Worst Client Comments
Here’s some Friday fun for our agency/consultant readers.
A couple of Irish creatives decided to enlist others of their ilk and design some posters to illustrate the worst client feedback they’d received on their work.
They started selling the posters (proceeds to charity) and were swamped by orders.
And ‘fess up’ you client-side readers … you know you’re guilty.
Tom
P.S. Thanks to Ken Smith.
4 responses to “Worst Client Comments”
Behavioral Science Q & A
Thanks so much for raising this. Yes, capturing donor information can be helpful for stewardship like newsletters, thank-you letters, impact updates. But how you ask matters. Forcing full data capture introduces friction that can significantly depress conversion, many donors may simply abandon the process. Beyond the friction itself, required fields also shift the emotional experience […]
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Unlike holidays that everyone already knows, Giving Tuesday is a created event. Many donors recognize the name but not the exact timing, so referencing it becomes a helpful cue. It serves as a reminder and taps into social norm activation (“everyone’s giving today”), which boosts response. However, we still want it paired with the mission, […]
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When a subject line leads with the match (“Your gift matched!”), it risks triggering market-norm thinking: the sense that giving is a financial transaction rather than an act rooted in values, identity, and care. This shift reduces intrinsic motivation and, over time, can weaken donor satisfaction and long-term engagement. It also makes the email indistinguishable […]
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There’s no evidence that QR codes suppress mid-value giving; all available research suggests they either help or have no negative effect. In fact, behavioral and usability research consistently shows the opposite: reducing friction at any point in the donation process increases completion rates and total response. And that has nothing to do with capacity and […]
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What you’re experiencing is very common. Resistance often isn’t about capability, but about motivation quality. If board members feel pushed into fundraising, that triggers controlled motivation (low quality motivation) i.e. obligation, guilt, or fear of judgment, which often results in avoidance. Instead, we need to create conditions for volitional motivation (high quality motivation) by satisfying […]
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That’s a really thoughtful question, and you’re not the first to raise it. Many of our clients have been cautious about placing the ask at the very end. To address their concern, we’ve tested both approaches, and the results are clear: when the ask comes last, even if that means it appears on the second […]
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Brilliant! Best start to a Friday I’ve had for a while. Thank you 🙂
Hehehehe!
Sorry Tom – can’t get to it today. Those of us on the “client-side” are too busy doing the work….
Thanks to Tom and Roger for finding the curious, commenting and agitating.
I think these posters are marvelous. And, sadly, too truthful. How about a collection of things clients have said to us consultants who are not designers? I’m not remembering the direct quotes – but you get the gist and intent!
“When you said we actually had to meet as a full board and talk with you, our consultant, about governance or fund development… We didn’t think you really meant it.”
“I know you said that this consultancy was a change process. But I don’t want to change.”
“You actually expected us to read that stuff in advance? I didn’t have access to my computer. I didn’t have time (two weeks isn’t enough time?”
Oh my….