5 Advantages of Hiring a Professional Designer
Think about the biggest and most successful brands you know. Are you able pick up on the vibe they're giving? Do you understand the story they're telling?
You might not even know why your favourite brand is your favourite brand, but the constant between them is likely a thoughtful, polished brand identity.
A good brand can tell its story and let people know what it's about through its design language and induce specific feelings that inspire people who relate to their philosophy.
Regardless of the industry you're in. A consistent brand identity can elevate your market presence and define your niche to make sure you're targeting the right people and bring in customers that are a good fit for your business.
Let's talk about the things I've learned about brand identity over the 10+ years I've spent doing graphic design and revamping corporate brands.
1. A professional will save you a lot of hassle & disappointment
I'm a big believer in the notion that you get what you pay for. If you cheap out on a website, don’t be surprised if you get something completely sub-par. Furthermore, it's likely that you'll still end up paying more, in the long run, to have a professional designer fix everything that went wrong the first time.
If you hire a professional from the start, you'll have an experience that is fun and hassle-free from the beginning and end up with a fabulous product that you're super proud to show off.
2. A professional knows all about about SEO
Have you ever even heard of SEO?
Ok, maybe you do know what SEO is, but do you know how to execute SEO best practices? Kudos to you if you do. Get out there and start preaching the SEO word; the internet world needs you!
A professional web designer will be able to create a search engine friendly website. There's a lot that goes into making sure your website has great content that gets seen by search engines. If you're not visible to Google—you don't exist.
3. A great brand positions you as an industry leader
You know what they say: "fake it until you make it." As a new or small business, people might assume that you don't have experience. Whether this is true or not, you can easily position yourself as an industry leader with a well-presented and cohesive brand.
When you have a well-designed brand, people will assume you have your shit together. This is easy to do with a well-designed logo, great imagery and a professional, polished website, but the average person doesn't have the skill required to bring this all together in a way that makes sense.
4. A great brand builds trust and credibility
Further to the point above: if people feel they can trust you, they'll have less reluctance to spend money using your services. People gravitate to other people who appear to have authority. Especially when venturing into an area that they don't know a lot about.
Wouldn't you want the best for yourself? Of course you would. The best of anything also comes with a premium price. When people start to regard your business as the best in the industry, you can charge the price you deserve to get for your services.
5. A great brand creates pride of ownership
Have you ever worked for a company that you were not proud to tell people about? It's the worst feeling in the world.
The reason people love to wear expensive designer clothes or drive fancy cars is that those things provide a tremendous amount of pride of ownership. They can't wait to show people what they have. You can use that desire to your advantage.
Being proud of your own brand will motivate you to shout out about it on mountain tops. When you actually WANT people to know about your business, you'll be passing out business cards left, right, and center without even thinking about it.
The reason I build websites is to share in the excitement my clients feel when they get a website that they absolutely can't wait to show off. You should feel that way about your image.
Are you ready to hire a professional?
You might not be ready for professional help, and that's alright.
At some point, the passion for your business may overwhelm your desire to do everything on your own. There is no shame in hiring a professional and you may realize that waiting so long was a big mistake.
If you're not ready to hire a pro yet, here are some tips to get you closer to where you want to be:
Think about who your ideal customer is, and speak to them with the language and imagery you use;
Think about the brands you love the most and what attracts you to them. Take a look at what they do and do that; there's no need to reinvent the wheel;
Get feedback from people who are not good friends and family. Find someone who can give you an objective opinion about what your brand is currently telling the world. Friends and family have the best of intentions, but they will only tell you what you want to hear.
Use the feedback you receive to refine the message you're currently telegraphing to the world.
My passion is helping people show the world what they do. I want entrepreneurs and business owners to thrive. The ideas of go-getters with a great idea make the world a better place. We can all help each other succeed. I hope I can help you.
