Not All Clients Are Tech Savvy
Spending time with friends and family, there can be a sudden realisation that you are not like them.
What do you mean you don’t know what twitter is?
You DON’T use a feed reader?!
Spending time online, or with fellow ‘techies’ (hi Ian!) 
, means that you can become very blase in terms of technology.
Most people don’t use twitter. Most people don’t blog. Most people don’t have mulitple websites, and most people think that twitter is something Bill Oddie does.
This scenario is exactly the same with most clients, heck, that is why they are employing me in the first place! However, it is easy to assume that they are up to speed on technology and web applications that we take for granted.
Working with clients in 2009
Something I am very concious of, having started working with a new client recently is ways of working, and using web applications with them. I’ve come up with a few guidelines for helping the working relationship start smoothly, and improve over time: (I hope this helps other web workers / consultants and also help clients)
- Important! – Assume nothing – they are often paying me to help them with their online activities, including social media, and possibly business practices like contact management systems
- Understand what level they are at, from an online virgin to a web app ninja. I now have a couple of short, simple surveys I send clients to assess where they are on this scale
- Ask them how they currently work with providers and also internally
- Gently introduce them to any new forms of working, and make sure you point out that this is not a deal breaker / compulsory
- Show the BENEFITS to them, not just the features – talk about time saving, clarity of communication and ease of access for example if explaining about Basecamp
- Offer to provide a little training
- Be patient!
- If you don’t get immediate buy in, leave it and perhaps try again a little bit further into the project
- If it is going to really hamper your working style, then consider telling the client in a friendly manner with proper reasoning
- Don’t be afraid to listen to their point of view, as you could potentially learn something from them!
The only thing I would be completely firm about is with proposals and contracts. If a client is not happy signing something or giving written approval, this is something to take seriously, and you could be opening yourself up to risk. Just be tactful and always consider the option of walking away.
If you have any thoughts about this or anything you recommend, then please get typing in the comments!
Clear Communication is Critical
Communication, or rather, clear, understandable communication is critical to a successful business relationship (or also helps with personal relationships too!).
There have been a few things that I’ve noticed this week around this topic:
Emails and the dreaded “cc”
Speaking to one of my clients, she said that the UK corporate email culture is very different to what she was used to in Australia. Her main point was that the use of “cc”-ing people was out of control, and it seemed under control in Oz. Which led me on to think about “why do people cc others?”.
It can be used correctly when critical information needs sharing or someone must know about a decision which directly effects them. However, what normally happens is that the cc function is used out of fear. Fear that they are not doing something correctly, or fear that their boss had better know what they’re doing.
Speaking with a colleague, he had an interesting story about a friend of his who went through a gruelling application process to get a job with a big company. When they were hired, they were told very simply
“you have been hired because of your skills, intelligence, experience and we really trust you to do your job. So, we undertand you will probably make mistakes, but overall, we know you’re going to do a great job”.
How refreshing is that? I bet it’s not something you have heard in your current job. Companies are paralysed by people who are fearful to show any form of creativity, confidence or doing something different. If a company loses these traits in their people, then they are well truly up sh1t creek without a paddle.
Appropriate Communication
Ok, not all clients are going to be comfortable with technology we take for granted every day (twitter, Skype, Basecamp etc). Sometimes traditional and non-web-based communication works a whole load better. A ten minute face to face can solve many problems that an email conversation cannot.
Just remember to tailor your approach to the client. They may well develop over the period of working together and become online ninjas, but more often than not, this does not happen. Anyway, this is often the reason why they have hired you anyway!
My Communication
twitter and Skyoe are becoming more and more important to me in my working (and personal) life. You can follow me on twitter here >>> click.
What are you using these days?
The US Election Via the Web
4 years ago, when the US last voted, there was no twitter. There was no YouTube. The whole of the web, and the way that we consume media has completely changed in those 4 years. Where have people talked about the election and the candidates?
Online. On the blogs, the websites, on twitter, using the power of online maps to see what is happening. Using the reach of the web, so that a Mum in Ohio can broadcast what she wants to say, just as easily as a multinational news channel can.
I’ve been using some great sites like perspctv.com to watch real time tweets, blog posts and poll results. What will be fascinating is whether the UK election will have so much online activity. Will the Labour Party and Conversatives take adavntage of the web and really leverage it, to communciate with the online population? This slideshow shows just some of the ways that the web has been used over the past few weeks and months: from the excellent Read Write Web and flickr user SarahinTampa:
If I was Gordon Brown, (and he needs all the help he can get). I would be appointing someone now to help him fight the election online. Someone who knows the web and what it can do. Focus groups and engaging the different age groups. The UK online environment, like what happened in the US, is going to be the real battle ground in our next election.
I want to personally say a huge congratulations to Brack Obama – I have rarely been moved by someone who speaks so brilliantly, is so obviously thoughtful, caring, intelligent, and has such incredible maturity and poise. The US can now start to repair its worldwide reputation, where so many Americans have been ashamed of their past President.
Thriller Mayor
Great post from Church of the Customer with Austin’s Mayor getting into the spirit of things!
When figures of authority actually show they are human, you know, show they can have fun, the message and communication works so much better.
