I recently had a project that went over budget by double its anticipated cost. YIKESSSS. Yeah I'm not proud of it. It's literally my job to ensure that doesn't happen. This project had a few hiccups along the way due to a difference of creative opinion.I found myself looking for ways to bandaid these hiccups mid-project and improve the long term relationship (at the cost of this short term project).
It got me thinking:
How do you handle a difference of creative opinion?
Is it okay to add to scope creep if it's deemed a recoverable cost in the long term?
And is this mindset something I need to shake?
Ugh creative differences
The reason why I landed in this grey area, is because the feedback we were getting was subjective. Yes we had delivered the scope, but there was a difference of creative opinion. Our scope used the word 'mature design' and it came down to that damn word. 'Mature' to us was one thing but 'mature' was another thing to the client.
According to said client, about 80% of our designs were mature but a handful of graphics needed finessing.
What did I do?
Justified why we felt the designs were mature
Discussed that creative differences of opinion are normal and we can never all love a design
Asked questions on their likes and dislike to better pinpoint their concerns
Explained where our design efforts were prioritised (and why other sections lacked as much finesse or time)
Was completely transparent in that we'd used up our budget and weren't in a position to be reworking the wheel for free
But in an effort of good faith, we'd spent a bit of extra time pushing things slightly further
Offered additional estimates to push things 110% further if they so desired
So we pushed things a bit further and she still wasn't happy. It was like an itch that couldn't be scratched. After a bit more back and forth they accepted our work as-is. But I could tell they weren't stoked about it.
How are you meant to handle creative differences?
Understand the clients priorities
Ask questions and be specific about their feedback
-- It's important to understand where they're coming from, but don't let this eclipse the conversation. Remember, you're still the expert practitioner and creative lead. If the client's voice becomes too loud you risk loosing leadership over the strategy and you need to take it back.
-- Instead you become an executioner only, which isn't what they pay you for or where you inject value. Your relationship also looses trust. So actively listen to what they're saying and then weave that into your creative strategy (if relevant) to find a happy balance. Or say no but explain why you disagree and back it up with your strategy. Either way, make sure you're top dog and maintain your position as a lead.
Cut through tech and speak face to face
Refer back to your strategy. Does the creative align with this overall goal?
This is the biggest take away. If your strategy is clearly communicated and signed off on, then your creative strategy is justified.
Be on the same page from the start through mood boards or visual references
Justify & explain your decisions
-- If the client understands your creative decisions, they may be more open to accepting them. Educating your client is important. They don't live this process day in and day out, so explain the basics through to deeper strategic thinking.
If you're still really stuck with getting things through to the client then:
-- Treat the creative process like pot luck - everyone brings something to the table so they feel they've contributed collaboratively.
-- If that doesn't work, then it could be time to pull the plug after that project or recommend another agency who may better fit with their creative direction in the future.
What to avoid when handling creative differences:
Reactionary decisions
Defensive reactions (creative work can be personal and you may take the comments to heart, but avoid punching the client please)
-- Making decisions then and there (no need to reach a resolution in your meeting, take your time and mull this one over)
They say jump, you say how high
As a conscientious PM (and someone who hates having iffy clients), my cogs started turning on how else I could end this project on a high note. Nothing worse than ending a project on a low...it'd like a dirty taste in everyone's mouths.
Ultimately I wanted to set the path for future work with them. Because aside from the 20% of creative differences, they were stellar to work with and I knew they were considering a full rebrand with us (cha-ching $$$).
I know what you're thinking - hell to the no. This totally goes against your gut (and mine).
#1 Rule of project management = stick to scope. Don't keep working on a project because the client isn't happy.
#2 Rule of project management = don't listen when they promise more work is en route. Many clients play the game.
Sure the lure of future work is tempting, but we can't let it dictate our output, sway our process and pricing, or devalue our work.
The risks
You wind up in debt
You set bad expectations on your standard of work (what's achievable within a particular timeframe)
You also set bad expectations on your project management practices
The client devalues your output
These kind of scope creeps can be reactionary & thoughtless
It often leads to future hiccups as the scope turns from black & white to grey
Your team gets project burnout
No additional work
They say jump, you say no. I'll sidestep
Okay that's a shitty analogy but you get the gist. In my situation I was prepared to accept a middle ground scenario. Call me a fence sitter if you want, but just listen to my concept before you go brandishing that label.
So my project had snowballed into something bigger than ben hur and the client still isn't that happy with your output. Go figure hey.
The design itself was a pretty important slide deck going to their board of directors. My contact had taken our 35 design templates and run with 'em (despite her feeling that things still weren't 100%).
She then started making changes herself via content entry. It meant the slide deck doubled to 70 pages. This was my golden ticket outta the shit. Why?
From doing content entry herself, she got a deeper appreciation for the time, finesse and eye for detail required by creatives.
I could offer to help push those 35 pages a little bit further for her and cement ourselves as the helpful expert.
So this is where the sidestep comes in. I spent an extra 30min to 1 hour reviewing her additional pages and critiquing her input. I used this time to apply a few layout tweaks, insert high-quality imagery and clean up the typography.
Yes this sunk my project that little bit deeper in the mud. But, the benefits of this time flipped the project outcome.
My client was thrilled (as were the board of directors she pitched to)
We re-instated ourselves as the creative experts
We optimised this time to focus on low hanging fruit (small wins with big benefit for her)
It showed initiative and willingness to go over and above
Did we land that dangling carrot?
That's the burning question. Did my scheming plan work? Did we land the future rebrand project after a successful mini-test project?
Well...stay tuned. This entire sitch only just went down so it's early days for now. But with a positive follow up message from the CEO singing our praises, my crew are feeling pretty positive.