by Rachel Smith
19 October 2016
I have been freelancing for a while, mostly in the online magazine arena. My business is expanding to include corporate jobs which is quite a different beast. I was interested to read your latest blog on managing clients’ expectations and as a spin off from that, wondered if there was a pro forma people use for client briefs? I’ve looked at a few online and they seem too detailed – I find it turns a lot of clients off if you ask them to do too much work at the start (fill in forms with pages of information). I’m absolutely in favour of getting the information clear from the get go but if anyone can suggest a form they find user-friendly by the client (and the writer), I’d love to hear about it. Thanks! KO
I haven’t found a good one either (yet), but Leo and I have created a few in our time when asked to quote on client projects. And while she favours getting the client to fill one in (even if they moan), I agree that most are too time-poor and will often balk / drag their feet / forget about it.
Case in point: I’m currently doing a website for a client. To really nail his message, business philosopy, the tone he wanted in the copy and so on, I put together a series of questions on an email for him to look at and answer. He loved the questions and told me he’d get to it. He didn’t. I reminded him. He still didn’t get to it. I set deadlines for his site launch; they came and went and he kept telling me to extend the launch date. He’s a busy guy, but the project dragged (and threatened to become derailed altogether) because I couldn’t get the info I needed to write the copy and finish the job.
In the end, I booked him in for a face-to-face meeting. I brought my dictaphone and essentially interviewed him to get everything I needed to write his website content. He was chuffed to talk about his business for half an hour, I was happy to have the info I needed; the project clicked into gear again and I’m about to finish it (and get paid).
My point is, sometimes I think the client briefs are best done this way: like an interview you prepare for. Any details can be chased up via email later, but you’ll have the bulk of the information from the start. I also think clients are more receptive; they like talking about themselves (like most people!) and they’re more likely to give you what you need rather than if you made them sit down and think about what they wanted to write on a long, onerous form.
Before this phoner or in-person ‘interview’, of course, you’ll need to do your research on the client and the company – reading their blog, website, social media feeds, any press they’ve had. Then you’ll want to create your own form with the following questions:
1. Who is your client, what do they do and how would they describe their company?
2. What is the project? What exactly do they need you to do?
3. Who’s their audience? Can they describe their ideal customer?
4. Who is their competition? What do they like/loathe about what their rivals do?
5. What’s their company tone and culture? If just formulating it, what or who do they admire?
6. What’s their budget?
7. Who else is involved in the project? Are they your main contact? Are there any designers or photographers you need to liaise with?
These questions can be the starting point for the info you need. Stay tuned for a customisable pro forma download that we’re hoping to bring into the Toolkit.
List members: Do any of you have a pro-forma you use for client briefs?
I don’t have a pro-forma that I use, but I was listening to a podcast recently and a freelance graphic designer said she often sends a client a $20 voucher for Starbucks (or similar coffee shop) with a note saying for them to go and get a coffee and a snack and spend some time answering the questions she had put together for them. She said it works a treat!
LOVE that idea Lindy! (I still don’t think it would’ve worked with my client, though – hah!)
I agree that getting information out of clients can be hard, but I think it’s worth pushing them to do it. If they can’t make the time to fill out a brief – even with just top-line info to start with that we can flesh out in a follow up phone call or meeting – then it sends off warning bells for me. It’s their business and if they want the best result, they need to recognise that it’s a collaboration that needs their active involvement.
So true Angela. I’ve experienced this with clients I didn’t know and it is a red flag if they can’t even provide basic info about the project! With the client mentioned above though, I know him well and knew it was just down to being busy and not being very computer savvy. So I just had to find another way to trap him into it 🙂
Ooh I like the idea of the $20 voucher but I’m pretty sure most of my clients would add it to their pile of “stuff to do” and never get to it!
Thanks for all this information. I think the face-to-face meeting is a great idea (if you are in the same area), and Skype is a useful option for interstate or overseas clients.
Perhaps somebody needs to design an app for client briefs / meetings where they can click through a few buttons and do minimal typing…?!
SUCH a great idea Kylie. Gap in the market…. 🙂