There is an old adage, ‘Old habits die hard’. Bad habits, if prolonged, develop into your second nature. Graphic designers alike, possess certain behaviors that have adverse effects on their clientele. The quality of work isn’t the only recipe of winning clients, it is HOW you go about performing your work that really influences your clients.
For graphic designers, it is imperative to understand what client personality you are dealing with. This enables you to adjust to their behavior and connect with them properly. But there are certain practices that designers must avoid since they directly affect their relationships with clients. Following are eight harmful habits that a graphic designer must beware of:
The Bossy Attitude
Graphic designers who try to solely dictate the terms of the project end up losing clients. Since every client wants his work to be tailor-made according to his wants and desires, not listening to their proposals would end them in dissatisfaction.
Too submissive:
When a client comes to a graphic designer, he is looking for someone who knows what to do and how to do. When a client tells the designer what to do, they expect them to know HOW to do it. Asking too many questions can annoy clients and drive them away. Moreover, being submissive allows clients to take undue advantage of you.
Over-Confidence:
Since graphic designing is a proper profession, one must act professional too. Over-confidence and casual attitude is a real turn-off for clients. When they approach a professional graphic designer, they expect a professional attitude as well. Acting over-confident makes your client think that they’ve come to the wrong place.
Taking things personally:
When graphic designer starts taking things to heart, clients think that they don’t have control over their emotions. They deem it as a sign of an amateur and incompetent person. I know most of you would not believe in the term “customer is always right”, but one should be competent enough to deal with difficult clients.
Sloppy appearance:
In the professional world, appearance matters. You never know your first impression might your last…so make the first one count. When client see designers in sloppy appearance, it gives a negative feeling that their project might end up sloppy as well.
Presumptuous Nature:
The problem is when the client is not taken on board with the project details and proceedings, chances are that he will get dissatisfied with the graphic designer’s work. Clients may think that you are over-confident and don’t consider his opinion valuable.
Sluggish Worker:
The effects of procrastination are simple. You fall behind your schedule and in the process disappoint your clients. Moreover, when your clients see that you have a habit of delaying tasks, they will consider you as a lazy and sluggish designer. Since they will be afraid of not getting their projects on time, they might not consider you in the first place.
Bad communication skills:
Since negotiating with clients needs convincing power, introvert and reserved graphic designers often don’t clearly state their terms and conditions. Ultimately, they end up being undervalued and underpaid by their clients.