December 21, 2006 at 15:32Customer typology
Since yagr yagr obviously took a timeout, let me pour in some information on the topic of our blog.
So. About a year ago, I wrote and published a typology of clients and artists on Creatiff.ru . I do not think that any of you managed to get acquainted with this material - the project is neither alive nor dead. And, meanwhile, the topic itself does not lose relevance, so I will take the liberty of publishing another release with minor corrections and additions.
As mentioned in previous posts, I'm an industry web producer. On the one hand, my responsibilities include managing requirements: I communicate with clients and bring them to a specific construct, with which it is already possible to work. On the other hand, my responsibilities include managing the creative team: thereby, which implements the requirements received. You could say that I'm between two fires. On the one hand, customers are pushing, on the other, designers are pushing, on the third, managers are scampering (this is generally a separate issue). Everyone has their own truth, everyone “needs”, and I also “need” ... It’s never boring.
Meetings with clients I spend really a lot. And at some point, all this mess led to write a classifier of what is most common. Yes, I will immediately draw your attention to the fact that the material as a whole is devoted to negative experience. It is somehow better remembered and stored. And the positive - why keep it, everything is fine with him.
If we take the situation as a whole, there are only two problems, and they do not change (at least the time that I have been observing since 2000): this is the lack of goals / objectives and the lack of authority.
The lack of goals / objectives is a subject of a separate study, we will definitely touch on this. In short, I will say that by and large nobody needs anything. The vast majority of customers can not clearly articulate why they need a site. But they can clearly say who instructed him to do it. And this is the second problem: the lack of authority. Because they instructed to instruct, but did not give any opportunity to make decisions.
In our working jargon, the one who instructed is the "body", and the one who transmitted is the "gasket."
If you communicate directly with the body - in any case, it is luck. Your path to submitting the project should be shorter and easier. But. There are nuances because there are such bodies as:
1. Nerd- A person with unpredictable reactions. He will constantly change his opinion, priorities, juggle goals and objectives. A good example is the situation “the client did not dance” - that is, he did not receive satisfaction in the amount in which he transferred the funds to you (he estimates the volume on his internal scale). And here “nerd” will continue the process even if the result has already been achieved and any continuation only leads to its deterioration.
2. The king- a person who has descended to cooperation (communication) with you. At every moment of time, he will strengthen your feeling that you are wasting his precious time. Any of his words must be caught, each of his eyes should be kept in his heart. The king is single channel. It works only on broadcasting. Most often all that he broadcasts is bullshit. But learn to take it seriously.
3. Karabas-drumas - a character who wants obedient dolls in your face. He will manipulate the process, impose his decisions on you and demand their rigorous execution. All your arguments about the inappropriateness of these decisions will be rejected indignantly (the more proposals, the more indignation).
4. Dunno- a person who inserts “I don’t know” through the word. You will have the impression that he does not know anything at all. In fact, he simply does not want to take responsibility. "Think for yourself, decide for yourself." And be prepared, as soon as you bring him your labors, he will immediately turn into a znayka - and will drown you with his criticism in the format “this is not so,” “but I thought” and “well, what are you, Iglesias.”
5. The city council is a collegial decision-making body. You come, and everything is going to gather for you: the main one, marketing, “the head of the transport department”, “the academician of cats” and all those who are still bored. Agreeing on something specific with this camp is very difficult. It is especially difficult to pass them a turnkey solution.
Let's say you are less fortunate - you communicate with the gasket. The path will be more tortuous, this is a fact, but there is one point that brightens up the situation a bit. Laying is as much a bonded man as you are (it does not apply to free artists), and he has the same problems, and you can understand him. But it comes across:
1. A substitute - a person posing as a body, although in reality it is not a body. He will very confidently steer the process, guide you in every way, advise and even demand. But in the end, it turns out that everything said was the subject of his own personal initiative, never agreed with anyone.
2. Karabasik- By analogy with Karabas, this is a person who wants to actively manipulate you. The problem is that his desires do not correspond to his rank. He, as they say, seized upon. And you are likely to suffer if you do not take measures to neutralize it.
3. Susanin - from the name it is clear that he will lead and quit. In a way, it's a kind of Podstavki. The only thing that Susanin always acts from his best motives.
4. Leech - a person who wants to prove himself at your expense. He does not solve the task, he earns points. You are just a career tool for him. And he will contact you accordingly.
5. Drawbar- This is a difficult case. Changeable, like mercury, constantly changing its point of view, task, conditions. At the same time, most often, he reacts to some irritants inside his company. But since you have no idea about these processes, each successive change of course will be a revelation for you.
6. Pale moth - a character doubting himself. This is more a problem of the individual than of the organization, but they often come across as the project manager on the client side. He is very afraid of his own leadership, rushing around, doubting and shoving your nerves.
7. Extreme - forced assistant. Imagine a commercial director who was put in charge of the process of creating a site. He has his mouth full of worries, and here you are ... with all the ensuing consequences.
That’s probably all. The list is far from complete and I will be glad if someone supplements it both with types and cases of meeting with them, I will be glad - speak out.
