They’re just not that into you: Client edition.

03-10-2010

All of us have had a lukewarm client at some point in our career. A lot of us have had many. They are hard to spot initially, because a lot of the time they say the right things. They seem enthusiastic, they go through the motions, but you often find yourself feeling unappreciated, or the project goes pear-shaped, because, through no fault of your own, you end up having to chase them down, pursue them, justify every decision.

I have been going through various aspects of personal growth, thinking philosophically about a lot of different things… what I want from relationships, what I expect and deserve from other people, being made to feel needy or desperate for pretty standard expectations… that sort of thing. This applies as much to the business philosophy as it does to other areas.

Some time ago, I read Greg Behrendt’s book “He’s Just Not That Into You”. I can’t remember where I even borrowed it – but with Greg being a friend of a few of my earlier clients, I checked it out. Being married, a lot of it really didn’t apply in a literal dating sense…. but in some ways over the years, having read the book has actually made some sense to me and often, you can find personal growth in the oddest of places. This was one of them.

Of course it’s since been made into a movie, and I haven’t seen it, so I imagine that you’re all pretty familiar with this as a concept… but just in case: a very quick and brief synopsis…

The main premise is that if you are having to second-guess your relationship, if you are having to chase them down, if you get no replies to calls or emails, if you get promises with no follow through… if you get frequent cancellations… well… He’s Just Not That Into You.

Of course the book is satirical and simplistic, but sometimes, that’s precisely what we need to hear in order to get some perspective. When someone loves you, they show it. And you know it.

How this applies in business

I am pretty sure that I am not the only person to have been strung along by a client or potential client. You know the ones: at the initial enquiry they are enthusiastic but non-committal. Still shopping around, still looking for that better deal… they say they want you and your services. They tell you you’re beautiful. All the right things. And usually they have a cool, fun project that makes you think you need them.

But somewhere along the line, after that first date, or sometimes the fourth, they start to string you along. They try to barter or bargain. They try to get you to do spec work. They take a week to reply to emails. They never say anything to make you think they aren’t interested, but you just get the feeling they aren’t. Sometimes, you will get through a whole project with this client, but they will disappear… or only get in touch when they need something… and often want it for free, because, you’re lucky to have them as a client, right?

And you start trying harder. You start working hard to try and impress them. You leave messages that go unanswered, emails that hint oh-so-nicely that their bill is 3 weeks overdue… and… let’s face it… drop other commitments with your comfortable, trustworthy “friend” clients, just to keep them happy.

Well, after a few years in business I have started to realise that I am worth more than that. Much like a woman with a ticking biological clock, I don’t have the time to be messing around with people who aren’t 100% onboard with what I am trying to do.

If I have to do the chasing, pretty soon I will move on because I am better than that.

And so is everyone else.

Is it worth your self respect to be chasing people who will never return the effort? No. Is it worth the money to put in triple the time pursuing a client that is never happy? No. Is it worth your valuable time and self esteem doing spec work? Endless revisions? Freebies? No.

Because like dating, there is a right fit… and those that love you will continue to love you. And it won’t be HARD.

So, in summary:

  • If you have to pursue them after the first enquiry
  • If you have to prove your worth more for them than usual
  • If they don’t use you exclusively on their project
  • If they call at midnight for a “quickie”
  • If they are abusive or inappropriate
  • If they don’t pay their invoices
  • If they won’t pay a deposit
  • If they don’t respect your timelines or work hours
  • If they only contact you in a crisis (and noone else can fix it)
  • If they ask everyone else’s opinion before they ask yours

Then they are Just Not That Into You. Period.

Move on. Find a better fit. Find someone who DOES put the effort in, who DOES respect you enough to return your calls or emails, who DOES tell their friends about you. You, your self-worth and your business are worth more than that.

We use twitter because… wait… what exactly is it again?

02-26-2010

Yesterday I had the great privilege of attending the Media140 Conference here in Perth. It was a great event for many reasons – to match real people to usernames, or to ‘network’ – but also, from a web designer’s point of view, it was good to try and gauge the general mood about social media in various organisations.

In early 2007, I was talking up Twitter, Facebook and Flickr before I had even really embraced them myself. I had a Twitter account myself, of course, but it was pretty inactive, and I distinctly remember telling @lisaloeb4real about this new “group SMS” type feature. I thought that, knowing Lisa, she would love the ability to just SMS from the airport, or backstage, or whilst eating the world’s greatest donut. So there she was, tweeting away, and in fact, I think she was one of the very early “celebrity” adopters of these new social media tools.

I attended a Conference in late 2008, and after seeing it’s true potential, I was hooked. I finally understood (sort of) what a hashtag is. What it meant to “RT”. And it appears, that, to date, at least 80 million people, including a bunch of fairly inane celebrities, enjoy it too.

