Having worked for both brands and agencies, I have spent countless hours delivering work to benefit a wide variety of audiences and needs. Whether through client requests, collaborative efforts, or self-driven efforts, there’s always a purpose behind the work and a benefit it provides. However, not all work is created equal. Your time is valuable and limited, and because of this, you need to think about the audience that has the greatest impact on you and your business: your client.
The Inverted Pyramid of Addressable Needs
Amidst the flurry of audiences you cater to, you should always make the client the first priority, and while this feels like common knowledge, there is no shortage of evidence that this isn’t universally followed. For this reason, it is important to have an easily accessible framework to help visually drive home this importance, and my approach is what I call the inverted pyramid of addressable needs. It is a hierarchical guide on value creation and the impact on your business, starting with the client as the most significant at the top, their organization in the middle, and your internal organization at the bottom.
The Client
Regardless of your line of business, the client and their needs should always be addressed first. They keep the lights on. Their success is also directly tied to your success. A satisfied client drives retention, revenue expansion, and referrals. They have engaged you because they have challenges that you are equipped to solve, and the value you can generate for them is in delivering on promises to improve their business. But it is important to understand that this doesn’t mean you should simply do what they ask. The client isn’t always right, and you should be solving the challenges they communicate, not what they propose they need. This distinction solidifies why you are the right person to solve the challenge, not being paid to agree to be a sounding board for their problems and proposed solutions.
The Organization
Clients rarely work in isolation. They are part of an organization that has its own set of needs and challenges that flow down to your client. Some might believe that the organization's value is greater than the individual client, but remember that the client is the one advocating for you. They are the ones securing the budget for your services. Making them look good by benefiting their organization builds greater advocacy that compounds into more users or expanded services and retention.
Understand challenges both from your client’s vantage point and also from the broader organization. Initially, the organization gains value indirectly through the client, but over time, the value becomes more direct as more stakeholders from the organization adopt your product or service.
Internal Operations
Finally, you should address your own company’s needs, but this tier delivers the least value to the client, which also means your own company. This doesn’t mean internal work and product development are not valued, but it rarely drives revenue growth. They primarily serve to reduce costs or improve efficiency. Growing revenue will always outweigh cost reduction in strategic value, as cost-cutting efforts themselves consume resources, while revenue-driven work has compounding potential to surpass costs over time.
Conclusion
Work is a daily grind, and what you do with your time is finite, and not everything you do delivers value equally. You might believe that the internal work you do today is productive, but rarely does it have a significant impact on your company in a way that generates new revenue. Alignment internally is important, but your client determines whether you are aligned with the work that actually matters. The inverted pyramid of addressable needs is the perfect reminder that focusing your work on the client is the recipe for success. Keep them at the top, and everything else will fall in line.