What Does The Client Really Want?

So you are the PR consultant – big shot, the expert, equipped with the requisite trainings, skills and experience from working with a wide range of high-profile clients. And you have been contracted to advise the client on the most effective ways to tell his brand stories to the relevant audiences.

But you would do well to keep in mind that the client is no fool either. He is very clear about his business objectives. He knows his product much more than you ever will, he knows who he wants to talk to, and  has a fair idea of what exactly he wants, even though he may not know exactly how to go about getting it. Which is where you come into the picture anyway.

And let’s face it, at the end of the day, it is ultimately the client’s prerogative to approve (or, for that matter, discard) whatever proposals the consultant presents to him.

As a serious-minded PR consultant, after all said and done, there must always be a place in your mind for this all-important question: what does the client really want?

Oftentimes, this is not expressly stated, or succinctly articulated, but a smart and discerning consultant can get at least a hint from the client’s body language – or simply by asking! But then that is if you’re looking out for it, and not consumed in your own obsession to impress with your ‘creativity’ and  ‘expertise’.

We once worked for a client for whom our job was not done unless, and until, her press release had been published in a particular national daily. For several months we struggled with her endless complaints, and it was becoming increasingly apparent that the issue was a very important KPI with her. Then one day I summoned up the courage to ask her: “Madam, what is this obsession about always getting your press releases published in this particular newspaper?”

Her response was as bizarre as it was interesting: ”That is the only newspaper my father buys, and every time he sees a story about me or my organization in that paper, he clips it and files it away in a special album. So, for me, it is your job to ensure that all of our releases are published in that particular newspaper”. True story!

I promised her that we would continue to do our best to deliver what she wanted, but that in our line of business we could not absolutely guarantee that things would turn out the way she wanted, on this score. No prizes for why we lost that account somewhere down the line.

I am by no means suggesting that, as a consultant,  you should reduce your relationship with your client to that of master-servant, or that you allow yourself to be boxed into a situation where you are forced to promise the client what you cannot realistically (or ethically) deliver. Far from it!

But then a lot of our clients (and client contacts) do harbour one form of idiosyncrasy or the other along such lines, and if you listen (and ask the relevant questions) you might just be able to put a finger on it. And then you can discuss it and try to find a middle ground that is practicable and which offers a win-win outcome for both parties.

In conclusion, my point is that it helps to also listen to your client. You’d be surprised how much you’ll learn, and how much easier your job as a consultant could be.