But, after attending the Media140 Conference yesterday, I have a feeling that there has been a whole industry of people who, despite selling “social media consulting” somewhere in their services, are still in the idea of talking up social media and it’s potential without fully embracing it – or even using it appropriately.

I had the opportunity to meet quite a few people who work in various aspects of Health care. Some get it and some don’t. It was actually very interesting what came out of these discussions, because the common theme at the Conference was the idea of how “the BRAND” is affected, how companies can “CONTROL” negative information on the internet, and I daren’t count how many times the words “engage”, “citizen journalist”, “social media policy” and other buzzwords cropped up from the speakers. There was so much talk about top-down internet communities that it actually made me wonder if people really understood the power of social media at all.

The precise point is that you cannot control negative messaging. But what social media does is provide you with the tools to try and intervene at the word-of-mouth level and make it better. This, without buzzwords, is what is so great about Twitter.

But a big part of Twitter is not so much the bottom line stuff… because that can have mixed results… and by continually focusing on mere dollars and cents, you miss the entire point.

Twitter is more than just dollars per tweet.

Twitter in particular has intangible benefits in so many other ways that make “branding” and “bottom line” seem, honestly, so trivial that hearing those words from “experts” made me feel a little nauseous.

We heard from the HR Rep telling us about how they are policing and monitoring the social media activities (and by implication, disciplining) their staff online. NOT about how they create communities, or improve morale, or that they add a third dimension to the inevitable death of the faceless corporation that hide behind PR & Lawyers. Instead, it was about risks, and controls, and potential client losses.

People are afraid of Twitter when they needn’t be. And in all honesty? I think way too much emphasis is placed this arbitrary line between employee/business owner and human being. And instead of corporations speaking in really great buzzwords, like “humanising your corporation” – how about the idea of the generic “consumer” finally having a face. And a VOICE.

The conduit for community

I had a chat to a couple of people who, after hearing all of the speakers, still weren’t entirely sure on how Twitter, or Facebook, or social networking in general, applied to their organisation. For those who are in service delivery organisations like Mental Health and Community Services, the temptation is to make Twitter a means of broadcasting out to the “80 million people on Twitter”.

I’ll tell you now, that there are not 80 million people on Twitter. There is a potential audience of 80 million, sure. But people tout this figure off like it is some big huge deal when you know what? It means NOTHING to most businesses. Especially seeing as there is so much bad advice about using Twitter in the first place – the chances of people reading your message by accident, is, frankly, overstated.

I read an article in 2008, in reference to the music industry, about how all you need to make a decent living, is 1000 True Fans (and arguably, no crippling record label contract ;) ), but this applies, figuratively, in so many ways to other businesses as well.

The strength of Twitter is in the building of micro communities. The Perth Twitter community is a good example of people who have found each other, through various means, over time, and a community has been built that is not just an audience, but a support network.

For me, during the day, Twitter is my chatterbox with other people who work in Home Offices. For others, it is a stress release from their day jobs. For others, it is just having a laugh, sharing a joke. I am also part of a few other networks, but to simplify, I know that at any time of day, someone in my community will be around to talk to.

This is the power of “Twitter for business”. We don’t talk about business much and when it does come up, it is understated and fairly innocuous (much like a social occasion where people ask what you do and leave it at that… you don’t launch into an Amway sales pitch on first meeting….do you…?)

When people can find a community, they can also find a support network, a counsellor, a group of people who understand. This has massive implications for service delivery, or health organisations that are on the ball, to start having discussions with your clients. Build a community of people who have a shared experience and let that community organically grow.

How about a discussion for parents of children with cancer or other chronic illness? How about a support group for those who battle Bipolar disorder or Schizophrenia? How about asking your clients what they want from you? Despite buzzwords like “engagement”, it is more than just talking one on one with your clients, customers, etc. It’s about allowing a community to build organically alongside your traditional means. In the health industry, these support networks can quite literally be a lifesaver, for people who may feel isolated.

Twitter is as much about shared experience as it is about access to information.

Stop talking and start LISTENING

Noone wants to be talked at. If you’re anything like me, you have emails, tweets, Facebook messages, radio ads, billboards, TV, internet banner ads and limitless numbers of people trying to sell you limitless amounts of stuff you don’t want or need. I for one am saturated. I am immune to corporate messaging. Most people are. But if you stop, and listen to what your clients actually want, you’ll be surprised that all they are trying to tell you is that they want to connect, in a meaningful way, not with a 2 dimensional CORPORATION, but with 3 dimensional people. People who understand. People who are flawed. People who might accidentally drunktweet and make bad mistakes sometimes. People who make them laugh one time and can have a deep & meaningful conversation another. All social media is… is people trying to connect.

