What clients really think: 5 key insights from 2025 research
Every year I eagerly await the release of the ‘What Clients Think’ report. It’s a goldmine of insights based on 680 in-depth client interviews conducted on behalf of creative design agencies.
Unlike online surveys with their superficial responses, these face-to-face interviews reveal what clients genuinely think about their agency relationships – the good, the bad, and the occasionally ugly.
I’ve combed through the 2025 report so you don’t have to … here are five insights that caught my attention.
1. Clients are struggling to prioritise projects
A staggering 83% of clients report finding it “very difficult” to properly prioritise projects. They’re time-starved, under-resourced, and facing budget pressures.
What this means for you: Clients need help making decisions. They value agencies that can help them focus on what matters most. Rather than presenting multiple options of equal merit, guide them toward the solution that will deliver the greatest impact.
Resources:
Article: How to help clients make decisions
Article: Ask on what basis are you making this decision?
Workshop: Understand evidence-based design and how to prove design impact to sway client’s who need facts to make a decision.
2. AI is changing client expectations around costs
80% of clients expect AI to have a downward effect on agency costs over the next 1-2 years.
This doesn’t mean they expect cheaper creative work. Rather, they expect the efficiency gains from AI to be passed on through faster turnarounds or more value-added services.
What this means for you: Be transparent about how you’re using AI. Explain where it’s saving time and where human expertise remains essential. Most importantly, shift conversations from cost to impact – 94% of clients agree that AI shouldn’t lead to brand sameness.
Resources:
Article: How designers can use AI to help clients
Workshop: How to explain the measurable impact of design – using AI to move your practice from craft to strategic
3. In person collaboration still matters
Despite the remote work revolution, 81% of clients believe in-person collaboration is an important ingredient of good creative work.
Interestingly, 90% also state that how an agency works is the agency’s business – they won’t dictate your working model, but they do have opinions about what produces the best results.
What this means for you: If you’ve gone fully remote, consider how you might reintroduce some face-to-face collaboration, particularly at key project stages. At minimum, be prepared to explain how your remote model maintains creative excellence.
Resources:
Article: Got everyone together? Make sure it counts – here’s how to run a good meeting.
Article: What can result from great collaboration
Workshop: How to find higher fee-paying work – collaboration, co-creation and strategy are vital factors in moving your design agency up the design ladder.
4 Clients think agencies struggle to differentiate themselves
- 61% of clients find it difficult to establish what a design agency is best at when looking at their website.
- 64% of clients stated that agency case studies failed to tell them what they need to know.
- 34% of clients were disappointed by presentations claiming to offer learning and insight but fell flat, feeling generic.
What this means for you: Resist the temptation to claim you can do everything. Be clear and honest about what you’re genuinely best at – your onlyness. When presenting case studies, focus on the strategic challenge being addressed and how your solution specifically solved it. And always, always proofread – clients report that typos and small errors send a very poor message at exactly the time when agencies should appear faultless.
Resources:
Article: Contact older clients to tell them how you differ from other studios by doing this.
Article: Case study about how we helped a design agency find their niche.
Workshop: Better articulating why and how your design solutions work will differentiate yourself from others.
Program: Build strategic pillars of excellence to emphasis your onlyness to clients. (An intrinsic part of our Business of design program. More info here on our mentoring page.)
5. The perception of a partnership is declining
Only 58% of clients view their agency as a ‘partner’ – a slight decrease from last year.
The report identifies five factors that damage partnership perception:
- a decline in pro-activity
- their design agency feels ‘too stretched’
- there’s too much focus on day-to-day tasks
- staff turnover
- design agencies have a limited understanding of the client’s business beyond the immediate project
What this means for you: Partnership status isn’t automatic – it must be earned and maintained. Schedule regular strategic conversations that go beyond immediate project needs. Demonstrate understanding of your client’s broader business challenges, not just their marketing objectives.
Resources:
Article: Maintain contact with older clients or those with whom you work annually.
Article: True design partners work across the whole-of-business, not just with the marketing and comms department.
Program: Design partners understand their client’s business, their pains and their challenges. This is exactly the type of research we do for design agencies in our Business of design program. More info here on our mentoring page.
So what?
The client-design agency landscape continues to evolve, but the fundamentals remain consistent: clients want agencies who understand their business, deliver consistently excellent work, and act as true strategic partners.
The designers who thrive will be those who balance
- creative excellence with business acumen,
- technological adoption with human connection, and
- execution with strategic thinking.
You can download the complete report here.
Carol Mackay
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About Carol Mackay
After 30+ years running a design studio, I accumulated a pretty special network of fellow designers. One thing most have in common: a need for more information about the ‘business’ side of design. Most are impatient with any task competing for time spent doing what they love – designing so they wanted more info about how to work more efficiently and effectively.
Not me. I love that intersection between design and business. I built a career working with Ombudsman schemes, the Emergency Services sector and the Courts. My special power has always been an ability to use design to translate the difficult to understand or the unpalatable message.
I now use exactly the same skills with creative business owners. I translate the indigestible into bite-sized chunks of information. I share insights, introduce tools and embed processes to help others build confidence business decision-making skills. More confidence makes it easier to grasp opportunities. More confidence makes it easier to recognise a good client from the bad.
Outside DBC I have mentored with Womentor, AGDA The Aunties, and most recently Regional Arts NSW.
And I’m a proud volunteer and board member of Never Not Creative.
Always happy to chat, I can be contacted here.
