Of course, some projects will go awry. When that happens, you have three choices. You can scramble to deliver, get that annoying monkey off your back, and move on to the next client. This, you may assume, isn’t a client you’ll ever work with again. If things have really gone poorly you can chalk it up to a loss, settle on what you’re owned and they can find a designer more suited to their needs.
But there’s a much better third scenario you should endeavor to achieve when possible. That’s to work through the problems, admit to mistakes when they happen, and go on to continue to support that client.
A word of caution
Some projects should be abandoned. These are the ones you should never have taken in the first place. Read 10 Signs You Should Walk Away from a Project, Part One
and Part Two. It may be a better business decision to walk away. Sometimes you’re treated unfairly, manipulated, dealt with dishonestly and not paid in any sort of timely fashion. There are some projects and some clients not worth saving.
This article is about the ones that are. Here are the first two ways to fix troubled projects:
Get in front of them
In most cases, the first thing to do when a project runs aground is to schedule a face-to-face meeting to diagnose the problems and get things back on track. In many cases, at the end of the meeting, both parties many realize the situation isn’t as bad as they had feared. If you’re not located near the client, you can schedule a call. This won’t be as effective, but is still advised.
Years ago, at one agency we had repeated problems with deliverables to one client. The concepts were off track from what they wanted, we made mistakes, and we over-reached their budget. To re-earn their trust, we took several members of the creative team, the account manager and the president of the agency to meet with their executive team and marketing people. We went through each detail that was problematic and resolved each one in person.
This got the project back on track and won back their confidence.
Kick it up a level to the decision maker
You may have reported to a marketing or designated marketing person who you didn’t have confidence in. Maybe you felt like they were unreliable, unprofessional or dishonest. Maybe you thought you were too far removed from decision making to clearly articulate your creative ideas and intentions. This doesn’t bode well for the success of the project or for your long-term relationship.
This has to be handled delicately. If you’d like to present your ideas to the real decision makers in the organization, explain to your POC that you’d be happy to help present your work and explain your intention. Sometimes the POC will be happy to have you do this. Present yourself as a resource to help them, not as a big shot designer looking to take over.
Other times they’ll lock you out of the process. This often happens because they’re insecure. If you feel like the project is threatened because of their interference you can attempt to go over their head and reach out to their boss. You can really only do this if you have a relationship of some sort with that boss. This is tricky and may not go over well. No executive likes to have members of their team second guessed by a consultant or agency.
But if you believe it comes down to the success of the project and your ongoing relationship, it may be worth a short. It’s only recommended as the last resort after you’ve genuinely tried to work with the POC.
Come back soon for more ways to fix troubled projects.
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About the Author
Becky Sheetz-Runkle is a marketing strategist and copywriter, and an advocate for measurable marketing. She’s based in the Washington, D.C. metro area and can be reached at [BLOCKED].
