Can You Get Steak ... at a Hamburger Price?

Clearly there is a difference in value between a steak and a hamburger - but if you only have a hamburger budget - what do you do?. In the web industry there are many suppliers of services that come with varying skill sets and benefits.

As a client seeking services you have a few resources that can deliver your web solution:

• Freelancer - A Freelancer can offer you great services at a great price. Since they typically don't have the overhead - or staff to consider - they have more flexibility. Freelancers are free to take on the projects they like and are definitely engaged in all facets of the project.

Some things that you should consider are:

• Sometimes they have another full time job and are not as accessible.
• Sometimes your trusted resource goes to work for another larger company and simply does not have time anymore.
• Sometimes a freelancer leaves the industry all together.

Many people discount the skills of a freelancer, but many of them produce excellent work - and many good companies, including our own - started off as freelance shops.

• Online or Digital Agency - The Online or Digital Agency focuses primarily on web-based solutions. They can offer you advice on best practices for the web, online marketing and social media campaigns, to name a few. The true benefit is the combined experience and skill set you get from this type of agency.

Some things that you should consider are:

• Although internally these agencies may have the ability to deliver full services they choose to focus on their core competency - designing solutions for the web.
• They tend to stray away from the other marketing services that you would receive at a Full Service Agency.

Full Service Agencies also produce a large number of web solutions.

• Full Service Agency - The Full Service Agency offers the complete marketing solution. They will offer guidance from Marketing and Brand Strategy, Creative Design, Web Development, Promotion and many others. Many companies will go to a Full Service Agency to develop high level goals and objectives for their brand. This step is critical - because without establishing goals ... it is hard to measure success!

Some things that you should consider are:

• From a web perspective, you might be a victim of increased project scope. Many other marketing opportunities will be presented, which in reality you should do, but it might not fit into your budget at the time.

All this information above is great, but what does this have to do with value?

The Client Perspective:

• As a client seeking services from a vendor, you must take some time and do some soul searching. Find out what you are really trying to achieve online and then establish a realistic budget to achieve those goals.
• Don't be shy with your budget; be very open as vendors have a large arsenal of resources that they can deploy - within that budget.

The Vendor's Perspective:

• From a vendor's perspective - if you do encounter a client that is a better fit for one of the other resources listed above, do not be afraid to share this with the client. Sometimes your company just isn't a match.

My recommendation is to do the research and find out which service level meets your needs. You can't get steak for a hamburger price ... but sometimes a really good hamburger is all you need!