Common Design Client Problems and How to Prevent Them
There are countless perks to working solo as a freelance designer. Freedom to set your own hours, choose your clients, charge what you want, say no to things, take vacations when you want — the list goes on!
But, we all know that self employment isn’t always 100% smooth sailing.
When you work by yourself as a brand or web designer, you now also have to take on the role of project manager. That means navigating difficult client situations when they occur, and figuring out how to prevent them so that your clients have a five-star experience working with you.
Sometimes a client relationship seems perfect at the beginning, but everything melts into chaos once you get started! So what do you do when that happens?!
First thing’s first: remember, clients are not designers.
Things that might seem second nature to us about our work and process are often completely new to our clients. It’s easy to become frustrated, and it can be tempting to respond to difficult situations in a curt tone. Instead, take a breather and remember that the client doesn’t do design every day like you do. When you respond, take the opportunity to kindly educate your clients and help them understand your point of view as the design expert.
With that said, here’s how to handle a handful of common client personalities:
1. The Ghost
What happens:
This client disappears mid-project. You thought you were about to wrap up the project, get your final payment, send over the final files, and share your beautiful new work in your portfolio. But now you have no idea when it will be done, because the client isn’t responding to any of your emails! You were really counting on that final payment, as well. And, now you’re also worried that if you start a new project, the client will magically reappear and expect you to pick up where you left off, and then you’ll be overloaded with too much work.
How to nip it in the bud:
After a week or so of following up with no forward progress, send an email to your client letting them know that since you haven’t heard from them, you’re going to put their project on hold, and when they’re available again you’ll be able to pick it back up at the date of your next availability.
How to prevent it from happening at all:
Include a Dormancy clause in your contract. This can state that if the client is unresponsive or there is no forward movement in the project after a certain amount of time, you have the right to put the project on hold. Once it’s put on hold, it can only be rescheduled for your next availability, and the client will be charged a rescheduling fee. Have your client initial next to this in your contract, and be sure to review this policy with them at the beginning of your collaboration.
In your contract, outline date-based payment deadlines instead of milestone-based. To do this, estimate how many weeks the project will take to complete. Instead of stating that the final payment is due upon completion of the project, state that it’s due a specific number of weeks after you begin the project (around the time you expect it to be done). This payment will be due regardless of if the project is finished or not. Have your client initial next to this clause, as well. Knowing that a payment is coming up can incentivize a client to respond in a timely manner to finish up the project.
2. The Ever-Evolving Visionary
What happens:
This client tells you they like one thing — then changes their mind to a completely different preference after you’ve presented your work. You thought you’d nailed the design, only to be hit with an idea completely out of left field. They might even use the phrase, “I’ll know it when I see it.” You feel blindsided, confused, and unsure of how and when the project is going to end, or if they’ll ever even be happy.
How to nip it in the bud:
Remind the client of the initial brief, which should include not only their design preferences, but their project goals, information about their business, and target audience. Using that information, gently remind the client why you made your design decisions by pointing out how your decisions work best for their business. Gently let them know how their new ideas contradict the things they want to communicate about their business.
And, don’t be afraid to stand firm on the number of revisions included in your project scope. It can be tempting to throw revision limits out the window when a client isn’t completely satisfied yet. But there’s nothing wrong with reminding the client that they’ve hit their revision limit (or their limit is coming up), and you’re happy to continue making edits at an additional fee.
How to prevent it from happening at all:
Be sure to outline a specific number of revision rounds in your contract. When you send design proofs to your client, it helps to state in the email, “this is revision round x of x.” This way they’re aware of how many rounds they have left, they’ll be intentional with their requests, and there will be no surprises when you need to start charging for extra rounds.
And equally importantly, be sure to have an in-depth conversation at the start of the project about their business’s goals, purpose, audience, and the message they need to communicate to their audience. Those core business qualities are arguably more important than the client’s personal design preferences. When you start with a deep discovery conversation, you give yourself so much more ground to get your client onboard with your design decisions.
Tip: My free Kick-Off Meeting Questionnaire is a huge help here; it includes every single question to ask your client during a Branding project kick-off meeting!
3. The Scope Creeper
What happens:
This client asks for one more little thing, which snowballs into a gazillion little things, and suddenly it’s all a big thing! You’re now feeling bitter for not getting paid what all your extra time was worth, and finding it difficult to determine what’s still a continuation of the first project versus what constitutes a new project with a new price.
