Small businesses these days have a lot more to gain by engaging the services of a digital design company instead of forming an in-house design team early on. Here are some of the most obvious benefits of going with an agency rather than an internal team.
1.) Agencies can help keep your costs low
Hiring a full-time in-house design team can be more expensive than it appears. The equipment needed to equip them properly and the training and adjustment period also incur their costs. It may take a few days or weeks before they can start producing the assets you need at the pace you want, and you will have to consider paying for training or classes if you want them to be able to expand their skill sets.
Outsourced design companies, on the other hand, pay for their employee’s equipment and training. Agency designers are also usually more used to working on very tight deadlines and should be able to start producing whatever you need relatively quickly.
If you have a limited budget for design, or if you’re not able to justify the cost of keeping an in-house team, getting the services of a digital design company is something that you should consider.
2.) They can help you maximise your marketing and sales expenses
Without the benefit of good design, you will not be able to get as many people interested in your brand or your offers as you might want. To be completely frank, social media, web, and print ads that are not well-designed are more likely to damage your business rather than bring it revenue.
Good designs are essential in these areas for several reasons. They help elevate your message, they help your intent become more understandable, they help make your offer easier to remember (for all the right reasons), and they help you build authority and goodwill, which is something all small businesses want to cultivate early on.
Small businesses that cannot produce well-designed images, animations, and videos for their marketing and sales purposes don’t have to miss out. There are digital design companies as well as talented freelancers out there that can cater to the budgets of most small businesses.
3.) You only pay for the assets you buy
You pay for the hours of your in-house designers whether they produce anything or not. You are essentially paying for instant access, a better understanding of your unique proposition, and better control, which can be important for many businesses.
On the other hand, digital design agencies usually only get paid by the number of assets they produce. This can be a better use of funds in many instances, such as when you need several images or completed projects immediately.
This also means that a smaller business may get more assets for their money by opting to use a digital design agency to cover this capabilities gap. If they went with an in-house team, they might find that the cost per asset produced might be higher.
Many larger companies employ both agency and in-house creatives to perform different tasks, getting the agency teams to handle the bulk of the less “on-brand” assets while using in-house creatives to perform work that requires a better understanding of the brand.
The choice of whether or not to create an internal design team is something that each business has to grapple with individually. Thankfully there are several digital design companies out there that specialise in producing for small businesses, offering services at every budget.
