Advantages Working with a Small Boutique Creative Agency
Bigger Isn’t Always Better
For a long time now big brands have worked with big creative agencies to work on their marketing, but lately what these big brands have found is they have top-heavy processes, people and systems. But lately there is a move towards a small boutique creative agency that can work more closely achieving your goals – at a fraction of the price.
What Is A Small Boutique Creative Agency?
A boutique creative agency is a specialised business. It operates with a small group of professionals and focuses on specialised work for a limited client base.
The only limitation of a boutique creative agency is its size – there is no worldwide locations, lots of staff, or portfolio library that have big brands like Apple or Coke, and it’s this limitation that affects their reputation as not being well-known, or even capable of managing the account.
Even though a boutique creative agency may not have a strong reputation, the quality they deliver can exceed expectations as they specialis the experience for their customers.
Why Choose A Boutique Creative Agency?
A larger company will typically use big creative agencies because they feel they are “safe” – they have the resources and infrastructure which give business owners a feeling of safety. But boutique agencies can offer the same skills as larger firms but have advantages as they can work more closely with you to achieve the goals you want to achieve.
Here are some advantages of working with a boutique creative agency:
Budget Friendly
When you think about hiring a creative agency, the first thing that you consider is your budget.
There’s a common belief that the more you spend on a marketing, the better the outcome. But, this thinking means your success has to cost a fortune. Fortunately, there is another option that is more affordable than a larger agency, but more efficient than a home-grown solution.
Larger agencies have higher overhead and fees. They are swamped down with lots of employees, utility costs, and large offices. These things are all trademarks of a large agency, but they don’t come cheap. Their cost has to go somewhere (hint: usually your invoice).
Basically, your dollar doesn’t get very far with a large agency.
But when using a overhead boutique creative agency these high costs are not a issue, which is good news for small businesses who don’t have large budgets for marketing. Boutique creative agencies also bring in expertise specialists when required for a particular project – web developers, copy writers, photographers, illustrators or brand strategists – and that means that you pay only for the people you need for your project.
Boutique creative agencies also bring in expertise when it’s needed for a specific project – web developers, writers or strategists – and that means that you pay for only the people used on your job.
In summary due to lower overhead and fees, boutique agencies offer a flexible advantage if you’re trying to get the most bang for your creative dollar.
Quick Turnaround
Boutique agencies are often known as small and therefore unfit to support larger companies. This way of thinking may have been true back when the world moved at a slower pace, but in today’s fast paced world, businesses need to adapt and move quickly. This is where boutique agencies have an advantage.
For example, imagine how much faster it would be to approve and publish a social media campaign to a client when the marketing team is five people instead of twenty. Bigger usually means more processes, more approvals, more signatures needed, just more road blocks. The advantage that comes with working with boutique agency means your project can begin quickly and see results faster.
One reason many businesses choose to go with a bigger agency is they have the necessary resources to help them, but in actual fact, these companies are often characterised by inefficiency and inflexibility. When a problem happens, a client may not know who they are supposed to call because so many people are involved with their campaign.
Boutique agencies, are recognised for their quick turnaround. When fewer people work on a project, it’s easier to know who to contact.
Specialised Set of Skills
Small agencies offer specialisation and focus that larger agencies often don’t service. Large agencies work with a big number of clients, and as a result tend to have less expertise working with a targeted market. This leads to large agency solutions to be more of a cookie-cutter approach.
But think what it would be like working with a agency from the first day has a understanding of your goals? This understanding is what you get with a boutique creative agency because they have individuals who are subject-experts in branding and offsite marketing.
For example, when it comes to web design you can see a big agency that do all kinds of web design, or you could look for a boutique agency that specialise in your particular type of design that you require for your business and target market. This gives prospective clients an opportunity to work with a firm that will know more about their wants and needs.
Small boutique agencies are named that for a reason – they don’t offer the ‘bells and whistles’ of services, rather they have a strong specialisation in the services they do offer.
Personalised Relationships
Boutiques bring a level of personalisation that could mean the difference between calling and reaching a secretary versus reaching the Managing Director.
When you work with a boutique creative agency, there is no doubt you get a more personable experience. You have the opportunity to develop a healthy working relationship, and you also experience exceptional communication since you’re in direct contact with the specialists or owner throughout the whole process of your project. This makes you feel that you are not just an invoice – but a valued client.
Large agencies may show off their big name customers, but this leads them to neglect their smaller ones. This is not the case with a boutique agency, as every client is special. If you want a more personal approach then work with an agency that’s as invested in your business as you are.
In Summary
When looking for the perfect agency to represent your brand, you may be drawn to larger agencies, but understand that a boutique creative agency is going to be more flexible, more creative, more budget friendly and faster.
Working with a smaller boutique creative agency will allow you to grow together. Consider the relationships you will build as you both grow together.