These days, you can find anything you want online – not just quickly, but cheaply. Want a new website? Dozens of companies will promise you a sparkling site, speedily made and slim on the price tag. So, when faced with the promise of getting what you want – without breaking the bank – the offer may seem too good to ignore.
Bespoke work takes time. Whether it’s designing a logo unique to your organisation, or creating eye-catching social content, having something created especially for you won’t happen overnight. In some cases, the promise of a super-fast turnaround could mean that what you’re getting is going to come from a template and will certainly not be unique. Have you ever been browsing a website, only to find yourself wondering why it feels so familiar? It could be because that site was built from a standard template – and the design company behind it might have used that same template for dozens more.
There’s nothing wrong with this. Many design companies will offer a two-tier system, with cheaper prices for a site built using a template and a higher cost to build you something from scratch. The problem arises when the company doesn’t reference their use of templates at all, but uses phrases like “custom-made” to describe the sites they build. In reality, they may not be customised much at all. Couple these fancy-sounding promises with the assurance that they’ll beat any quote you’ve had elsewhere and you may find yourself asking how they can produce unique work for such low prices.
Of course, it’s not just web design where clients can be caught out. Sites such as Fiverr will offer you everything from video editing to copywriting, for prices barely beyond pocket money – and at a seriously quick turnaround. Again, there is nothing wrong with choosing to purchase services in this way, especially if you’re a start-up and every penny counts. But today, we want to talk about why, if you want to avoid some of the “too good to be true” traps out there, you might find that working with a small business is the best decision you could make…
A large corporation, churning out work at a fast rate, may have several clients on the go. If the turnaround is really quick, you might not have much interaction with the design team at all.
With a small business, clients are more than just names on the books. You have time to get to know one another, fostering the kind of relationship that results in genuinely unique work. If you return with an issue you need help with, or a new service you require, whoever you speak to is also likely to remember you and provide a more personal service.
For example, at Little Bird Creative, we are a two-woman team. Whether you email, call or drop us a text, you can rest assured that it will be one of us (or both!) that you speak to. We won’t pass you from pillar to post and we’ll take the time to get to know you and your organisation properly. We’ll ensure that you’re involved throughout the design or editing process, whether we’re building you a website or putting together a video. From font choices to colour palettes, we’ll keep you in the loop and take your views on board, resulting in something truly tailored to you.
That process might take longer, but trust us, it’ll be worth the wait.
We’ve all been there – something goes wrong and you need to call a customer support line. You go through all the different departments and half an hour later, you’re no nearer to a solution than you were before you called!
With a small business, you’re less likely to encounter multiple departments or a long chain of command. If you need the answer to a question, you go direct to the person who’ll be able to help. With much less red tape to deal with, decisions can be made quicker and solutions found with greater ease. After all, a small business relies on word of mouth – it’s in our interest to help you as much as we can!
Most small businesses are run by people with a passion. Whether it’s an artisan bakery or a custom tattoo shop, the owner is someone who wants to spend their “day job” doing what they love. The same is true for us!
The reason we don’t use templates for our websites or logo designs is because we’re driven by the joy of creating something unique for each of our customers. If we were just slapping text and images into pre-made boxes, we’d get bored very quickly. We enjoy the challenge of tailoring our writing to our clients’ voices, or picking the perfect background music to accompany a promotional video. Each project is unique and that makes what we do much more exciting – and means you’ll get something you’ll be keen to show off!
Large corporations often have their costs set at a national or global level, which can end up pricing out small, local businesses. Even if you can afford their prices, the amount of small print involved might mean it’s not immediately obvious what’s included and what isn’t.
On the other hand, small businesses know their local market and tailor their prices accordingly. They’re more likely to be transparent about how they reached that price and exactly how much bang you’ll get for your buck.
To quote Mark Twain, “you pays your money and you takes your choice.” Whilst there are sites claiming to design you a logo for twenty pounds, there is a risk that you’ll end up with something you’ve had little say over. It could look eerily similar to several other logos out there. It might not come in all the different sizes or file formats you actually need…
A small business might not be able to give away their work for next to nothing, but they’re going to provide a greater level of bespoke service for the money you pay.
The personal relationship you’ll get from a small business can lead to a greater understanding of your needs – and the ability to adapt to them. Most small businesses have far more flexibility than a large corporation might. They can agree to meetings at a time that suits you, put together a payment plan that takes your situation into account and talk through what support you might need without locking you into a scary, forever-contract. In short, with a small business, you’ll be dealing with real people who understand real life.
There are a lot of options out there, but we hope that we’ve given you a few reasons to consider using a small business for your next project. New customers are crucial to the success of these organisations, so the people running them will be dedicated to giving you the best possible result. After all, small businesses rely on word of mouth to get them their next clients! You can contact us here if you think we can help with a creative project!
If you’ve had a great experience with a small business, don’t forget to tell your friends and share their website or their socials!
You could even start by sharing this blog post…
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With the rise of self-publishing, anyone can become an author, but the path to print success can be tricky to navigate. Thankfully, if you’ve got a story to tell, we’re on hand to help bring it to life!
We say it a lot: people buy from people! So, honing your people skills and building strong client relationships are vital.
You want lots of people visiting your website, right? That means it’s got to be user-friendly! So, what can you do to make your website more accessible?
Summer will be here before you know it. Is your organisation ready to make the most of it?!
With the rise of self-publishing, anyone can become an author, but the path to print success can be tricky to navigate. Thankfully, if you’ve got a story to tell, we’re on hand to help bring it to life!
We say it a lot: people buy from people! So, honing your people skills and building strong client relationships are vital.
You want lots of people visiting your website, right? That means it’s got to be user-friendly! So, what can you do to make your website more accessible?
Summer will be here before you know it. Is your organisation ready to make the most of it?!
With the rise of self-publishing, anyone can become an author, but the path to print success can be tricky to navigate. Thankfully, if you’ve got a story to tell, we’re on hand to help bring it to life!
We say it a lot: people buy from people! So, honing your people skills and building strong client relationships are vital.
You want lots of people visiting your website, right? That means it’s got to be user-friendly! So, what can you do to make your website more accessible?
Summer will be here before you know it. Is your organisation ready to make the most of it?!
