Working with Clients
Sign Off Etiquette
As fun as it can be to let a project drag on for eternity, and as much as I thoroughly enjoy working for free, one of the best things I can do for my relationship with my client is to define a clear end point for the project. I need sign off.
The problem, is how do I terminate a project in such a way as to strengthen my ongoing relationship? Continue Reading »
How to be a Good Client
I don’t believe that clients set out to be “difficult” on purpose. Sure, there are certain personalities that just don’t mesh, or clients can have expectations of the designer that are unrealistic, or be unclear about communicating, but for the most part people don’t shell out money with the intention of it ending badly.
Projects end badly for a number of reasons, but the majority of them have to do with a lack of communication between the designer and the client.
So what can you, as the client, do to make the design process a much more positive experience?
Here are some ideas:
Informal Contract
So it just dawned on me, after having spent yet another weekend on this project, that maybe there should be a cap on the time or the number of revisions allowed within the scope of the bid.
Oh wait, we do have a cap in our contract. So (scratching my head), why am I now working on revision #4,536,136? Oh, that’s right, because this is for the one client that we have for whom we did not prepare a formal contract for.
This brings to light a fundamental concept… Contracts are for people who think they don’t need contracts.
Contracts: Terms & Conditions
A lot of freelancers have been asking us if we use a standard contract, what issues we address and the verbiage we worked out with our laywer. Since our contract was hard-earned, I thought it would be worth sharing. This is lawyer ratified, but if you choose to use it, neither Peter or I, nor our lawyer will be standing next to you in court when things blow up. Please, please, please sit down with your lawyer and make sure to get the odds and ends in place to fit your business.
All our contracts have a cover page, then the revised proposal followed by the terms and conditions and signature. I might be willing to create a template for the entire proposal / contract document if we get enough requests in the comments.
Continue Reading »
The Price of Simplicity
It can be hard to explain why a really simple UI design should cost more than a complex one. Here’s how I like to look at it:
Good UI does the work for you.
Our Type of Client
Last night at the Webbies Video Awards, Jennifer Daumler, Director of PR at Level3, asked me “what kind of clients do you look for?”
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Delighted, Satisfied or Not Satisfied
In the most recent small business newsletter from Wells Fargo they included a very concise and interesting article on the responsibilities of a CEO. As part of the responsibility of increasing sales and customer service, the authors alluded to the use of a simple customer satisfaction rating system:
Continue Reading »
Creating Happy Customers
In the last 20 years, Gallup has interviewed over a billion customers, trying to identify what they really want. As you would expect, they first discovered that a customer’s needs vary by industry. Surprisingly though, they found 4 sets of customer expectation that consistently spanned across various types of business and people. These expectation are what they call hierarchical, meaning that you need to accomplish 1 and 2 before 3 has any value. I was thinking about this and decided to apply it to our company and industry.
Why I am Proud to Work with blip.tv
I was chatting with my cousin Harun (a.k.a. Haza) the other day and dropped a note about why i love working with blip.tv. After rereading it, I thought it is worth publishing. Continue Reading »
We Won 2 Webby’s !!!
Early this year, we put blip.tv, studly video distribution team extraordinaire, up as a contender in the broadband category for the 2007 Webby Awards. After a little call out to the community, some funky dreams (can’t figure out why I seem to care so much) and a whole lot of compulsive stats checking, we got the news. Blip.tv is the proud winner of not one, but 2 Webby awards, both the people’s choice award and the jury award. A little UI & design on our part, a whole lot of development, planning & hustling on their part, combined with the dreams of thousands of show producers, actors and a few degenerates, and blip is a true phenomenon.
I have to say that the people’s choice award has some significant meaning to me. It strongly backs up my faith in their positioning in the industry and the power of their community. Michael Dell spoke about the key elements to success in online business some time back in 1999 and attributed it to three factors: content – basically a solid website that people can use ; commerce – having products or services people want; and community – a loyal community that will consistently choose you over your competitors. He then says that the business that figures out how to generate a truly long-term loyal community will dominate their industry. I look at the community blip has built, the talent and passion they bring to the table, and I see great things. We couldn’t be prouder to have S&P be a key part of their team!