If you can filter out the wanky PR buzzwords, and the talking up of social media from the “experts”, and the “OMG JOURNALISM IS DEAD AND I MUST FIND ANOTHER WAY TO SHOVE MY PRESS RELEASES DOWN PEOPLES THROATS”, and start actively listening, reflecting on what you are hearing, and embracing the incredible humanity and compassion that you see on Twitter every day, you have a small chance of being ahead of the curve. The “Corporation”, as we know it, is dying a slow, painful death. They’re fighting it by trying to control social media, control their employees (or the employees of other companies they work with), but, it’s a futile battle.

And try to write in Haiku. They’re fun.

I am in The West Australian this weekend!

08-01-2009

I was interviewed by Louise Burke for today’s West Australian Business section. I like talking about social networks, because I use them, well, a lot more than most :) I also get a massive ego boost, because it makes me feel so special and important and knowledgeable :D

The important point that I tried to make is that whilst there is no one right way to use social media, there is one wrong way. Don’t try and sell stuff straight away:

Web designer Tea Brennan, or “tealou”, said the best results came for people who used twitter informally.

“The common theme is to make friends first, have fun second, sell third,” she said. “It really is about long-term strategies and networking and not one-way advertising, this is a common mistake people make and it’s the fastest way to fail.”

She likens twitter to being at a party or other social occasion.

“You don’t just outright sell at a party, and you shouldn’t do that on twitter either,” she said. “Be helpful to people when they need it, but don’t get in their face either.

“I also tweet about what I am working on and have even written about my frustrations/emotions as a sole trader … I make it so that people think of me as an option when they hear someone needs a designer. It works for my circumstances.”

Tea’s profile proclaims her to be: “The third-worst mother on the internet. Web designer. 30th most influential Tweep in Perth. Apparently. Funny sometimes too.” And she posts comments which range from colourful social commentary to her children’s socks.

“I advise my clients to be as ‘warts and all’ as they are comfortable with,” she said.

“For me, nothing is off-limits, but you need to find your own limits … the approach that I would use for a political party might be different to say, my business, or an accounting firm.”

Interview with Babble about working from home

10-02-2008

I was interviewed this week for Babble about new ways of working, and how, as a mother, I balance working from home with children.

It is always weird to see yourself quoted, but I like the article, and I think it raises some pertinent points about opting out of traditional workplaces and carving your own niche and business instead.

Anyway, have a read and let me know what you think!

Check out the article here

You get what you pay for, Photographer’s Edition.

08-17-2008

With so many sites like bludomain, bigfolio, or other template sites selling Flash-based websites for $100-$400, I find myself having to "defend" my pricing to photographers (and other creatives, who, ironically, also charge thousands of dollars for their own work – you’d think they’d be more sympathetic if anything :) ), who either don’t understand why the template sites charge what they do, or even flat out refuse to pay a designer for a bespoke site.

I refuse to compete in the hundred-dollar market and here’s why. First of all, the only reason that Bludomain and BigFolio can sell websites can sell a Flash website for a ridiculously low price is because they are selling on volume. A Flash site with a content management system will cost you at least $15,000 – often much more. But the template guys spread their costs over a hundred people instead of one. Of course, the downside to this is that 99 (or even more!) other people have an identical website!

With a template site, you may get the benefit of a cheap website, but what is the real cost of that? I have browsed many, many, many photographer’s websites, and if you put yourself in the "browsing photographers" position, as most brides are, you’ll notice that they all start to look the same.

In a highly saturated market, a good stand-out web presence can make all the difference. Custom sites will instantly stand out from competitors (from a web browsing point of view)… simply because templates are so common!

My clients have noticed a significant jump in enquiries and bookings, just from having a site that is different from 90% of the other photographer’s sites. Part of it is in the SEO, but I think a big part of it, anecdotally speaking, is that if a bride is surfing through 15 (or 30 if shes particularly obsessive :) ) sites, 95% of which are bludomain sites… I guess that it has a homogenising effect in terms of the experience of the website.

And you are naive if you think that people don’t switch off if they see the same thing over and over, even if the images are different.

Websites are not just a directory of business, but are also an experience, that invoke emotional reactions. They are more like television advertising than, say, the Yellow Pages…and people wholly expect to pay for TV Advertising because it brings results. I guess if I can use an analogy with Yellow Pages listings, its like the difference between having the standard 2 line Yellow pages listing, versus the display advertising with your custom graphics and your look and feel. The display ads will always cost more (often a lot more than you think you can afford), but you get more, and the majority of the time, you get better results.

You ultimately get what you pay for with web design. And when someone next tells a photographer that they can go to istockphoto.com and get a great photo for much less, hopefully that photographer will know how web designers feel about template sites.

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