This is the first in a two-part article examining the perceived value of design and creative services by small businesses, and what options there are for the frustrated freelancer trying to earn an honest wage.
Hi, I’d like a new website please
Exciting news, someone has asked you to quote for a project! You, being the conscientious professional that you are, spend an afternoon writing a detailed proposal and quote for the work involved. You then receive a response from your potential client explaining that your quote was considerably more expensive than they expected.
It turns out that their neighbour’s daughter’s 17 year old boyfriend (who is apparently quite good at Photoshop) has offered to do it for a fraction of your price. I’m afraid your potential client can’t afford to pay you any more than £150 for a brand new website, logo design and business cards.
Yes. Sounds very familiar doesn’t it? It’s a story I’m sure all freelance web and graphic designers have experienced.
Vivien from Inspiration Bit recently wrote about design costs and values, and exemplifies how frustrating the scenario I describe above can be. Vivien seeks answers to why some people value our profession so lowly? How do we ‘educate’ people and change people’s mindsets?
Taking a punt
A small business is a small business. Budgets are low and everything is negotiable. The difference between a few hundred pounds and a few thousand pounds is absolutely massive to your average small business, and there is no amount of ‘educating’ that can change the perception that you are ten times more expensive than someone else.
Of course there are risks associated with working with non-professionals or unknowns based in far-flung countries, and most people are aware of this. But when comparing a three figure sum with a four figure sum for seemingly the same product, in the eyes of the small business, it might just be worth the punt.
I accept that I am making a massive generalisation. Of course there are some small businesses that truly value design and communications and will pay for the best, but I will stick my neck out and say this is not your typical small business client. If you are working with small businesses, the scenario described above will happen again, and again, and again.
Some thoughts…
In my next post I will conclude this article with why I think big businesses should play a part and feature in your business plans and I’ll offer some ideas for approaching them. For now though, I will leave you with some closing thoughts/questions:
I don’t think there is anything wrong with creating low-cost and reusable generic templates and I think it’s naive of a designer to suggest that this is a lesser way of operating or that it undermines their profession. If your target market is small businesses then should you not just give them the product they want?
Do you think professional design is undervalued by some businesses? Can we and should we be educating small business on the value of professional communications?
Do you think you offer a better product to small businesses than untrained, young designers or individuals working out of countries like India who offer design services at a fraction of the price you do?
5 fantastic comments
Should we be educating small businesses? If they’re part of your target market, absolutely. It doesn’t matter what size the business is, it’s part of your role as a designer to teach the client why certain design aspects work, or not. Of course you know this already, Aaron. Just thought I’d add my $0.02.
thanks for expanding on the topic that I started on Inspiration Bit, Aaron.
Of course, my answer to all three of your last questions is YES. As for educating the clients, I agree with David, it is part of what we do, and it’s what makes us different from those who offer cookie-cut solutions and templates.
Besides, I just can’t help it — 8 years of teaching web design and programming had their toll on me 
but on the other hand, my teaching experience makes my communication with clients much more efficient. So often I hear them exclaiming: “That’s exactly what I needed, how did you know?” I can explain what they need better than they can themselves.
David and Vivien - thanks for your responses. Of course I agree with you both that we absolutely should be educating our clients and prospective clients. However, I’m playing devil’s advocate to an extent to try and question if there is a point where the financial return of working with some clients is outweighed by the time/energy/resources spent providing them with the ‘quality’ we like to provide. I just wonder if some of our clients would actually be better served with a cookie-cut or template solution and if that is an option that you’d provide or if it is against your ‘ethos’ or some kind of standards you set yourself?
That’s something I’ve found myself wondering too, Aaron.
I wouldn’t say it’s against my ‘ethos’ to provide such an option, but are those the clients I want to work with? Also, if I don’t want to work with such clients, how can I prevent needing to spend the time discovering if enquiries are from this bracket of customer?
For the second question, a client form certainly helps, but it’s not perfect.
Whenever we start a communication with a prospective client we simply end up educating them on what would be the best solution for their needs. If during the communication I see that the only thing on that client’s mind is how to save big but also get from me a lot, I simply turn that client down. Yesterday I was called “smart and spunky” by someone who’ll most probably become my client, just because I sent her a couple of emails, educating her on what options she’s got and which would be the best option for her and insisting on her to meet with me first before making any decisions. Was this person worth my time, probably yes, since she realizes that she desperately needs to re-brand herself and now she saw that I’ll be the right person to help her with that.
As for your question on cookie-cut templates, I don’t like them not because it’s against my ‘ethos’, but because I get bored with that, I need a challenging, creative work to keep my interested in the project. On the other hand, when it comes to coding, if I can re-use some applications I’ve worked or coded before, then I’ll certainly go with that, because in this case it’s just a matter of being efficient.
What are your thoughts?
