As small to medium sized businesses struggle in a still down economy, sometimes you have to sacrifice luxuries and try to cut corners. For some it can seem like a cost saving factor to cut even cut employees and have someone else in the office try to do the job but, don’t get rid of your graphic designer if you already have one, and if you don’t you might want to think about hiring or contracting one. Here are the top 5 reasons to hire a graphic designer.
Designers come equipped to effectively communicate to your customers
You know your audience, your customers are probably the most important thing to your business. It might not feel like your communications, advertisements, menus or website matter that much but, think about it like it’s Bob from down the road, and he’s looking for a deal.
He doesn’t want to sacrifice quality for cost, and he wants a positive purchasing experience. Let’s say, he needs a new washing machine. Well, if he’s close to a newspaper he might browse there, seeing if maybe a local business has a current sale or something. If he doesn’t notice your advertisement or worse, he notices it but doesn’t see the washing machines that you’ve cut the price 50% on … well, it’s likely he’s going to your competition. What if he’s close to a computer, he might go directly to your site if he’s a loyal customer with a good memory but, more than likely he’s going to start with a search engine. With changes to local searches it’s more important than ever that your business is on the web and it’s infinitely more important that your website can display the products and services you offer in an appealing and easy to understand way that looks good on all devices (he might just have his phone).
Real designers will do the job right – The first time
Sure, you have a word processor on your computer or you can probably have your niece build your new website for a fraction of the cost but, how effective do you think it will be? Chances are, it’s going to need a redesign or it’s flat out not going to do anything besides run off potential customers. This goes for all designs. When you look at your logo, what does it communicate? How many words are on your logo? I can tell you that I see more bad logos than good ones and that’s sad when your logo is your brand, it’s your business and that’s how customers identify you and your products. Logos should be boiled down the the simplest way to communicate your business. There’s room in your communications for all that other crap.
You can’t afford not to
How much time do you spend on a daily basis building your business, bonding with your customers, inventorying products and ya know … business stuff. If you take time out of your day to try and design, you’re taking time away from your business. Precious time that you should be spending building your business. If it takes you twice as long as it would take a good designer, how much was your time worth? Most designers are pretty affordable when you start thinking about efficiency and quality.
Identify your brand and keep it consistent
What is your brand, do you have one? Do your communications have a consistent look and feel? While not all designers are typography experts, all should be able to identify a font. As well as a theme and style of a design, as well as detect your brand, your company what it does and what it values. Do you communicate excellent quality and service? Or do you communicate overpriced junk? Do you communicate a friendly environment, or a hostile one? Are your communications inviting?
We have the tools
Do you know what the industry standard tools are for graphic design? How much are you willing to spend on the tools to do the job correctly and effectively? Most designers will come equipped with the tools and knowledge to use them, saving you time and money. Even a designer with little to invest in software will have comparable tools and to compete with them and their know-how will probably leave you in a worse position than you’d be in by not hiring them.