Client-agency relationship while building a site or app, pt.2

We’ve identified the killer of the client-agency relationship. Budget didn’t do it.

It really doesn’t matter who has the upper hand. Whether the client who needs a new website, app, API or other digital product is small, huge, demanding or simple – there is always some kind of initial gathering. This is the moment where business goals, past experiences, aesthetic norms, solid numbers, wild guesses and random opinions get thrown on the table for everyone to see.

Sometimes these gatherings are in the form of a simple kickoff meeting. And other times they are proper workshops, lasting between one day and a few, where the problem in front of us is thoroughly dissected and a plan is made. More often than not all the actors walk away happy, with spirits flying high as kites, rightfully expecting great success.

And sure enough, in a prevalent number of cases, agencies hit their marks. Clients like the first versions of design and copy. Sometimes they even love them. With a few iterations, quickly we are all on the same page and very soon apps get built and start performing, goals get met and all is well in businessland.

But then there is that odd occasion where expectations are so thoroughly misaligned with what had been agreed upon at the workshop, it seems as if completely different people were present there, speaking completely different words. This can be the inception of a stream of disappointments no one could have imagined on day one.

How did it come to this? How on earth did we collectively manage to screw this up?

Our best guess? Lingo.

Talk about the lingo

We’ve noticed a trend of expectation misalignment that stems from insufficient understanding of terms and phases of any digital project. Assuming everyone understands what some general terms mean is the butcher of relationships, Jack the Ripper of proper expectations. For example, when someone says “look & feel”, it is virtually impossible we all think it means the same thing.

Yes, the cockup could be as simple as that. Here comes the most common misinterpretations:

The potential traps in the workshop with clients

The purpose of the workshop is to take a good, hard, structured look into your present situation. Your needs, blockers, strengths and weaknesses, traps and opportunities, risks, business goals etc. Basically, we all need to look at the problem we are collectively solving for you, from as many angles as possible. You bring your wishes and insider knowledge, we bring our experience and expertise in UX/UI design, development, copywriting, data analysis, branding, etc.

Some parts of the process are rigid and structured. Like crunching numbers, prioritizing products and services, choosing angles of attack etc. But there are also fun, loose and wacky sections of this journey, those more susceptible to crazy brainstorming, brewing of fresh ideas and generally having fun while basically doing good things for the client. This latter part absolutely needs to be there. It is essential for the process. But it is also a substantial bull trap.

We’re your advisor, a guide, a friend in this process, not just the mechanic

The problem starts when clients start mixing these two very different stages up. It is normal for every client to walk away from a workshop somewhat disoriented. They just left their comfort zone, big time. They are exhausted, overwhelmed and unsure of what comes next.

This is where the agency needs to make a good summary, a proper workshop delivery document that will become a scripture for us all. This document needs to be a place of truth every time we have trouble remembering all those things we firmly decided upon as opposed to those someone just mentioned. Make no mistake: as weeks go by, the lines between the two will get very blurred.

An agency unable to deliver a super clear delivery doc will justly be the culprit of its own undoing in this relationship. The job here is not just helping the client decide what direction to take and produce the site or app that will do it. The job is to take the client there by the hand. The agency is an advisor, a guide, a friend in all this. Not just the mechanic.

On the other hand, it is the responsibility of the client to stick with the things they’ve committed to during our time together. The workshop was tough. We made some hard decisions together. Because they are based on facts. Because they make sense. Because we, the specialists of all things digital, advised you to take a certain route. You, the center of your business, decided to listen to that advice and take the plunge.

You see, it is much, much easier to be firm and resolute and audacious in planning than it is in implementing. We get that. We needed to do that with our own business, numerous times. We really did.

But it is absolutely crucial you stick to the heading we agreed upon, throughout the project. And not lose track of the plan. Yes, there will be some pivoting along the way and that is expected. But at no point can we completely change our strategy based on fear, ad-hoc decisions from above, or involving additional people who will “just take a look” mid-project. That course of action is always out of scope, out of timeline, out of sense and more often than not, makes everything we agreed upon up to that point close to worthless. You need to stick to the written plan. Period.

Look & feel – don’t worry dear clients, it’s changeable

In concrete terms, Look & feel is a first design draft, oftentimes with a copywriting appetizer that comes within. It is trying to convey the general look of your future product.

