darren@dsgraphicdesign.co.uk
Retainer Service
The benefitsof having aGraphic Designer
on
Retainer
Read 10 good reasons why it could benefit your business.
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1. A consistent partnership equals consistent design
Working with several designers can result in varying standards of quality and consistency. Design is subjective and there is no right or wrong answer. Different designers have very different ideas about what looks professional or presentable. So when you work closely with a single designer like myself, I become increasingly familiar with your company and your general preferences when it comes to how you like to visually represent your brand. Similarly, I’ll get a better understanding of the style and tone of messages your company is looking to portray.
Visual consistency is essential to retaining your brand’s value. So working with a designer on retainer will likely yield very consistent results in both style and quality.
2. Outsourcing can be simpler than employing an in-house designer
Visual consistency is essential to retaining your brand’s value. So working with a designer on retainer will likely yield very consistent results in both style and quality.
2. Outsourcing can be simpler than employing an in-house designer
If you only have work for a few days a month, hiring an internal designer might not seem worthwhile. However, working with a freelance designer on retainer means that you get all of the familiarity and consistency that you would with an in-house designer without having to worry about sick pay, holiday pay, or HR considerations.
3. Removes time-consuming design tasks away from your in-house team
3. Removes time-consuming design tasks away from your in-house team
If your marketing team spend a lot of their time with their heads in laborious graphic design work, it may be time to outsource that time-consuming work to a graphic designer. A freelancer can work under the guidance of your in-house team to work through those mundane tasks such as cropping images for your website, setting up social media posts and putting together eBooks and other marketing materials that can get on top of your team.
4. Budgeting is simpler with retainers
With a regular retainer fee you are more in control of your marketing spend and budget. Plus, from an accounting point of view, it is far simpler. You get one invoice for all the work carried out within an agreed period of time, so there are no hidden surprises or unexpected bills. This makes it far easier to plan your annual marketing budget.
5. Get the VIP treatment
As a Designer working on retainer for your business, I want you to feel like I am one of the team and I want you to be able to call on me to undertake work just like anyone else in your team. If ‘we’ have a big presentation due at the end of the week, I’ll pull out all the stops to get it ready on time and delivered to the highest standards. For clients not on retainer, this task may have to be scheduled in to be completed at a later date as there can often be a lot of jobs booked in ahead of them.
6. Two teams are better than one
Already got a marketing team in place? Great! But wouldn’t it be great if they had a flexible freelancer to call upon when the workload builds up, people have holidays booked or are off sick?
Taking the strain off your staff will probably be well received and the longer we work together the better that relationship becomes. Having a fresh set of eyes and another voice to give input will only add value to the team as a whole.
7. You set your own level of commitment
4. Budgeting is simpler with retainers
With a regular retainer fee you are more in control of your marketing spend and budget. Plus, from an accounting point of view, it is far simpler. You get one invoice for all the work carried out within an agreed period of time, so there are no hidden surprises or unexpected bills. This makes it far easier to plan your annual marketing budget.
5. Get the VIP treatment
As a Designer working on retainer for your business, I want you to feel like I am one of the team and I want you to be able to call on me to undertake work just like anyone else in your team. If ‘we’ have a big presentation due at the end of the week, I’ll pull out all the stops to get it ready on time and delivered to the highest standards. For clients not on retainer, this task may have to be scheduled in to be completed at a later date as there can often be a lot of jobs booked in ahead of them.
6. Two teams are better than one
Already got a marketing team in place? Great! But wouldn’t it be great if they had a flexible freelancer to call upon when the workload builds up, people have holidays booked or are off sick?
Taking the strain off your staff will probably be well received and the longer we work together the better that relationship becomes. Having a fresh set of eyes and another voice to give input will only add value to the team as a whole.
7. You set your own level of commitment
For some businesses, a 10 hour package may only last a week, for others it could be 3 months. If you’re including it in your marketing budget it may also be a good way to ensure you spend ‘X’ amount of time on promoting yourself each month. It may be that you just want to obtain my skills for a one-off project and that’s fine too. Outsourcing jobs to the people with the right skills allows us to focus on what we are good at, so effectively, you can buy your own time back and spend it better.
8. Remote working is here to stay
With so many people working from home now, it really isn’t an issue if your designer isn’t sat in the same room. I have found that although face-to-face meetings can be useful, we’ve lost very little (apart from coffee reward points) by taking meetings Online. Working on retainer requires you to trust me so it is in my interest to produce the best quality of work in a reasonable time-frame. If you love what I’ve done but it’s taken up the whole budget then that’s not going to be sustainable. I’m aware that my role can be seen as a luxury in a business so it’s my job to prove my worth and make myself indispensable.
9. Trust is key
So far I have offered retainer packages to a select few customers who I felt would benefit and also knew me well enough to trust that I was offering a great service at a fair price. The more you work with me the greater the trust, which makes it easier to commit to paying me on retainer. For people who don’t know me so well, don’t just take my word for it:
"Darren is brilliant to work with. Skilled, quick turnaround and the finished piece always looks excellent. We'd highly recommend working with Darren. He'll make sure you present the image you want to present as a business."
-Nick Williams,
(Company Director, Wealth Provision)
10. Are retainers right for everyone?
The simplest answer is No. Hopefully, after reading this you’ll have taken the points raised and considered if they match your business needs. Some may apply, some may not, but either way, you should now have a clear understanding of how it could benefit you and your business.
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