In the next series we will talk about the performers. I will try not to delay this issue.
So. About a year ago, I wrote and published a typology of clients and artists on Creatiff.ru . I do not think that any of you managed to get acquainted with this material - the project is neither alive nor dead. And, meanwhile, the topic itself does not lose relevance, so I will take the liberty of publishing another release with minor corrections and additions.
As mentioned in previous posts, I'm an industry web producer. On the one hand, my responsibilities include managing requirements: I communicate with clients and bring them to a specific construct, with which it is already possible to work. On the other hand, my responsibilities include managing the creative team: thereby, which implements the requirements received. You could say that I'm between two fires. On the one hand, customers are pushing, on the other, designers are pushing, on the third, managers are scampering (this is generally a separate issue). Everyone has their own truth, everyone “needs”, and I also “need” ... It’s never boring.
Meetings with clients I spend really a lot. And at some point, all this mess led to write a classifier of what is most common. Yes, I will immediately draw your attention to the fact that the material as a whole is devoted to negative experience. It is somehow better remembered and stored. And the positive - why keep it, everything is fine with him.
If we take the situation as a whole, there are only two problems, and they do not change (at least the time that I have been observing since 2000): this is the lack of goals / objectives and the lack of authority.
The lack of goals / objectives is a subject of a separate study, we will definitely touch on this. In short, I will say that by and large nobody needs anything. The vast majority of customers can not clearly articulate why they need a site. But they can clearly say who instructed him to do it. And this is the second problem: the lack of authority. Because they instructed to instruct, but did not give any opportunity to make decisions.
In our working jargon, the one who instructed is the "body", and the one who transmitted is the "gasket."
If you communicate directly with the body - in any case, it is luck. Your path to submitting the project should be shorter and easier. But. There are nuances because there are such bodies as:
1. Nerd- A person with unpredictable reactions. He will constantly change his opinion, priorities, juggle goals and objectives. A good example is the situation “the client did not dance” - that is, he did not receive satisfaction in the amount in which he transferred the funds to you (he estimates the volume on his internal scale). And here “nerd” will continue the process even if the result has already been achieved and any continuation only leads to its deterioration.
2. The king- a person who has descended to cooperation (communication) with you. At every moment of time, he will strengthen your feeling that you are wasting his precious time. Any of his words must be caught, each of his eyes should be kept in his heart. The king is single channel. It works only on broadcasting. Most often all that he broadcasts is bullshit. But learn to take it seriously.
3. Karabas-drumas - a character who wants obedient dolls in your face. He will manipulate the process, impose his decisions on you and demand their rigorous execution. All your arguments about the inappropriateness of these decisions will be rejected indignantly (the more proposals, the more indignation).
4. Dunno- a person who inserts “I don’t know” through the word. You will have the impression that he does not know anything at all. In fact, he simply does not want to take responsibility. "Think for yourself, decide for yourself." And be prepared, as soon as you bring him your labors, he will immediately turn into a znayka - and will drown you with his criticism in the format “this is not so,” “but I thought” and “well, what are you, Iglesias.”
5. The city council is a collegial decision-making body. You come, and everything is going to gather for you: the main one, marketing, “the head of the transport department”, “the academician of cats” and all those who are still bored. Agreeing on something specific with this camp is very difficult. It is especially difficult to pass them a turnkey solution.
Let's say you are less fortunate - you communicate with the gasket. The path will be more tortuous, this is a fact, but there is one point that brightens up the situation a bit. Laying is as much a bonded man as you are (it does not apply to free artists), and he has the same problems, and you can understand him. But it comes across:
1. A substitute - a person posing as a body, although in reality it is not a body. He will very confidently steer the process, guide you in every way, advise and even demand. But in the end, it turns out that everything said was the subject of his own personal initiative, never agreed with anyone.
2. Karabasik- By analogy with Karabas, this is a person who wants to actively manipulate you. The problem is that his desires do not correspond to his rank. He, as they say, seized upon. And you are likely to suffer if you do not take measures to neutralize it.
3. Susanin - from the name it is clear that he will lead and quit. In a way, it's a kind of Podstavki. The only thing that Susanin always acts from his best motives.
4. Leech - a person who wants to prove himself at your expense. He does not solve the task, he earns points. You are just a career tool for him. And he will contact you accordingly.
5. Drawbar- This is a difficult case. Changeable, like mercury, constantly changing its point of view, task, conditions. At the same time, most often, he reacts to some irritants inside his company. But since you have no idea about these processes, each successive change of course will be a revelation for you.
6. Pale moth - a character doubting himself. This is more a problem of the individual than of the organization, but they often come across as the project manager on the client side. He is very afraid of his own leadership, rushing around, doubting and shoving your nerves.
7. Extreme - forced assistant. Imagine a commercial director who was put in charge of the process of creating a site. He has his mouth full of worries, and here you are ... with all the ensuing consequences.
That’s probably all. The list is far from complete and I will be glad if someone supplements it both with types and cases of meeting with them, I will be glad - speak out.
In the next series we will talk about the performers. I will try not to delay this issue.