What this means is “first taste”. A bite. A whiff. And if we stick with the culinary analogy, that first taste will not describe what your entire meal will be like (appetizer, soup and dessert included), but it will give you an idea of where this is going. It is also where all that disappointment frequently stems from.
Sometimes we nail it spectacularly and this first taste becomes the basis for the whole project, with almost no changes down the line. Yes, this does occasionally happen, and when it does, it’s a win at the Super Bowl for all of us. But don’t count on it.

The key is in staying fluid about the look & feel. We have to start somewhere, right?

There are two basic client misperceptions when it comes to look and feel:

“OMG, I hate this! But I cannot change anything anymore. I’ve made a bad call with this vendor, committed my budget, the project is now dead, rest in peace and see you on the other side.”
This, of course, is not true. The design is changeable, workable, tunable in many, many aspects. A lot of thought and work went into it, a lot of your own input we’ve agreed upon on the workshop and along the way. Of course we can play with it further until we hit that sweet spot. Relax and have faith. This is our first visual contact, and we’re bound to get to your happy place in the end. The first draft rarely makes it to the final product and that is a fact. Let it breathe.
I’m not too crazy about the look & feel, but I don’t have the time to object too much at this phase. I’ll tell them what bothers me at some point in the future, once they REALLY start putting it together.
Ehm. This IS when we’re putting it together. You need to object the loudest right about now. If we are failing, we need to know as early as possible. If we are doing well, the same principle applies - let’s kick it into gear and start producing layouts. In any case, give it to me, baby. Right now, loud and clear. Changing the foundations later will slaughter the whole thing.

Tone of voice

There is a huge difference between how clients think they would like to sound online, and how they would actually like to sound once they start hearing that new brave voice of theirs after we test-hit them with it. For a better understanding of this example, just picture the following scenario:

Client walks into the workshop, not sure what they want to sound like in their future app, just sure they’d like to “change something because what we got now is sort of lame and definitely old”. Fair enough.

Somewhere during the course of the workshop there is usually a fun part where we play around with some cool, smart, purposeful, spot-on copy. A taste of what we think the client should sound like throughout their future website.

The client usually loves it! We’re all on the same page here, guys! This is what modern companies sound like online, no matter how big they are and regardless of what they do. It needs to feel as if we are having a one on one conversation with the customer. No grand expressions, no cold distance, no feeling of a monolithic megacorp talking down at the visitor. Just short, useful pieces of information presented with elegant, friendly clarity. And just a splash of tasteful fun added for good measure. Got it.

Fast forward a few weeks, and the highly anticipated draft of the copy deck is delivered for inspection.

Turns out that slick, short, laid back conversational style we all were so fond of during the UX workshop isn’t right for us after all. We cannot possibly sound like that. We are a serious company here. What would our clients say? What will the CEO think? No way, Jose. Roll it back, and what were you thinking?!

Let’s just be sure what goes and what doesn’t - right out of the gates

Everyone likes the idea of being brave and taking an audacious plunge. Of zipping down that line. Making the right risky call. Standing up for what we believe in, no matter what. But hard things remain hard no matter how romantically we fantasize about them. And all those abysses seem much deeper and darker once we are standing above them compared to prior visions in our heads.

And that is ok. It really is. We get that.

The thing is, that time in the workshop when you gave us the green light to go out and be brave and witty, we also committed to it in more than one way. We rolled with it in terms of effort, timeline and, most unfortunately, budget. Throwing it all away is downright impossible without wrecking up our finances by starting over from scratch again.

We absolutely want to take that bold step with you as our client. We want to make a difference, make you look and sound unique, stir your customer’s emotions and reach your business goals. But in order to do that, we need you to commit and not let go.

Choosing the easier, more conservative path is absolutely ok. We know how to do that. It’s not like we have to be too cool for school all of the time. Let’s just be sure what goes and what doesn’t right out of the gates, as we’ve already discussed in our last client-agency blog.

I like the way you move

We’ll like you from the moment you walk into our workshop. The man hours you will buy pay the bills and turn the wheels, but it’s actually not just about that. By doing it the right way, the workshop way, you will have shown that you are committed. That you get it. Because you did not take the quick and easy route while building your next web or mobile app, and we appreciate that. You made the right call and it makes us want to make these things happen for you even more.

Another reason for us not to get lost in translation? Seems only fair.

MATKO STANKOVIĆ / 2024-01-31