A client's blunt email about our project reports made me switch formats

They said our weekly PDFs were 'impossible to scan for the one thing they needed to know' and asked for a simple bullet list instead. I swapped to a three line email update with red, yellow, green status flags, and the feedback has been great. Has anyone else simplified their client reporting after a similar push?

3 comments

3 Comments

barbara4291mo ago

That "impossible to scan" line is the whole problem, isn't it. Did you ever figure out what the "one thing" actually was for them? I've found that can be different for every client, even when they all get the same report. Some only care about the budget number, others just want to know if they need to do something this week.

jake_mason301mo ago

Forget the report itself. I started asking them to just point at the one chart they keep looking at. Their finger tells you everything.

jade61818d ago

@barbara429 nailed it - every single client has their own "one chart" hidden in there. Funny thing is I once spent 45 minutes explaining a report to someone and then they pointed at the total at the very bottom. Could've saved everyone the trouble if I just asked them to point first instead of talking.