What Speed Does to Creatives: A Play-by-Play Commentary of this Tortoise vs. Hare Race
Where he really grabbed my attention was when he wrote me:
“It’s important to distinguish between insisting on quality, on the one hand, and doing what you want rather than what your customer wants, on the other. You’ll only find out what your customer wants by listening very carefully and sometimes reading between the lines. If you’re proposing something that a client doesn’t want, you’re going to lose that client — and rightly so. Then again, if the client wants something that really violates your standards, you should be happy to lose the account. In fact, you should explain to the client why you can’t do it. You don’t have to be snooty about it. You can just say nicely that you don’t do that type of work. Also, you should be charging enough that any client not much interested in quality won’t consider hiring you.”
This brought an interesting element to the conversation. Much like what Lauber had said, Burlingham noted creating A-Level work really came down to understanding the client’s needs. But, Burlingham said something that brought a whole new level to the idea of setting expectations: pricing. However, much like “creativity,” in the Time & Materials world it comes down to definition. If you mean “pricing” from an hourly standpoint, then this is probably not correct. However, if you mean “pricing” from a project standpoint (which, looking back, is what I believe he meant), then this is a valid point.
While agencies will save some time in the creative production process by taking more strategy time, the time spent on strategy will most likely out-weigh these savings. It might not be by much, but it will still outweigh the savings if you spend proper time. However, none of this has anything to do with hourly rates — as long as your business model can handle lower hourly rates.
In the end, though, it comes down to setting the right expectations — there might be some additional costs to the customer from a project perspective, but the return on investment will be exponentially higher.
As Burlingham later noted to me, it comes down to laying out the options and making a mutual decision:
“I would hope you would never suggest that you’re more interested in quality than your customer is,” he said. “That’s just plain insulting.”
“If you can’t do the type of work the customer wants in the given timeline, you should simply say so. If that means they won’t use you, okay, that’s their prerogative and your choice.”
Which kind of brings us back to the beginning. I don’t use a Blackberry because I don’t believe it will make my creative strategy any better. In fact, I think it will quickly become a crutch for me and allow me to become more reactive and less proactive. Is this true for everyone? No.
However, it gets to the root of the question: How do we ensure A-level creative is maintained in an industry focused on speed and accessibility? My answer: Stick to your guts, make the tough decisions when you have the rationale to back them up, and don’t be afraid to stand up for increased quality through strategy.
While you’re at it, don’t forget you are speaking for a business. As Burlingham appropriately wraps it all up:
“If you’re going to ’stick to your guts, make tough decisions, and not sacrifice quality,’ you have to be really, really good not only at what you do, but at all the other parts of business,” said Burlingham. “Selling, customer service, handling your finances, working with your employees, and so on. Small Giants can’t just be ‘the best at what they do.’ They also have to be good businesspeople.”
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