As a VP of Strategy & Content, synapse, we strive to bring the best work to all of the projects we’re hired on. Whether that involves web design, content marketing, SEO, social media, or anything else in the digital realm, ensuring top-notch work for each project can be complex.
Many agencies have experts in house across multiple disciplines, but even if you are well-staffed, when a larger project comes in the door, the workload can put you and your team in a bit of a bind.
We work with a lot of great contractors, like Nasir at Pixel Theorem, and it frees up our project managers and leadership to really focus on driving the strategy while the experts take care of the production. This has proven to be especially true in the graphic design space.
Our Creative Director loves bringing in contract graphic designers to execute on his vision for our client’s branding. Infographics, flyers and brochures, logos, social media graphics, and so much more. These things can all be outsourced, and your agency can thrive by doing so.
In this article, we’ll look at a few of the top ways in which outsourcing graphic design support can help your agency thrive and produce the highest quality work.
Let’s get started!
Allows you to ramp up for large projects
If you operate a marketing agency, you know that not all projects are created equal. Some are small and can be handle fully in house, and others are super large, requiring a deeper pool of resources.
Years back, I was working at another marketing agency, and we had a major hospitality brand, IHG hotel brands, contact us about developing a series of infographics. The brand commissioned 20 infographics, along with 20 articles, one article to accompany each infographic.
As you can imagine, this would be a big lift for many agencies. Fortunately, we had a database of pre-vetted, talented freelancer graphic designers available to bring into the project. By doing this, we cut the project time in half, resulting in a much happier client.
Lowers the cost of marketing projects
The cost of one salaried employee can have a big impact on the bottom line for your agency. If you find that you get graphic design requests from clients but not enough to justify hiring someone, outsourcing graphic design support can be an excellent option to save money while still producing quality content.
Find a graphic design company with excellent prices and quality work. That’s the sweet spot. Then you bring in their support only when you need it, thus avoiding paying for a salary for a graphic designer you only need on an intermittent basis.
Offers access to focused talent
Typically, when you work with someone who’s focused on fine-tuning one specific speciality, you’re going to get better results than working with someone who’s more of a jack-of-all-trades.
Often, agencies hire team members with diverse skill sets. This is a very effective practice for growing your agency, but it’s not always a fit for client projects. Your clients require the best of the best, and outsourcing graphic design support offers the perfect opportunity to achieve just that.
Niche experts in the graphic design space focus solely on graphic design. Over the years, this means their capablitiles have become very enhanced. As such, you receive amazing work, and your clients wind up super happy.
Getting started with outsourcing graphic design support
Now that you understand the benefits your marketing agency stands to gain from outsourcing your graphic design work, it’s time to start connecting with graphic designers and building relationships that help propel your business and improve the quality of your work.
Be sure to properly assess each graphic designer you consider working with. As you go through the process of selecting the right graphic design partner, consider the following:
- Portfolio: Ask to see prior work samples to assess the quality of work
- Pricing: You need to still make a margin on the work, so ensure the price is right
- Responsiveness: Your clients likely expect work to be delivered within a reasonable timeframe, and your graphic designer should be able to deliver
- Reputation: Read reviews and ask for references to determine the quality of work
- Right fit: If your personalities don’t gel with your graphic designer, it will make the working relationship a rough one
Once you’ve completed your assessment and found the right fit for your graphic design outsourcing needs, get a contract in place.
You’ll want to make sure all the details are ironed out and everyone is on the same page. This will help you avoid any issues or conflicts in the future, as everything will be spelled out in the contract.
There are so many benefits to working with a graphic design company. Do your homework, build relationships with the right partner(s), and get your graphic design rolling along.
Author bio: Anthony is CEO and Founder of Gaenzle Marketing. He is a two-time published author and digital marketing influencer. He has helped brands both large and small grow and thrive across multiple industries through strategic marketing campaigns and leveraging a powerful network of influencers.