I actually owe my inspiration for this post in part to Joshua Steimle’s blog Don Loper and his post titled I want a million dollar website. I have $1,500. In it Josh highlights the problem that lots of people have when it comes to web design and development: they don’t have a clue as to what it costs. I love his comparisons of wanting Manhattan real estate or a BMW for pennies on the dollar. Quality web design and development takes time, energy and money. It isn’t just something that any 15 year old with a copy of FrontPage can whip together. The old adage “you get what you pay for” is distinctly true in this case.
So, if you’re in the market for a new or revised website and have the preconception that you shouldn’t have to spend more than a few thousand dollars (heaven forbid!) for it, be prepared to get exactly what you pay for.
Now, something just as perplexing to me as the previous example stems from companies that come to us and want us to just “tweak” their brand here or there, but that’s all. Never mind the fact that they already have at least 3 different versions of their logo circulating out in the public, or that their brand strategy consists of slapping their logo on anything they can get their hands on. Mind you, we’re willing to work with whatever our clients’ needs may be. It is just a bit disheartening to see good people with potentially good companies come to a full-service creative and development agency and treat it like a body shop. The paint job may look great afterward, but that doesn’t mean the transmission will be any better off.
Here’s what I’m getting at; there needs to be a shift in mentality when it comes to creating, implementing and managing a brand. Brands are an investment, as is every bit of marketing that any organization does. But the investment is in consumer perceptions, not company image. Company image is the by-product you are getting from consumers, so naturally if you invest in your brand (high quality logo and brand strategy, great products/services, consumer trust, etc) you’ll be investing in consumers, and you will get the image you want. You can’t force an image onto consumers, but you can aid their perceptions along. That is the whole purpose of good creative agencies, to create a great brand/website/print/etc and help implement a strategy of consistency across all media and platforms. Thus you might see my frustration with feeling like we get treated more like a body shop than an added value agency to some of our customers.
So please, if you need a new website, logo or brand direction do yourself a huge favor by planning to invest in your company through these avenues and not just patch a hole. You and your customers will notice the difference.
JR Peterson
