Shedding Light on Client Relationships

In the media business, there’s nothing more important than the relationship between you and your clients. That connection can catapult your business to a whole new level of success or it can curtail your interests significantly. Here’s a quick story from a number of years ago that has really helped guide my outlook on client relationships and their projects.

In the Washington, DC metro area, there’s a wise Gaffer with an affinity for Billy Idol, rugby, and the cuisine of the subcontinent. He’s pretty much an institution in this area. Very early in my career, I was fortunate enough to have him on a number of jobs. There’s one in particular that stands out. Something he said in passing still resonates with me today.

It was a particularly long day on a corporate project. It was low budget, demanding, and the subject wasn’t the most exciting thing in the world. We were trying to be as creative as possible, which was a challenge given the subject matter and other limitations. While wrapping up in our location, we huddled briefly to discuss what was needed for the next. A comment was made about how what we were producing didn’t seem like it was going to amount to much. Our wise Gaffer casually remarked, “Doesn’t matter…there are no small jobs” as he proceeded to carry a large stand down the hallway to the next hurried setup.

Here’s a guy that has worked on Hollywood movies, indies, broadcast specials, sports, and a whole host of other high-end projects, but here on this small, low-paying gig, he was working his tail off with almost no support to make sure it was as a good as he could make it. I recognized this attitude as the mark of a true professional and someone I wanted to collaborate with. I still bring him onto projects whenever I can.

The point is that often, we as media professionals work on all different types of projects, some big and some small, some glamorous, and some not as much. When a client calls me, it doesn’t matter the type of work or the subject matter, I recognize that to the client, it’s of the utmost importance and could very well be a very key part of a much larger whole.

It’s incredibly important that as storytellers, my team helps clients realize their vision and achieve their objectives. Clients deserve that much because they’re trusting me and my business partners with their project, and in many cases, their company’s reputation.