Helping clients to help themselves

We're building a new website for a client. The initial visuals had been signed off and we proceeded to build the site and upload it to a test address for the client's final approval prior to going live. And then we hit a wall, with the client saying that the site didn't look or feel quite right and could we go away and come back with a list of suggestions to make it better. I'm sure we've all been here before, but this is a no-win situation for all concerned.

Instead we engaged the client and began to probe more deeply into why they felt the design wasn't working. We kicked a few ideas around and there were some good suggestions from both sides of the table - we were working as a team and the client was taking joint ownership of the design process. Before long we'd reached an agreed action list of relatively minor items which will be applied quickly and easily, resulting in a website that the client and our team will be proud of.

Creativity is a two-way street and any client who totally abdicates responsibility for any part in the design process is almost certainly going to send up disappointed with the end result. At MMS we aim to work with clients, not for them. It's incumbent on the account handling team to make sure they're encouraging the client to contribute to the process rather than act as a passive spectator.

Drawing pretty pictures isn't terribly difficult. More of a challenge, and one of the biggest contributions a good marketing agency can make to a client's business, is to act as a catalyst and facilitator for creative thinking.