Over the years we had experimented with a lot of pricing models and never could really understand how the design customer thought in terms of price for the designer services he/she wanted.

When a design customer wants a design service - logo design, website design, graphics, marketing material etc, they are less likely to spend more for services that actually give them true value. They would rather spend small amounts multiple times and still not get what they wanted in the first place. By trying out cheap services, they spend a small amount, but because they are not happy with the end result, they move to another provider and spend a little more and so on and end up spending more than they would have if they had gone to the right provider in the first place.

Not all design customers are like this, though. A percentage of the design customers look around for a service provider based on their expertize and experience rather than simply the lowest priced one.

When it comes to website design, companies do not tend to set aside any budget. We have seen customers who spend a fortune on a trade show booth that might or might not get them any revenue, but opt for a cheap website design and shoddy copy for their corporate website.

So how can design customers go about spending their budget on getting value for their money? The internet has become such a noisy place now. If you Google for any of the design services, you will find 100s of companies offering virtually similar services. There is no more differential now in the eyes of the design customer. At least in terms of value for money.

With so many providers and websites our there, and with no immediate way of identifying the good from the bad, it is quite a challenge for the design customer to pick and select the right provider. Some times, very good providers might be offering their services at an affordable rate.