“Design great architecture and they will come.”
That’s been the mantra of architects for generations. Hang a shingle, wait for the phone to ring and you’re in business. Design an amazing project and your massive talent will have new prospects knocking your door down.
Though that formula is not impossible, the reality for most of us is that it doesn’t really work that way. Through the 15 years I’ve been pitching our services at Fivecat Studio, I have learned that great architecture is a given. My prospects, when shopping for architectural services, expect that their project will be designed exceptionally well when hiring an architect. That’s why they’re calling us. From the point of view of our clients, great architecture is where we start.
So, yes, great design is important, but it’s not what’s going to keep our clients happy? In my experience there are five specific steps, that if executed precisely, will result in turning your clients into raving fans who will keep your telephone ringing for many years to come.
Step 1: Listen Carefully
The first step, before you ever put your pen to sketch paper, is to know what your client is looking for. When I meet with a prospective client, I do much more listening than I do speaking. They’ve already checked me out on the web, possibly spoke with past clients and may have read a few posts on my blog. They know who I am and what we have to offer. My job at a prospect interview is to ask the right questions and listen very carefully.
Step 2: Under Promise and Over Deliver
A client’s expectation may lead to a dream project or be your worst nightmare. Managing such expectations may be the single most important responsibility you have as an architect. Most clients have never experienced the architectural process or lived through construction. Everything you do and say is taken at face value and your client’s trust is in your hands… until you prove yourself untrustworthy. When managing a project, the rule is to under promise and over deliver. If preparing initial schematic sketches will take two weeks to complete, promise a meeting at four weeks and deliver them in two.
Step 3: Hold Their Hand
If you’ve been reading this blog for some time, you already know that one of our keys to success at Fivecat Studio is our attention to serving our clients. We’re in the Client Happiness Business. Designing great architecture and developing superior documentation may result in a great project, but when you hold your client’s hand and let them know that you have things under control from beginning to end, it’s what they’ll remember when the project is complete. It’s what they’ll share with their friends.
Step 4: Take Professional Photos
This one may look a bit self centered, but you may be surprised by how important it is to your client. Every project we complete is photographed by a professional photographer. Our best work, meeting the standards and description of our target market, land on our website. Almost every project is posted on social media and shared with our followers. Professional photographs take your projects to the next level and can be used for many types of marketing. When our clients see their projects posted on our sites or published in a magazine, they are so proud of the work we’ve done.
Step 5: Follow Up With a Gift
The final step is an important one. It’s the cherry on top. When our projects are complete, our clients are all moved in and loving their homes, we schedule a visit. We ask them to give us a tour and share what they like and what they don’t like. It gives us direct feedback on the work we’ve done and an opportunity to fix what may need some additional attention. We’re not paid for the follow up, but it goes a long way toward long term customer satisfaction. Following up shows that we appreciate their patronage and that we truly care about their happiness. Before we leave, we present our clients with a gift as a way to say “thank you”. A bound book of photos, before and after, show project progress and the professionally photographed results of our skills. The photo album makes a great gift and a great word-of-mouth marketing tool for your new raving fan to share with all their friends.
What are some of the steps you take to turn your clients into raving fans? Please share your thoughts in the comments below. I’d love to learn what you’re doing to keep your clients happy.
Photo Credit: Shutterstock/zeber
Mark, another great article focusing on the client satisfaction process. I’ve also found tasteful gifts to be very effective as a way of saying “thanks”.
Always exceed your client’s expectations. So the key is to understand their expectations at first. Great post Mark!
It’s always refreshing to see people who understand just how important Client Happiness is! One thing I like to do is “remember something personal” and follow it up when you next see them. Their children’s names, what they were planning for the weekend etc. When I next see them I remember to ask after their kids by name or how it went on the weekend, this shows them I am a genuine person able to engage on a personal level as well as professionally. Over time this improves the quality of referrals because Clients refer their friends to me almost as if we too were friends.
That’s a great tip Shah. I use a questionnaire during my interview that asks for lots of info including kids names, ages and pet’s names. Clients are always surprised when I come back months later and say, “Hi Barney” to the dog : )
Pretty good idea , but no matter how long and hard you listen , I don’t think a client can know completely what he /she would like, in terms of space and function combined.. especially when it comes to a house.
I think that is a valid point. Where clients aren’t able to set their precise requirements out, dedicated listening and deep engagement can lead to the architect understanding the clients aspirations and hopes fully though. This in turn means the architect can come up with a proposal that speaks to the client and which can then lead to defining more precisely what is needed. Often clients aren’t able to articulate exactly what they want until they see it!
another awesome post Mark. I have struggled to know what the real points area that will make that difference to a client. I always try to make regular contact with a client, even if there has not been work done directly on the project. Like waiting for approvals from the planners, they can be quite extended here in Australia sometime.
With long periods of time between interaction, we must focus on beating the client’s IPS. http://www.entrearchitect.com/2013/07/07/the-inevitable-priority-shift/
Thanks for your thoughts David.
Very nice. I like your article. Learned from it. Thanks! Keep up the good work.
As I consider hiring an architect to design a home for me I realize I may be an architect’s worst nightmare. I want everything, and many of those every-things cancel the other out. For instance, I am quite sure I want a wrap around porch, all the way around, and yet I realize that eliminates all the gorgeous sun streaming in the plenteous windows I envision in every room of the house. Speaking of windows – how is it that I want every room to be chock full of them, yet that would mean a series of little glass-walled huts, each connected to the other with a breezeway…..
Honestly, I know all the things I want are impossible to put together. I am reminded of one of my favorite movies, “Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House”. My hope is that an architect would help me to find how to balance all my hopes and dreams in such a way as I could stand there and say, “I can’t think of a way I could have done it better.”