As a successful business owner it’s likely that you appreciate the need for presenting your product or services to potential customers in the most professional manner possible. Maybe up until now you’ve gotten by with some basic business cards and letterhead from the local copy shop, but lately you’ve taken note of the print materials that other area businesses use – the quality, style, size and presentation – and have begun to wonder about how you could better bring your brand and message to the competitive marketplace.
Since the focus of your business is not graphic design and commercial printing there’s no reason you’d need an extensive knowledge of the technical side of the print process, be experienced in photographic retouching techniques, or use the terms bleed, vector artwork, or imposition as part of your daily vocabulary. However, you recognize that utilizing the services of people for whom these things are the focus can be a wise alliance for your business.
Working with a professional graphic design company will enable you to take the presentation of your business to a higher level and ensure that the message you desire to convey connects with your target audience in the best, most cost-effective way.
But, how do you select the right firm? Here are three important tips on hiring a graphic design company:
Look for a Broad Base of Creativity, Skills and Expertise
When it comes to marketing methods and materials, today’s consumers have high expectations and are very sophisticated. A quick-copied flyer folded and mailed to random addresses isn’t going to drive the masses to your doorstep. It is necessary to develop and present your brand, product or services consistently across multiple avenues, in varied formats and to the appropriate audience.
For example, let’s say you have a logo you really like, but it only exists as hand-painted artwork or a single JPG file. A skilled graphic designer will know how to digitize the artwork and/or properly format the files for consistent incorporation into all your 2-color corporate identity materials, the 1-color banner you need when sponsoring the local youth soccer team and the 4-color full-page ad you want to place in a glossy magazine next month.
Or maybe you don’t have a full “corporate identity” – or even a simple logo – in place yet. The creativity and expertise of a seasoned graphic design team can transform your vision into reality and help develop an effective marketing campaign that will serve you well for many years to come.
Consider Cost-Effectiveness and Benefits-Realized
An experienced graphic design firm will work within your budget and offer suggestions and solutions for realizing the highest benefit-to-cost ratio. While it might seem attractive to print a fancy color flyer with matching envelopes for a large direct-mail campaign, perhaps a better use of your resources would be to identify your target audience and strategically design a tri-fold self-mailing brochure with a perforated reply card to encourage customer contact and drive traffic to your business. A proven history of working with a variety of companies in a multitude of situations and budget considerations will enable skilled designers to recognize opportunities for cost-savings and increased results.
Conduct a Professionalism and Portfolio Review
You want to portray your business with integrity and professionalism, so select a design company that presents themselves in the same way. Look for a firm that respects and values you and is happy to accommodate not only your budget, but your “corporate personality” and specific needs. Ask to view samples from their portfolio – a wide range of styles, materials, customer types and price ranges are what you want to see – and review testimonials from existing customers.
We trust these tips will help you when considering hiring a graphic design company. At Electro Image, we’re proud of our team and will be thrilled to supply various samples of our previous work for our satisfied customers. Contact us today. We will be excited to discuss how we’ll partner with you to achieve – and exceed – your expectations.
