We have all heard this saying and thought, but I am the one trained on our products and I know more than they do. What you have to always remember is the fact that a happy customer is likely to return and your future business relies on this. If you want to be successful in the design business, you are going to have to learn to treat the customer as if they know more than you do.
Now, we all know that consumers are often wrong. How many times have you had to change color patterns that are modern and eye catching to an uglier version? How many clients have you had that want the font size on their page so large there is no way anyone could look at it and not know what business it is for. What about when the customer wants more text on the page that simply does not fit with the schematics of the design?
You may think that your customers are obnoxious, annoying, and just plain wrong. However, if a customer asks for something, there is likely a reason for it. Although we have been educated in web design and have an extensive knowledge of what looks good and what does not, the customer should get what they ask for, even if it is annoying.
Think about a situation where you are the customer, such as when you eat at a restaurant. What if you love steak, but only like it well-done. The chef then informs you that he will not cook it that way because it is wrong, steak tastes much better with some pink in it. The chef is the expert on food. However, you are the paying customer and he will have to fix the steak the way that you want it, even if he does not agree with you and thinks it is wrong to cook a steak that way.
Now, as a designer you may think that your job is different because it requires extensive education and is a specialized industry. In reality, this is not the case. Your design job is based on business and if you drive the customers away, you will not have a job for very long. After all, in order to stay in business you need people to buy what you are selling.
Guide Your Customer
A much better option than simply telling your customer that they are wrong or simply not doing what they are ask is to guide them through the process of design. Perhaps the biggest problem your customers are facing is that they simply do not understand the layout of the project as you see it. Communication with the customer is essential.
Part of communication is listening. You must listen to what your customer wants, as they know more about their company than you do. This makes them more knowledgeable than you do about their products and what they want. If a client wants something that you do not understand, do not immediately think that they are wrong; instead ask them some questions to find out the reasons behind them asking for specific features or designs.
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