Can we finally put to rest the tired and pernicious notion that “the client is always right”?
It’s not true, and marketing people who work from this mindset are doing themselves—and their clients—a great disservice.
Yes, most clients know a good deal about their companies and products. Hopefully they can also provide helpful insights about their industries and how their brands are perceived within their markets.
But we marketing and creative professionals need to stop nodding like bobbleheads every time a client makes an unreasonable request, whether for our time or changes to our work. In particular, we need to stand our ground when we believe that a requested change could have a negative effect on performance.
A few examples from my own experience:
“Take the P.S. out of this letter. It looks childish.”
“Why is this violator red? Make it a brand color.”
“Get rid of this call to action. We already have one on the front.”
Can you imagine if plumbers and electricians let their customers tell them what to do?
“I think that pipe would look better over there.”
“Can you use green wires instead of red?”
Give me a break.
“But wait!” one of my former account managers might say. “Isn’t marketing a service industry?”
Yes, it is. And in my mind, that means we marketing professionals are obliged to provide the insights, expertise, and results for which our clients are paying. Even—no, especially—when clients request changes that we know to be ill-advised.
Don’t get me wrong. Most client feedback is helpful, and it’s great when clients ask questions. As professional marketers, we should encourage this because every question is an opportunity to educate our clients and strengthen their confidence in our work.
The trouble starts when critical feedback is delivered prescriptively rather than in the form of a question, suggestion, or observation.
Let’s be clear. If clients were expert in copy, design, marketing strategy, etc., then they wouldn’t need us.
But that’s not the case. We are the marketing professionals, and by God, we should act like it.
“If the client changes the copy, I get angry—because I took a lot of trouble writing it, and what I wrote I wrote on purpose.” —David Ogilvy
Dealing with destructive feedback
So, what can marketing and creative professionals do to help deter and defend against ruinous requests?
1. Explain the work
It’s not enough for creatives to just throw work at clients and expect them to ooh and aah. If we are doing our jobs, then we are also taking time to help our clients understand how our work meets strategy and why it will be effective.
When presenting concepts and full executions, explain the thinking behind the work—either verbally or in a short, written “rationale.” If you are a graphic designer, focus on what the work does rather than how it looks. Highlight the use of best practices and point out areas of interest. This can be a great way to demonstrate your expertise while minimizing subjective feedback and heading off questions and concerns.
Related: Marketers, stop letting compliance departments write your sales copy
2. Ask questions
Another good strategy is to ask questions. Often when a client requests a change, there is an underlying issue that he is trying to get at, but he doesn’t quite know how to articulate it. By asking the right questions, you can uncover the real concern and address it.
Account managers, you should absolutely involve writers and designers in discussions about major changes. Find out what the client hopes to achieve by making a specific change. How will it benefit the reader and improve performance?
Keep the client focused on how the work does or does not meet objectives. If the client does not like something, ask what the problem is, not how she would fix it.
3. Offer an alternative approach
If the client gets prescriptive and requests a very specific dunderheaded change, you can take control of the situation and provide unique value by offering an alternative approach that you and the client might both like. You may even find that you like the new approach better than the original.
Show both versions to the client along with an explanation of their pros and cons. Then let the client choose.
Your credibility is on the line
Creatives are often criticized for being resistant to feedback and reluctant to make changes. On the other hand, agencies and freelancers are sometimes so anxious to win over clients that they agree to things they shouldn’t.
Remember, the client is going to judge your work—and your ultimate worth—based on how well the piece performs.
If you cave on critical issues and the creative fails, you will take the blame. If you roll over every time the client asks you to change something, she may start to wonder if you know what you are doing.
This is not why the client hired you, and it is not why you took the job. You are not a typist or an order-taker. You are an expert who was hired to get results.
So don’t be afraid to stand your ground and protect your work from destructive changes. Good clients will appreciate your honesty, candor, and courtesy—especially when your convictions are confirmed by the campaign’s success.
Back to blog home page.
Nice post Rob! I would add two things to your list on how to deal with the issue:
1. Show them the data why you’re making the choice. Many choices you mentioned, such as the PS or a different color on a CTA, have data that proves the point. Whenever I show that to the client, they change their tune.
2. If it’s subjective and you don’t have data, just experience behind you, then you might be wrong too. In that case, the best choice is to say, “Hmm, maybe you’re right. Let’s test that.” Testing is the only way to get to the true answer – both for you and the client.
Great points, Greg! In today’s digital age, we marketers have unprecedented access to a universe of research, data, and test results. If a tactic or technique has been proven to work, supporting evidence is usually no more than a Google search away.
And now, with analytics tools being built into everything right up to (and probably including) our kitchen toasters, it’s never been easier to test different approaches ourselves. (For those who are new to testing, I suggest you read up on the basics first to make sure you get it right. You’ll find some good introductory articles on A/B testing over at Hubspot and Neil Patel’s blog.)
I also appreciate Greg’s observation that testing is the only way to be sure. Yes, we “know” in general that postscripts pull eyeballs and calls to action need to be visible–but not every marketing “truth” can be taken for granted with every brand and audience.
So, don’t guess. Take Greg’s advice and test, test, test your way to certainty.
(For loads of testing insights and entertainment value to boot, I highly recommend Flint McGlaughlin’s work over at MECLABS. I love this guy’s videos and have learned a ton from them over the years. So much so that I’m planning to write a post about this mad marketing genius soon.)
Greg, thanks again for reading and sharing your insights!