3 Reasons Why You Don’t Need to Hire a Big Agency for Logo Design

One of the biggest questions that we receive from potential clients, is why they should choose a small design firm, over a larger one? In order to bring a new perspective, it’s important to reframe this question in a way that is inclusive of other small agencies and potential clients as well, because this is a much larger conversation. First, we’ll address who a big agency is right for, and who it isn’t right for, then we can move on to exploring the question of which size agency can best serve your logo design needs. But first, we need to answer this question:

What can a small agency offer that a larger agency can’t?

In exploring this for ourselves, at Zippy Logos, we’ve discovered that clients like certain aspects of working with a small agency that simply aren’t available to them elsewhere.
Hoping to shed some light on this, we got to thinking about how the two really differ and what that means for the clients that we serve.
One of the most obvious considerations that needs to be addressed is the price tag. With any large agency, the prices that they will charge for a service will likely be 3x to 5x more than a smaller agency. For many clients the price will simply be too high for this to even be feasible, so that makes this an easy decision. However, the question remains: why is a big agency a good choice? For some clients, the price isn’t a hindrance, and that may mean access to a lot of perks that only big agencies can truly afford.

For example, a large agency can hire an extensive film crew to help you with a commercial, whereas a smaller agency may limit the number hired on a film crew to just a handful of people. However, how does this help when it comes to your logo design needs?

The answer is that it doesn’t. Many of the benefits to working with a larger agency are virtually nonexistent for smaller budgets.

You’ll pay for services you don’t need.

However, for many clients the added cost is only indicative of services that they don’t actually need. This is the case with massive teams of copywriters, advertisers, content strategists, and creative directors, who are all working on your project. This can be very enticing to clients with the right budget, but unless the campaign is going to be making a lot of revenue, this can be a little overkill.

The other thing to consider is that most of the top talent at a given agency isn’t working on small jobs, they will be working on only the biggest clients, often with ad budgets of millions of dollars. Therefore, you will be working with lower end talent and entry-level designers, while paying for the agency’s “name.”

You’re paying the agency’s fee, not the designer’s billables.

Bringing this back to logo design, designer’s fees aren’t the only thing you pay for with a big agency. Instead, you will also be paying for the massive amount of overhead that comes with keeping the lights on in order to employ those designers.

Rather than just paying a small agency for the designer’s fee and possibly some branding work, you will be footing the bill for services that you don’t need.

In the bigger scope of things, it’s important that you consider what services you really need, and which services would simply be nice to have. If you need a lot of other work done, perhaps the logo design can be accomplished by a big agency, as it can be worked into a much larger package that encompasses all of your needs.

However, for most clients, your money will go much further if you spend it with a small agency. Here’s why.

Small agencies have fewer clients, which makes them more attentive to your needs.

At a small agency, clients come first. At larger agencies, clients are striving to work with the agency, so the needs of a small business aren’t always paramount.

A smaller agency, for example, can be flexible to client demands. For instance, our turnaround time for design once we have completed your business strategy & clarity is just three business days–which is much faster than what a large agency can provide.

Small agencies are usually started by people with lots of experience.

One of the important things to keep in mind is that when small agencies start out, they are usually started by people who have a lot of experience working at bigger agencies. Therefore, when you work with a small agency you are actually getting the same level of talent as you would at a much larger agency, for a much lower cost.

This is an important selling point that most people aren’t aware of, however it is one reason that a small agency can better service your needs without going over budget.

 

Small agencies can handle niche work better.

One of the primary advantages of a small agency is that they don’t need to constantly grow like their bigger competitors. Instead of focusing on signing huge accounts, the employees can focus on what they do best: being creative.

This fact alone gives smaller agencies a leg up over the competition, because when you need niche work done, it’s nice to work with people who are passionate and driven to provide stellar work in their area of expertise. Be sure to ask your point of contact to describe their niche areas of expertise, and don’t just assume that every agency has the same level of expertise for your vertical.

 

The choice comes down to your needs.

Hopefully the above points have helped you make sense of the debate between a small agency vs. a bigger agency. If you are still on the fence, consider testing the waters first with a smaller agency, then scale up to a larger agency if your needs change or you aren’t satisfied with the final product.

Interested in learning more about Marketing & Brand Development? We’ve put together a suggested list of books you should read before you try to brand or sell anything. Visit our resource center to see our list of recommended books. You can click on the images to purchase them through amazon or your local bookstore if you prefer.

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