Experience Matters 28 Years of Solving Nearly Every Kind of Communications Challenge
Tom Friedman of the New York Times writes eloquently about the effects of globalization and technology on governments and companies. In his excellent Sunday Op-Ed, titled, “Help Wanted,” he talks about today’s era as one of the “great unravelings,” on par with the periods after the two World Wars, when countries, even continents, were being reborn amidst uncertainty.
There are tons of “5 Best Reasons…” blogposts about what to look for when hiring an agency, so I’m going to try not to do the done thing. When I think about what makes a firm worthy, I think the issue of characteris often sublimated in favor of what an agency does, what name brand clients they have, how slick their portfolio looks or maybe how embedded they are in social media. The characteristics that lead to great work and strong relationships are, in no particular order, awareness, curiosity, empathy, humor and objectivity.
You might think that after seventeen years of designing web sites so much of the process would be boilerplate. You’d be wrong. While our internal processes are rock solid and and instill confidence, every client relationship and thus every job is just enough different to keep us on our toes. That said, there are some universal principals for building successful long-term client relationships in the web business.
I’ve been blogging for a month and am taking a decidedly organic approach by writing about whatever issues are on my mind. This may be a bit scattershot, but it’s natural to me and I am beginning to formulate thoughts about what will make the blog successful. Here are 5 things I’ve learned in creating an effective blog.
The CEO of a client for whom we recently created a brand was what I would call a “mildly supportive observer” throughout a comprehensive branding process we led his company through. When he heard the tagline, it all clicked for him and he became an effective brand evangelist to his customers and employees. It takes Tiger Woods thousands of putts to sink that 10 footer when it matters. The right tagline follows that same logic.
“What you may not remember is that I had a particularly difficult boss and I was the conduit between you and him, so I hope you do recall it wasn’t me who gave you the grief,” he continued. “I’ve always respected you for the way you handled that situation, that you had the confidence to resign. You said you felt you couldn’t add value and we’d be better served by another agency. You were very nice and professional about it. If I had been in your shoes, I like to think I’d have done the same thing.”
