution. Perhaps, making another timeline? This time both of you are happy with what is being asked for, with you happily helping out with whatever is going on.
Another successful job! You’re on a roll, I can tell you have matured. Oh oh oh! Another client reaches out to you. Same old business, Meeting, timeline, milestones all that jazz, but… In that meeting, that client has some expectations that YOU yourself are not even sure you can take care of. Some might even call it
Unrealistic clients
…Thank you, I’ll be here all week. “Clients with high expectations often have big ideas for their business’s direction, future projects or other visionary efforts. However, these clients may sometimes ask you to perform services beyond what your business can provide.” (Indeed).
Let me provide an example, your client is a graphic designer, and would like you to design a website for them. They want you to provide art all throughout the website, and I mean ALL THROUGHOUT THE WEBSITE. On the logo, the text, in the background (of course), and yes… even footer.
So you think to yourself “This is absurd!”, …because it is. Beside the point. But you want to make your client happy, right? So you push yourself to the limit of making whatever your client wanted. But it is not working out. So what you’re going to have to do is reach out to your client and tell them, “I unfortunately can not make this happen”. Your client, although disappointed, understands and just wants the art in the background, that in which you do while designing it to their satisfaction.
Nice going! You may be surprised that your client understood what you could and couldn’t do, and loved the result afterwards. Good job!
Conclusion
Nice going web designer! You have dealt with three types of clients that would most likely be problematic, You were really mature with how you figured out a solution for each client. Thank you for reading my blog, if you would like to read any more that are like this, check out my other blogs! I’m Demetrius Warden, and I will most likely see you during the next marking period!