How to nip it in the bud:
When a client requests something outside the scope of what you already agreed upon, don’t be afraid to say, “sure, I’m happy to help with that! Once we finish this project, I’ll send over a quote for that one.” Often we fear that the client will balk at an additional price, but getting charged extra money for extra things is completely normal. (No one complains to the cashier at Chipotle when they get charged to add on guacamole!)
How to prevent it from happening at all:
Be sure your contract outlines an extremely clear scope of work. This should include how many design options are presented, how many rounds of revisions the client receives, what deliverables are included and in what file formats, and that a fee is charged if the client would like extra designs or deliverables. When your scope of work is super clear, it’s so much easier to enforce extra fees for extra work.
4. The Budget Ballet Dancer
What happens:
This client wants all the bells and whistles…but on a shoestring budget. Even though they balk at your pricing, this client may totally understand the value of your work and want top-notch design; they simply can’t afford it at the stage they’re at in their business.
How to nip it in the bud:
Empathize with the client! Take a look at their business and goals next to their budget and what they’re asking for. Based on these things, do they truly need the top-of-the-line design package they’re requesting?
Remember, we don’t ever want to push clients into spending money they don’t have or truly don’t need to spend.
If you feel it’s a good option, you can remove some of the features from your proposal to bring the price down. This way, they can still get a great project that helps their business grow, and you can feel good about the amount of work you’re doing at their price point.
If you truly can’t meet their budget, or feel that shrinking your design package wouldn’t be helping their business, it’s okay to turn the project down. You can let them know that they’re welcome to come back to you later when they’re ready. In this case, it’s also helpful to have some resources on hand to help point them in the right direction, whether it’s free downloads with helpful information or other trusted designers you can refer them to.
How to prevent it from happening at all:
Sharing your prices publicly on your website will eliminate nearly all client inquiries that can’t afford your services. When you’re transparent about your pricing, you can be assured that almost every client who reaches out can at least afford your lowest price. If your prices range or are custom quoted, you can share a price range or a “starting at” price. This helps clients to know what to expect before reaching out so that neither you nor the client is disappointed or wastes time talking about a project they can’t afford.
5. The Lollygagger
What happens:
This client isn’t in a hurry, but not in a good way. You need information from them — website copy, photos, business information, assets for a print publication, whatever it may be — and they’re dragging their feet. You either can’t get started or can’t progress with the project until you have that info. And suddenly, what you thought was going to be a three-week project has turned into months on end of you following up and the client responding that they’ll “have it soon!”
How to nip it in the bud:
Similarly to the Ghost above, after weeks go by with no forward movement, let the client know you’re going to put the project on hold until they have everything ready, and when they’re ready you’ll be able to pick back up at your next availability.
How to prevent it from happening at all:
In your contract, set a deadline for content delivery from the client, with a due date before the project starts. Outline specifically what content is required from the client (copy, photos, account logins, etc.). Similarly to the Ghost, state that if the content is not received by that deadline, you have the right to put the project on hold and reschedule it for your next availability with a fee. Have the client initial next to this in your contact, and be sure to review this policy with them before you book their project. By setting a clear and agreed-upon deadline, the client will take the timeline seriously and understand that you aren’t able to wait around.
6. The Too-Much-Team Player
What happens:
This client loved your design presentation — but then they asked their husband, and their best friend, and their neighbor, and all of a sudden they have a lot of completely unproductive feedback. Or, they got opinions from their team of ten employees who can’t agree on anything, and now the design is being pulled in multiple competing directions.
How to nip it in the bud:
Remind the client that while you appreciate their friend’s/family’s/colleague’s point of view, it’s important to keep the project details between the two of you in order to ensure you stay on track with their business goals and vision. It can be helpful to kindly remind them of their target audience, pointing out that the person they asked for feedback is not part of their target audience group, and that not every opinion is a valid opinion in regards to their project.
How to prevent it from happening at all:
Include a Mystery Voices clause in your contract, which prohibits the client from asking for feedback from third parties. Additionally, you can state a maximum size for the project committee, and state that all members of that project committee must be present at all project meetings and presentations. This way, you can ensure that everyone who’s voice matters is involved and providing feedback directly to you from the very beginning, and that no curve-ball opinions come your way.
Need help crafting emails to these types of clients?
I’ve got you covered!
My Email Scripts for Sticky Client Situations gives you a collection of response templates right at your fingertips to help you reply professionally, keep projects on track, and get everything you need from your clients in order to facilitate smooth projects in your design business. Plus, many templates include different variations based on the situation, because no two situations are exactly the same.
OTHER POSTS FOR DESIGNERS:
Common tricky design client situations, how to steer them back on track, and how to prevent them altogether.