In the world of creative services, every agency is a little different in how they bill for their services. Some bill hourly while others price by the project.
We prefer to use project pricing so our clients know how much they will pay up front. This helps them budget for the creative project they need.
Project Pricing (per project)
This is the most common way to charge for new projects. Each project has a beginning and an end, and we have a good idea of how long each segment will take. Our experience has shown us the typical length of a project and this helps us set our pricing, especially for our northern Michigan market.
Time-based (per hour)
There are agencies that charge an hourly rate for all new projects. You will be given a “best guestimate” and could actually pay much higher for your project than originally assumed.
We do charge per hour when it comes to making website updates, but we provide our clients with an estimate for time so they are not surprised with our bill for updates.
Do you feel creative services are too high?
In a discovery meeting, a business owner stated that our pricing was set too high for web design services. This really surprised us because we are much more affordable than our local competitors (in some cases our fees are half). Our prices are also published on our website so there are no surprises. We recommended that they request pricing from multiple competitors to compare costs.
We’ve been asked to lower our fees when someone’s budget was based on unrealistically low price expectations. They either had no idea how much work was involved or they felt our package pricing was negotiable. Our fees are for the time worked and value provided, and we can’t budge on price.
Compare pricing from local creatives
Discuss your website or video project with several local creative firms (yes, more than one). Request proposals from multiple firms so you can compare creative services, team experience, and the total cost of your project. Every designer brings different skills to the table and every creative firm has their own financial needs to operate.
Value-Based Pricing
The website or video that a creative team produces will generate something that is incredibly valuable to your business. Your website allows you to have a branded web presence for customers to learn more about your company. Your videos can showcase the services and the products you offer – on screen or via social media.
The value of what we are creating for your business is quite large. Sometimes it’s hard to put a price on that!
