While creative agencies are expected to consistently meet deadlines, the question arises: Do clients hold themselves to the same standard?
The success of our client relationships hinges on various factors, with the paramount one being meeting deadlines. In the fiercely competitive world of creative marketing, clients may quickly terminate a partnership with a vendor they perceive as “underperforming,” regardless of their own role in the problem.
In a world where both clients and agencies lead busy lives, it’s essential to remember that meeting deadlines are crucial for the progress of projects for both sides of the relationship.
This is why we’ve made the unconventional decision to no longer provide a fixed final delivery deadline. What? We know it sounds crazy but there is too much potential for delays that are beyond our control yet can still impact how we are perceived in terms of meeting deadlines.
Our approach has evolved to incorporate multiple types of deadlines each serving a distinct purpose in the project lifecycle: phase deadlines, initial deadlines, and progression deadlines.
For instance, a phase deadline represents pivotal milestones where clients are expected to contribute essential elements, such as written content, logos, images, or schedules for video production. These phase deadlines are critical elements that, if delayed, could potentially result in causing the entire project to veer off course and miss the initial deadline.
An example of an initial deadline could include the delivery date for a rough video draft or a webpage layout. This is the point where the first tangible items of the project emerge, and it serves as a critical touchpoint for feedback and direction.
A progression deadline might involve the client’s approval or rejection of the draft, providing content notes, and then setting another progression deadline for us to make necessary edits, deliver the final project, or, if needed, go back to the drawing board.
When all of the deadlines are met, by both the client and our team, then the client’s ultimate final delivery deadline will be met. It’s important to recognize that even a minor delay within the phase or progression deadlines can have a cascading effect and hold up your final delivery anywhere from a few days to a few months. We work on several projects at a time so when one client misses a deadline our team must push on to our other projects ensuring that clients who have diligently met their deadlines remain on track and receive their deliverables as scheduled.
We understand that our approach may seem complicated and maybe even a little nitpicky, but it is designed to ensure that our clients receive precisely what they desire when they desire it while setting achievable timeframes for our team and maintaining the high standards we set for ourselves in delivering projects on time and within budget. Our commitment to delivering your project on time and within budget is directly related to your commitment to participating in the process.