We understand completely that it can be hard to hand over to a relative stranger (or even a complete stranger) what you quite rightly feel is “your baby” – your branding or your website.
Nevertheless, it’s really important that you do so – because that brand and that website might be yours – but ultimately they’re not really aimed at you. They’re for your customers and anyone who might become a customer.
Leave it to the experts…
It might seem like stating the obvious but design is what we do all day, every day. And just as you wouldn’t let an amateur tinker with your expensive high-performance car, it’s really not a great idea to leave the development of something as fundamental to your business’s success as your brand and website to “Sean in Accounts” or “Maureen in Marketing”…
Maureen might well be a “dab hand” at art – or perhaps Seans’s a bit of a computer buff who understands coding and so forth. But the expertise people like us have to offer goes much, much deeper. Yes, of course, we’re designers first and foremost and, though we say it ourselves, we’re rather talented ones too! But that talent is tempered by years of commercial experience, well-honed instincts and our watchful eye on the latest market trends and developments.
In short, we know what works in what context. And while we’re always happy to take on board clients’ initial ideas, colour preferences and so on, we must be free to make creative choices in the light of our experience and market knowledge.
Of course, ultimately, you’re the boss – but a working relationship based on mutual trust and respect is not only a healthy one; it’s usually also a more productive one.
Why keep a dog and bark yourself?
In other words, if you hire someone to do a job for you, why spend your own time working on it? Outsourcing functions in which you and your staff don’t have sufficient expertise and experience is a ‘no-brainer’ any way you look at it – standard business practice, in fact. For a start, getting expert professionals on the case gives your business a better chance of success because you’ll end up with a more sophisticated, more effective brand and/or website… What’s more, by letting us professionals get on with our job, you give yourself and your team the ‘headspace’ to focus fully on yours.
Last but far from the least of the considerations here is the creativity we hold so dear – and for which you’re paying. Without wanting to come across like prima donnas, we’re not at our creative best with someone looking over our shoulder (figuratively or literally). We find it works far better if, after briefing us, a client steps back and lets us get on with it. That’s not to say feedback isn’t welcome – far from it! It’s just a case of thinking about how the design needs to work and what it needs to achieve rather than tinkering with the size of the logo, the colour and so on.
Guess what we’re really saying here is that it’s helpful for the client to have the bigger Marketing picture in sight, while leaving us to focus in on the design DNA from which great branding grows. This is through tailoring a bespoke brand identity journey where you can really see how your brand, company sits in the real world against your competitors.
