Clients don’t say thank you most of the time. The “thanks” is the money they pay you! This isn’t something you did as a favor to a friend, they don’t owe you a thank you. You did a business transaction. You fulfilling the transaction expectations doesn’t earn you special thanks.
And even when you have gone above and beyond, you are not always going to get a thank you or the full credit for success from your client that you may feel you deserve. Please, don’t take it personally. A big part of being at peace in this industry is developing the ability to not build emotional attachment around your work. YOU know what you did, and you should feel good about it. (You can and should tell the story in your portfolio.)
You aren’t the main character
Your client may be busy and under stress due to other areas of their job that you aren’t part of. The big help from you might just be a drop in the ocean of the responsibilities they are trying to manage. Or hey, they may just be a jerk. Either way, if you require a thank you to validate your existence as a graphic designer, this is probably NOT the industry for you.
“But, I did really great work and the client hit their goal!”
Consider this: your client probably thinks that THEY helped you do great work and that you achieved success TOGETHER. While it may bruise your ego, this is a good place to be! You want your client to think of you as part of their team, someone they can depend on to help THEM get their job done.
Work on nurturing that team relationship with your client. When you are pitching new ideas, remind them of your past shared success. Thank THEM for the opportunities they bring you.
Now, I’m not saying you have to put up with mean clients. I’m saying that most clients say “thank you” by paying you, and they say “thank you very much” by working with you again and referring you to new prospects.
