Courting a client isn’t too different from heading on a date. You want to give the best impression you can, but you also don’t want to pretend you’re someone you’re not just to be liked. Moreover, it’s good to communicate, be open and honest, and see how the dynamic evolves than forcing anything or just going through the motions. However, some businesses can find this difficult, and so may make a range of promises or exaggerate their capabilities. While it’s true that this might impress to begin with, sooner or later your brand can be found out. So, in order to make the best and most honest pitch, especially if you work in essential fields like the creative space and with firms working on specific projects in that area, it’s good to know which 3 issues can denigrate your reputation most of all.
By Team Savant
Image: Camila Quintero Franco
Security Issues Or Downtime Problems
It’s tough to build trust if a client’s first experience with you involves a lost file, broken login, or a missed deadline because your tools decided not to work like they have that day. Creative projects run on a good pace and with people who work incredibly hard, so delays caused by systems failing or security issues cropping up out of nowhere can cause clients and partners a great deal of trouble. Of course, it’s one thing when there’s a small delay in-house, but once a client’s involved, the stakes feel higher, because they are.
It doesn’t take long for word to get around if your systems aren’t solid. This is especially true in creative circles where word-of-mouth still holds weight and people remember who cost them a morning of peace or a missed upload. That’s why InfraZen’s tailored IT support for creatives is worth looking into if you want to stop sweating over surprise outages or worrying that a basic tech issue will cost you a whole relationship.
A Lack Of Respect & Understanding For Distinct Practices
Not every creative works the same way, and so if you treat everyone like they work out of the same mold, it’ll show. That disconnect becomes obvious fast, especially during the early stages of collaboration. You might hear things like “they just didn’t get what we were going for” or “they kept pushing their way of working without asking about ours.”
This isn’t always because you had bad intention, either. It’s just easy to fall into a routine where everything’s templated, but in this field especially you tend to gain trust when you pay attention to the way your client works and gently slot in beside them, instead of trying to squeeze them into your process.
Overpromising & Underdelivering
You have to be realistic about what you can offer, which doesn’t mean sandbagging or playing down your strengths, but more being transparent about the timeline, the resources, and what might go wrong. A delay hurts less if you flagged it ahead of time with that in mind, and a missed feature lands softer if you already said it wasn’t guaranteed. People aren’t after flawless, they’re after dependable services they can trust in and that guide them through a process, so if you ever feel tempted to add just one more shiny promise to close the deal, think about how much harder it’ll be to dig yourself out if you can’t follow through.
With this advice, we hope you can avoid denigrating your brand in the eyes of your target creative market.