And other reasons to hire a graphic designer to tell you not to use click-bait for your brand.
This title, like most articles that are usually associated with it, is most likely false and really overplayed, for that matter. You’ve started a company that is moving up in the world. You’ve clearly been doing a ton of things right and now it’s time to attract the customers you need to make those dollars. So really the title should be “How Not to Lose Your Well-Earned Money and Use Great Design to Attract Great Paying Customers (and other reasons hiring a professional graphic designer and marketing specialist is a must for your company)”. Lengthy, I know, but still very true.
One technique companies use to “save” money is skimping on the design and marketing budget. The “I can do that” mentality takes over. We’ve all been there, walking through the outdoor art fair and seeing something we like, looking at the price and going “I can make that”. We put it down and never, ever make anything remotely close to the amazing product we saw. I still have dreams about that multi-patterned, hand-sewn purse.
Here’s the thing, while that purse was gorgeous and, yes, I could cultivate my sewing skills, there was so much more that went into making it – creating the pattern, finding the fabric, cutting the fabric, choosing the thread, buying the needles, spending years and years perfecting my stitches – time I am never willing or able to put forth for that type of project so the purse will never get made. The same goes for design and marketing. It’s not just about making something pretty, there’s so much more that goes into building great design that most people running a company just don’t have time to do, nor should they. It’s not cost-effective for the owner or other non-design experienced employees to be allocating their time that way because time is money and you can’t gain customers if nothing is drawing them in.
So what makes great design through a great graphic designer/marketing specialist a worthy line item in your budget?
Focus:
Simply put, great designers help you focus. There is no such thing as marketing to everyone, no matter how much you want to. There is always a key demographic and if you don’t figure that out, you’re going to lose your target market and all their money. BAM, goodbye budget and goodbye multi-patterned, hand-sewn purse.
Designers know the questions to ask in the beginning to move fast. We create clear goals for your company and start working towards them right away, thus cutting down project hours, implementing everything earlier and alluring customers sooner, i.e. SAVING and MAKING YOU MONEY NOW!
Mad Skills:
This one is pretty obvious, we’ve spent years in school and in marketing/design environments and we know our sh*t. From design software to print specs to web image requirements, it’s all buried in our brains ready to be used for good. We don’t have to spend hours Googling and researching, we just know it and if we don’t, we know how to get that information quickly without delaying the timeline.
It’s always tempting to hire your niece or nephew who just got accepted to a prestigious art school but very few have the experience or knowledge (yet) to get you where you need to be right now. There are, of course, a few exceptions – if your niece happens to be Kheris Rogers, hire her. Seriously, amazing. Or me, if I happen to be your niece, you should definitely hire me.
The easiest way I save money for clients? I know how to submit files for print. Seems easy, right? Nope, just ask any printer. They have some amazing stories, primarily about wedding invitations and brochures. I have yet to work with a printer who doesn’t love me. Not only do I talk in their language, they never have to alter my files, ever. And when a printer knows they don’t have to waste their time fixing mistakes or trying to convert a PowerPoint file for print, down goes the price and quicker goes the print time, dramatically. i.e. SAVING YOU MONEY NOW!
Customers are drawn to things that look and feel unique but if you never get around to making those unique pieces, no one is going to show up to ask for them.
Relevant Design:
It’s not just important for something to “pop”, it has to be relevant to the time we are in, to the market you are selling to. Designers follow the trends and know the right colors, the right fonts, the right images, the right hierarchy of information to attract the people buying what you’re selling. We do the research so you don’t have to and not just visual/art research, competitor research. It’s important to stand out from the other companies you’re trying to steal customers from.
Yes, brands usually need a facelift every so often but a great design provides a good foundation and will last many years, i.e. SAVING and MAKING YOU MONEY NOW and IN THE FUTURE!
Unique Consistency:
Part of great design is consistency. You don’t have a successful brand if everything looks separate or looks like you designed it from a Word template. If a customer gets a brochure and the colors are nowhere near your brand colors on your website or business cards or in-office decorations or YouTube videos, their brains won’t connect it automatically to your company. Consistency causes people to recognize you without even reading a word. Many people I talk to think that’s what the logo is for and don’t get me wrong, a unique logo is important but how the brand supports that one-of-a-kind logo is paramount and a brand only works if it’s consistent.
And what better way to stay consistent and unique and entice those great customers than to hire an amazing freelancer and/or marketing company who keeps you focused, knows the tools of the trade, and always stays up-to-date on trends. In other words, someone who SAVES and MAKES YOU MONEY NOW and IN THE FUTURE! It’s what great design is all about.
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Great post, Rese!