Dealing with Micro-Managing Clients

When you work in the public relations and social media industry, you’ll deal with an array of clients and different personalities. Occasionally, you’ll find yourself working with a client who is a micromanager, meaning he or she closely observes or even controls the work you are doing. We’ve listed some ways to deal with these types of clients.

Explain your plans to the client. Before you start working on projects, it’s important to be sure the client knows a roadmap of what is to come, so you won’t have to answer too many questions down the line. 

Give updates. Since your client will probably want to know what’s going on at all times, be sure to update them throughout the process so they feel comfortable with what you’re doing.

Go over and beyond. Clients that micromanage will want to see great results quickly, so putting in extra effort and work for those clients is essential.

Always be honest. If you’ve done everything you can to work with the client and his or her managing style is still getting in the way of your tasks, be honest with them in a respectful manner. Losing your temper will only make the client cancel service, but standing up for yourself is important in dealing with clients who may be hindering progress.