A brief is an essential element in the digital world. Without it, marketers, developers, and SMM specialists are in the dark about the client’s tasks. We dove deep into this topic and invited experts to share their valuable advice and provide templates to help create effective briefs.
Understanding the brief and its purpose
A brief can be compared to a project “summary”. It is a questionnaire that introduces the contractor to the client and the tasks set before them. It contains basic information about the project, including its essence, implementation deadlines and the customer’s expectations. In addition, the brief often includes general questions about the customer company, which helps the contractor to better understand the client’s business.
The value of a brief
Briefing is often an important part of the sales funnel, allowing the parties to assess whether they are a good fit for each other. Without a briefing, it is impossible to properly estimate the cost of the project. It also acts as an important “insurance” for the contractor, defining the requirements and expectations for the project.
Brief Contents: Key Points
Company Information: General questions about the client company help to get an idea of its activities.
Product description and its USP: Disclosure of the main characteristics of the product and its unique offering.
Brand information: Information about the corporate style, slogans and philosophy of the company.
Project goals and objectives: Clear definition of the goals that the client wants to achieve.
Budget Constraints: Clarifying the financial framework for the project.
Target Audience: A detailed description of the target audience and its characteristics.
Examples of work: Illustrations or references to work that inspires the client.
Organizational aspects: Establishing deadlines, communication processes and responsibilities of the parties.
Technical requirements: Specifications for the use of programs and tools.
Additional wishes and comments: Any additional information or requirements that may be useful in completing the project.
Brief – The Key to Successful Cooperation
A brief is not just a formality, but a tool that ensures successful cooperation and effective project implementation. A detailed and informative brief helps avoid misunderstandings and mistakes at the task execution stage, and also promotes a deeper understanding of the client’s goals and requirements.
Solving the Riddle of Customer Objections: How to Use Them to Your Business' Advantage
Customer objections are a point that is often addressed by contractors working in advertising, marketing or sales. They include reasons why customers are not ready to purchase a product or service. Examples of such objections include “your prices are high”, “I am not familiar with your company”, “I already have a supplier”.
These objections can be varied and reflect different aspects of the customer's decision to purchase a product or service. For example, they can take the form of comments about the high price, insufficient knowledge about the company or an existing supplier.
Using customer objections to your advantage requires a strategic approach and understanding their root causes. Instead of viewing objections as a roadblock, they can be viewed as an opportunity to deepen your understanding of your customer’s needs and improve your product or service offering.
For example, an objection about a high price may become an incentive for a supplier to offer the customer more favorable conditions or to demonstrate the benefits of the product that compensate for its cost. An objection about insufficient knowledge about the company may become a reason for conducting additional information campaigns or providing the customer with more detailed information about the brand and its benefits.
Thus, the ability to effectively respond to customer objections and use them to your advantage can lead to improved customer relationships, increased trust, and increased sales.
Taking Competitors into Account
An important part of the brief is information about competitors. This section describes who they are and how their products, services or services differ from those offered by the client. This allows you to understand the strengths and weaknesses of competitors, and sometimes their promotion budget. This information can be very useful in solving problems. You can also find out what phrases to avoid in communication so as not to create associations with competitors.
Examples of work that the client likes
Examples of work that the client likes are a key element in the process of creating a brief and setting the client’s expectations. Evaluating work that evokes positive emotions in the client is a highly subjective process, especially when it comes to design, websites or texts.
Each client employee has their own taste, preferences and creative vision, which makes this process even more individualized and complex. Therefore, during the briefing and gathering information for the brief, it is important to obtain references and samples of work from the person who will approve the final result of the project.
These examples of work that the client likes can be either internal developments of the company or external projects that arouse interest or admiration. They help the contractor better understand the client's preferences and expectations, as well as create a more accurate idea of what the final result of the project should be.
Obtaining references from the client's key stakeholders reduces the risk of misunderstandings and dissatisfaction during the project. It also helps improve communication between the contractor and the client, which is an important aspect of successful project completion.
Organizational aspects
It is necessary to clarify all organizational issues, such as deadlines, stages of work and who needs to approve the result. Sometimes it is important to clarify in which programs the projects will be submitted.
There are no strict rules for writing a brief. Questions can be asked in any logical sequence, and answers can be written down in a program convenient for you.
Expert Advice: How to Conduct a Client Briefing
Having talked to the heads of foreign and Russian digital agencies, we found out the following:
Who should fill out the brief: the client themselves or the contractor based on the customer’s words?
It is important to interview the client yourself rather than provide them with a form to fill out. This will allow you to better understand their needs and desires, as well as build a trusting relationship.
At what stage of the deal should you ask to fill out a brief?
Basic questions can be included in the application form on the company's website. At the first personal meeting, a more detailed brief should be filled out in order to start collecting information about the client as soon as possible and to show readiness to get involved in the work.
Towards the Truth about Competitors and Briefs: Keys to Communication with Clients
— How to get information about the client’s competitors?
— It is important not only to take the client's word for it, but also to conduct your own research. Sometimes the information provided by the client about his competitors may not be entirely accurate or even distorted.
It also happens that a brand with similar positioning is not a competitor in search results. Therefore, we take two steps: first, we conduct a briefing with the client, and then we independently research the market, studying competitors and checking the facts and figures provided.
— Should the results of the briefing be agreed upon with the client? What is the best way to organize this part of the communication?
— It is essential to summarize the meeting or call. It is important to go over all the points and outline the next steps. Then it is necessary to clarify who exactly is making the next move and agree on the date of the next meeting. These are the basics of any successful business conversation. Failure to do these steps can result in the loss of a client.
— What is the best way to record answers to briefing questions during a face-to-face or online meeting?
— The main thing is to do it in writing. You can use a notepad, notes on your phone or Excel tables — it is important that the information is recorded. This is necessary so that after some time you can review the answers and share the information with colleagues for further work.
After the meeting, you should send the completed brief to the client for approval. If you feel that something was misunderstood, the client should be given the opportunity to correct it.
— How to design a brief that the client fills out himself?
You can choose any format that is convenient for you. Most often, tables in Word or Excel are used. Google forms are also convenient, since they are easier to fill out, as well as the Tilda constructor, which allows you to create visually attractive and individualized forms.
— What is the difference between a brief and a technical assignment?
— A brief is the first meeting where the client’s goals and expected results are clarified. Preferred platforms and tools may be indicated here, but this is not necessary.
The technical task is the next stage, at which specific goals, measurable results, tools used and other parameters for the precise execution of the task are formed.
Sometimes a brief may include elements of a technical task, especially if it concerns specific parameters. However, in most cases, a brief is a more general description of the task, while a technical task is a more specific action plan.
— Is it necessary to formalize the brief legally? How to do it correctly?
— If the brief is a technical assignment on the basis of which work or services are performed, it can be included in the package of documents. However, this is not always required: sometimes it is enough to simply describe the service and agree on a method for measuring the results.
For example, if you write a hundred texts for social networks per month, it may be useful to create a guide that contains the basic rules for writing them. And the number of texts can be fixed in the contract with the client.
— Are there any limits on the number of questions in a brief? How long should an oral briefing last?
— There are no strict limits on the number of questions. You can include in the brief both mandatory (marked with an asterisk *) questions and optional ones that the client can answer if they wish. However, you should not overload the client with too many questions if a dozen are enough to complete the work.
It is better not to conduct an interview longer than an hour, as it can reduce concentration. At the meeting, you can get answers to the main questions, and the rest can be asked to the client in writing.
English 
Russian