As a growing business, you know when it’s time to hire design talent to meet demand. Whether it’s for website updates, landing pages, or product development, you realize you need expert help. There are 5 key topics you should take into consideration when deciding between a Experience Strategist or an Agency.
| Hire a Consultant if: | Hire an Agency if: | |
|---|---|---|
| Budget size | Smaller budget | Larger budget |
| Project scope | Scope is unclear | Project specifics are well defined |
| Project type | On-demand or intermittent | Complex and on-going |
| Project needs | Are focused on a specific area | Span multiple disciplines |
| Team needs | Guidance for your team | Supplement your team’s expertise |
| Speed to market | Focused scope of deliverables | Requires multiple deliverables |
1. Budget
Generally speaking, design consultants will cost less to retain than an agency. Part of this is due to the fact that a team of one will have much less overhead to cover than that of an agency. Additionally, when working with an agency you will generally be paying for an account or project manager in addition to the subject matter expert. Agencies may also have a minimum project cost which can run from the thousands to six figures. However, if your project has needs across multiple disciplines then the agency will likely save you money. Agencies give you access to experts in multiple areas while consolidating search, on-boarding, and overhead costs. Hiring consultants in different specialties will cost you in time and money.
2. Project Scope
The size and complexity of your project can be a determining factor when choosing to go with an agency. Because of the in-house resources, agencies have the capacity and bandwidth to tackle large and highly complex projects that encompass needs from marketing to engineering. Additionally, an agency usually has a team of Project Managers that are dedicated to helping with things like resource planning, time estimation, and updating you on the progress of the project.
But what if you are in the early planning stages of a project? Here’s where a design consultant’s expertise is invaluable. An experienced consultant has the ability to pull back, see your project’s entire ecosystem, and then quickly zoom back in to help identify issues and opportunities within the approach of the project. Experience Strategists are adept at helping facilitate discussions and conduct brain-storming exercises that help teams think differently and ask tough questions like, “Should we be building this?” These exercises, when done as a part of your project planning process, providing greater insight into the team, help clarify requirements, and better define the scope of your project. Also, if a consultant sees that your project exceeds their capacity, they can help you search for and vet design agencies. Oftentimes they’ll even be able to refer you to an agency they’ve worked within the past.
3. Project Needs
Sometimes you need a quick design lift and consultants can be an on-demand resource. This could range from something as small as enhancements on an approach to an email campaign to larger projects like improvements to your application’s error messaging. In both of these cases, a good design consultant has the ability to surgically insert themselves into your process and into how you operate as a team. Agencies do offer on-demand services, however, they are typically associated with an ongoing project or are part of on-going support for an existing engagement.
An advantage of working with an agency is they will have several subject matter experts (SMEs) on staff, representing a variety of specialties. These SMEs can support you with projects that involve expertise in copy-writing, marketing strategy, search engine optimization (SEO), visual design, and user experience. And while most agencies will have an engineering team on staff, be sure to investigate the type of development they offer because some agencies may only focus on website design while others only on product development (e.g., software). And if you’re wondering, yes, there are agencies that offer both.
4. Team Needs
A service that is rarely offered by agencies is evaluation, support, and coaching for improving your design & product development processes. Here’s where consultants shine and are especially critical if you are trying to increase awareness, adoption, and importance of design. They’ll be able to provide a supporting voice to help educate on concepts such as Design Thinking and the impact good design processes can have within your organization. You can also leverage a consultant to deliver an unbiased perspective on existing issues to your peers, teammates, and executive management.
In addition, they can help build out action plans on design adoption, how designers should interface with the product or engineering teams, and even coach on how to present designs to different teams to maximize feedback. You can also leverage design consultants to conduct workshops and create facilitation guides that you can use in the future to conduct your own workshops.
5. Speed To Market
Because of available in-house resources, an agency is well equipped to support speed-to-market projects. Not only do they have instant access to SMEs they are also able to concurrently execute on different parts of a given project. For example, an agency has the capacity to have a copywriter working on language, while a designer is building concepts, and an engineer is busy establishing the foundation for the website build. Additionally, an agency can leverage several experts from one department at one time. An example of this is where an engineering department will assign several developers to a project in order to rapidly build, test, and push live your project.
Still unsure?
If you are still unsure about whether or not you should hire a consultant or agency, the consultant is the safest place to start.
Consultants are a great opportunity to “trial run” to determine how well they are able to fit your particular needs. If the consultant covers all the areas of expertise you need, but can’t complete all the work you have or address all the areas where you need assistance, then you may need an agency. If the consultant is able to meet your needs then you will already have the right solution for your company in place.