Client Benefits – A Tool for Validation

The ultimate in validation would be measurable benefits for your client when the project is done.  What would those benefits be?  How do you measure them?  What are the measures?  I am not talking about cost/benefit analysis.  Landscape design is too esoteric for that.  Too many benefits are intangible.  You may save the client money with your design approach or reusing materials, which certainly are benefits, but that is not the type of benefit I am referring to.

Let’s start with a classic client interview question.   “What will be different, better, etc. when your landscape project is complete?”  Your client can give you a multitude of answers.  Most of us ask this question seeking to identify client needs.  If we know what the client wants to be different or better, we have defined a need that can be addressed.  But is there anything in the client’s response that is measurable?  Is there a benefit we can measure and track to show how we improved it for the client?

When I stop and think about this question I think there are things you could measure.  If a client asks for a quieter space, you could do ambient sound measurements before and after.  If a client asks for more entertaining space you could measure the space pre and post project.  But are these examples really the benefits we are looking for?  If I could measure the client’s satisfaction with their outdoor space when I first interview them and them measure it again after the design and install is complete, I would have a valid measurement of the increase in their satisfaction.  Unfortunately, satisfaction measures are intangible.  Getting rave reviews from the client is great validation but you are relying on your design to come through and for the client to actually give you those kudos.

There is a benefit for you in thinking about your client’s benefits at the beginning of a project.  Let’s take a look at a couple of examples.  Assume the client is complaining of a lack of shade in their current entertaining space.  During your site analysis you could do some calculations and measurements and determine that the existing space has ninety square feet of shade on an average day between May and August.  If your design increases that, you have the data to present to the client during the design review that your design increases the entertaining space shade from ninety to one hundred seventy square feet, almost doubling it.

Another example might be an unsightly view.  Depending upon the circumstances you may be able to say that you were able to partially or fully obscure it with your design.  There are other ways to handle this.  First, a digital photo of the current view can be overlaid with a drawing showing the fence, softscape, or whatever approach you are using to obscure it.  With 3D design software you would be able to pan around the area and show the client the new view.

Having benefits that you can address gives you an opportunity to use the Feature / Function / Benefit approach in your proposal.  Addressing many specific benefits may also allow you to be more aggressive in your pricing.

This comes back to the real fundamental issue, validation is making sure that client needs are addressed in the design.  Having a design objective that is a benefit for the client, and preferably one that is measureable, makes validation even easier.

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