A design agency can help your small business optimize its creative branding strategy.
Graphic and creative design are one of the more challenging things a small business has to tackle. Small to midsize businesses (SMBs) need to look professional and polished to stand out among their competition, and creative branding is one way to do that.
However, creative design is a very specialized skill. For that reason, outsourcing graphic and creative design to a design agency is a popular decision and often highly cost-effective.
Small businesses struggle with limited resources, budgets, and small teams, and outsourcing the time-consuming and labor-intensive tasks of logo design, business cards, social media graphics, website design, and more are often a big timesaver. According to Gartner, agency searches have soared 50% in the last year.[1]
But before you start hunting for a design agency, you need to understand the types of design agencies and the potential challenges of outsourcing creative design, so you can find the agency that works best for your needs.
What is a design agency?
A design agency is a creative firm focused on the visual appearance of products, brands, and services. They help businesses create visually engaging designs and communication materials, both print and digital. They also support various marketing initiatives such as sales, new product releases, seasonal campaigns, and more.
What does a design agency do?
Depending on your budget and scope of work, a design agency can work on a variety of projects, including:
Advertising materials like billboard design, social media ads, or print ads.
Foundational brand identity such as logos, color, palettes, typography, photography, and building a cohesive brand book.
Website design, including building a new website, optimizing your current one, or providing visual direction to a website design agency.
Sales collateral like business cards, pitch decks, one-pagers, and flyers.
Digital assets like social media images, promotional emails, and banners.
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Still unsure if you want to use a digital agency or cover your creative needs in-house? Check out "How To Approach Creative Services: Outsourcing vs. In-House" for an in-depth comparison of the two options.
Different types of design agencies
There are so many different types of design agencies that it might be tough to decide which one your business needs. Check out the differences between agencies to help you choose:
Creative agency: A creative agency might be interchangeable with a design agency, but often, creative shops focus on a more high-level, strategic brand and visual identity. They might work on larger campaigns or provide more strategic direction instead of actually handing over deliverables.
Branding agency: A branding agency focuses on in-depth brand insights, brand identity, and positioning. They support developing your overall brand mission, name, identity, architecture, and sometimes messaging.
Web design agency: Web design agencies focus on the user experience and user interface of your website. They might help you build a new website from the ground up, including wireframes, visuals, and development. They could also work on a retainer basis if you need monthly ad-hoc support making small layout tweaks, HTML changes, or bug fixes.
Graphic design agency: A graphic design agency might be a partner you turn to for creative asset creation. They typically work with clients to develop visual communication materials across sales and marketing. These deliverables might include social media ads, flyers, promotional materials, and more.
Marketing agency: A marketing agency often goes far beyond standard creative design work. A marketing agency is more of a full-stack partner that supports marketing collateral and campaigns. They might develop the overall marketing strategy, launch campaigns, and focus on acquiring leads and sales. Other services might include SEO, pay-per-click ads management, brand design, social media, marketing, and more. For small businesses, an outsourced marketing agency is similar to an internal Head of Marketing or Chief Marketing Officer.
Advertising agency: An advertising agency is similar to a marketing agency as they both focus on driving leads and sales to your business. However, an advertising agency may focus solely on organic and paid ads, such as banner ads, print advertising, TV advertising, social media ads, search ads, and more. They create the advertising strategy, execute the campaign, and report on success.
Benefits of working with a design agency
A design agency is often an excellent partner for SMBs. They offer a plethora of benefits that up-level your business’ brand identity, messaging, advertising campaigns, and more. Working with an expert design agency helps speak your target audience’s language and communicate effectively in order to drive an action like purchasing your product or signing up for your service.
Fresh ideas
Design agencies are full of creative, out-of-the-box thinkers. They can provide fresh, new ideas to elevate your brand and differentiate your business from competitors. Also, they are on the cutting edge of design trends, so they offer fun, trendy concepts. An eye-catching visual identity can be one of the first things your target customer sees, so it’s important to create a distinct brand that feels memorable and unique.
Access to a wide range of services
From mobile app development to website support to graphic design, a design agency is stacked with specialized creatives. Plus, solo in-house designers can quickly feel overworked and stretched thin as they’re balancing multiple projects. Working with a design agency reduces the likelihood of burnout and creative fatigue from an in-house employee.
Cost savings
For small businesses, hiring a social media design specialist plus a front-end visual designer and a print ad designer would simply be too expensive. Even a single in-house designer can be an expensive hire for your business. The average graphic designer salary in the U.S. is roughly $58,000 annually.[2] Working with a design agency grants access to a diverse team of experienced creatives at an affordable price.
Strategic vision
A design agency focuses on the business as a whole, so you’ll benefit from both the high-level leadership and nifty-gritty execution. Design agencies often employ powerhouse senior leadership who can be an invaluable resource for your own executive team.
Challenges of working with a design agency
While working with a design agency offers many benefits for small businesses, it doesn’t come without challenges. Like with any external partner, communication is key, and ensuring you choose the right design agency upfront is critical.
Aligned vision
It’s mission-critical to choose a design agency that aligns with your goal and vision for your brand. Different design agencies have different styles, such as minimalism, maximalism, retro, traditional, and more. Some design agencies work with business-to-business companies (B2B), and others specialize in business-to-consumer (B2C) products. Choosing a design agency that specializes in your industry and audience will save a lot of headaches and frustrations.
Timing
Design agencies have multiple clients, so you might run into longer wait times for creative deliverables. For example, a design agency might not be able to turn a request around in 24 hours because they have a website launch for another client.
Communication
When working with any external agency, communication might be a challenge. Make sure you’re appropriately prioritizing projects, over-communicating goals and needs, and proactively addressing any problems. Establish a weekly cadence of communication so you can consistently feel in the loop about what your design agency is working on.
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Want to know more about the ins and outs of hiring a service provider? Check out "Here's What You Can Expect When Hiring a Service Provider" for the full picture.
How to choose a design agency for your specific needs
Not all design agencies are created equal. Here are a few tips for choosing the right design agency for your specific needs.
1. Establish a budget
Before you can decide on a design style or start talking to agencies, establish a budget. Design agencies can vary widely when it comes to costs, so save yourself time by having a clear, defined budget. This way, you can quickly sort through agencies that are way out of your price range.
2. Search within your industry
Deep knowledge of your industry and audience makes a great design agency partner. Ask colleagues within your field if they have any recommendations. Then, make sure the design agency has a diverse portfolio of projects within your industry, including any possible deliverables you might need, like a new website or print ads.
3. Get clear on the services you’re looking for
Are you launching a new website? Are you looking for someone to partner with your sales team for flyers and pitch decks? Are you headed to multiple trade shows and need booth and promotional material design? Be clear on the exact projects and deliverables you’re looking for from a design agency, as that can greatly influence your choice. For example, if you were looking to produce a mobile app for your business, then you might lean more towards a design agency that offers prototype design, UI/UX development, QA knowledge, and has launched apps in your industry before.
Choose the right design agency for your business
Well, it’s not the easiest decision, choosing the right design agency as a strategic partner for the long term when you’re working with the right team. For small businesses tight on time, resources, and money, a design agency can take over several responsibilities like advertising materials, website design, sales collateral, digital assets, and more.
After carefully analyzing the type of design agency you want to approach, set a budget, search within your industry, and get crystal clear on the services and projects you are looking for.
Check out Capterra's lists of the top design agencies in these areas: