The agency world is full of cheeky jokes, posts, and cartoons about the Dumb and Difficult Client. Another post popped up in my RSS feed today (although it was written in 2002): If Architects Had to Work Like Web Designers.

The post is funny enough, but I remain flummoxed at the unending willingness of agencies to publically air what should be in-shop rants. And the lack of participation by agencies in trolling sites and mitigate it. It hurts their industry brand in a time when they can ill afford it.

So instead of getting serious about it again, allow me pull out my broad brush and take a crack at this kind of thing from the other side.

Herewith: an e-mail to a web designer, if a web designer was an architect.

_________________

Dear Web Architect,

Great news! Your plan for our new website was just green-lighted by management. They were so excited to begin the project that they’ve allotted a 20% cushion to the budget and have green lighted it all. Even the “nice to haves.”

We took a chance with a larger investment in the planning stage, but it paid off. Looking back, I think it went so well because you created a relationship of trust with us, adding value at just about every step of the way. For instance, you taught us about the complexities of web technologies in ways that our organization has never been able to understand. Web design is a very sophisticated set of moving parts that can make businesses nervous, but you explained everything in simple terms and without condescension. I don’t know if they require you to demonstrate this ability for your architecture certification, but well done.

We also trusted you because you demonstrated a deep knowledge of business and its disciplines, our industry, and our organization. It was very impressive. I think you have a better grasp of our revenue model than many of our financial analysts do! And your ability to align our various stakeholder values further demonstrated your acumen. I suppose what is obvious to an architect is so rarely the case with outside agencies we’ve worked with before: When demonstrating that our needs come first you have to actually know what our needs are.

You met with us in person, looked us the eye, were clear and professional about the fee structure, communicated regularly (even when you missed a deadline)… everything was above board. When new possibilities arose, you were flexible. When our audacious ideas ran into technology challenges, you said “how” instead of “no.” Again: building trust with us by adding value, one touchpoint at a time.

Thanks again for such great work and congratulations. I look forward to referring you whenever I can.

Best,

Client

P.S. For what it’s worth, your offices, website, and even personal appearance reflect simplicity and professionalism, and doubtless contributed to building confidence. We love your brand!