I expect you have heard the saying “the customer is always right”, but is it true in all cases?
Obviously, if you tell a client they are wrong you run the risk of them taking their business elsewhere. However, there are instances when if you do not point out your client’s errors you could be harming not only your business but also theirs.
Here are a couple of examples from my own business of marketing:
• A client wants a brochure produced but provides a complicated brief that is bound to result in an ugly end result. It won’t help sell the product and it won’t reflect well on the designer.
• The client insists on repeatedly editing a copywriter’s work until they end up with an unprofessional piece of gobbledegook. Once again the result reflects badly on both the client and the copywriter.
Now I am not encouraging you to get into a blazing row with your clients. You need to point out, calmly and clearly, that they are employing you for your informed professional advice and work. Explain if they have provided unclear instructions or muddled information. Tell them that your experience means that you can get the best results for them.
Your client is paying you good money to provide them with the best you can produce and that is what you should be striving to do. Anything less short changes them and reflects poorly on you.
So, when necessary, feel free to tell them that the customer is not always right.