Client Collaboration: 8 Tips To Deliver Successful Projects

It’s one of the biggest challenges that any Shopify partner faces (or any service provider, for that matter): How can we make sure we’re delivering projects on time and in line with everyone’s expectations?
This gets tough in a web development scenario, where you have to ensure you and your clients are always on the same page through each step. And don’t even get us started on collecting all the assets you need to get the project done right.
We asked David Hoang, CEO of ZAGO, a Shopify partner, how his team collaborates with clients to make sure they not only build on schedule, but also meet client expectations and create successful outcomes. He shared some great insights that any partner can implement into their own process.
Let’s look at some of David’s best tips around collaboration and communication.
1. Establish common ground through trust and transparency
First things first—your clients need to know they can trust you. Part of this formula is honest and transparent conversations. For David’s team, these conversations revolve around two main project elements: the process and the technology.
Be clear about what the process entails and how the two teams will work together. This can include which forms of communication you’ll use and in what instances, what the timeline is, and the major and minor milestones that make up the target project schedule.
Explain how the website works in the background, specifically the if-then logic that triggers the site’s features and functionality. This can be as granular as explaining that every cart with a value of $100 or more will receive free shipping, for example.
Once the client has a strong understanding of how everything should go, you’ll all be more equipped to move through your milestones with ease.
2. Position yourself as a growth partner, not just a service provider
David explains that it’s not just about racking up as many hours as possible on your invoice. It’s about taking actions that directly contribute to the client’s success.
One example of this in action is how to help clients problem-solve in a way that balances their finances and their business strategy. What would you do if they ask you to build a costly and comprehensive new app but you’re unsure if they really need it?
In David’s case, his team will work to find a solution that tests the client’s idea without potentially wasting valuable budget that might be better spent on other initiatives.
Our main mission here is to make their store successful, so every suggestion we have is based on how to do that. It’s a lot more than being here to build new functionality or add new buttons to the site.
3. Use a clear outline to manage expectations
At the start of every project, David sends his clients a “setup package” to aid the onboarding process. This package includes an eight-step outline of how the project will progress, and he uses it as a reference point consistently throughout the project.
Here’s the outline:
Set up the site with an official Shopify development store
Set up the theme of your choice
Set up the demo content to meet your goals
Replace the demo site content with your content
Adjust the content and layout to make it more unique and match with your content
Configure settings like shipping price, payment gateways, taxes, etc.
Update products and other settings (manual content edits on up to 10 products are free)
Optimize the site and content to meet SEO standards
David says that this eight-step outline is a proven concept to align expectations with reality while ensuring the final deliverable will function well and maintain the beautiful aesthetic clients are looking for.
4. Proactively emphasize and repeat important information
In an ideal world, we can go over everything once and never have to revisit it. In the real world, this is absolutely not how it works.
David says that it’s common to encounter a scenario where a merchant doesn’t understand or doesn’t remember specific points that they’ve already di...