Are you an owner of the marketing agency? Great! What do you think about freelancers? Are they your friends or enemy? Can’t decide? It’s ok to be confused. Trust me there are many people out there who are searching for the answer to this question.
Freelancers and marketing agencies have a complicated relationship. Some agencies like to work with freelancers while some agencies are scared that freelancers will steal their clients. I know it’s weird but it’s a common problem. According to a study by clickZ’s the state of creative agency land, 80% of respondents work in agencies that are partially staffed by freelancers and 15% said that freelancers make up half of their workforce and more.
The facts state the obvious but still, both (freelancers and marketing agencies) continue to have a complicated relationship. Today, only a few agencies have accepted the fact and have started working with the freelancers to satisfy their client’s demands.
But unfortunately, many agencies still feel that freelancers are a threat to their existence. Let’s find out why.
Freelancer as an enemy?
Every client struggles to make a choice between value or price. Many clients go for price. In such a case, they choose freelancers. This is because those people are willing to spend less money for a reasonable amount of quality and we all know that freelancers charge a low price as compared to agencies.
Only a few people go for value. In such a case those people are willing to spend huge amounts of money to get excellent quality. This is where agencies become a clear winner.
But you can’t rely only on those people. If you are an owner of a marketing agency, then you have to become smart. Whenever you get a chance, just grab that opportunity. Confused? Don’t worry, I will explain it below.
Workload
Because of low prices, many people go for freelancers. But as an individual freelancer, you can only handle or complete a certain amount of work. After that, you just need to give it up. Here, agencies can take over. Due to their huge workforce, they can easily get or take huge amounts of projects.
Responsive
A freelancer has the freedom to work according to their convenience. That convenience can be summed to ‘whenever he/she wants to’. Just imagine if a client needs a freelancer to urgently finish his/her project and unfortunately that freelancer is not available. What will that client do? This is when agencies come into the picture. That client can easily approach the agencies as they are available 24*7.
Long haul
Not all freelancers are loyal to their clients. Many of them leave in the middle of the projects or choose another client or full-time jobs. Doing this leave the clients unguarded. Luckily, agencies are here to save the day. Even if a client is not happy with the agencies performance, marketing agencies are 24*7 liable and available to return the client’s money.
Freelancer as a friend?
To clear the air, I have worked with a few freelancers in the past and trust me when I say this that friending a freelancer was one of my great decisions. Like I have mentioned earlier, few agencies have started working with the freelancers to benefit the both (themselves and their clients). Why do you ask? Let’s find out.
Workload
Unfortunately, agencies even after having a large workforce can take a limited number of projects. Imagine, if u as an agency work with freelancers which at the end will allow you to fetch huge amounts of projects. It’s a dream come true, isn’t? So, what are you waiting for? Make this happen. This will satisfy your growing clients and will prevent your agency talent from getting exhausted.
Proficiency
On what basis will you hire a freelancer? According to his/her expert skills in a particular field, isn’t it? Sadly, many agencies lack specialization. In case your client wants an expertise and you as an agency are not able to provide them, so what are your possible options? Work with a freelancer. Hire them to add expertise and talent in your work outcomes. For example, if Apple wants us to produce content for them, we will search and hire tech geeks.
What is my opinion?
What is my view on this? It’s quite easy. I will go for friendship with freelancers. Why do you ask? Today belongs to the freelancers. According to a recent study, there are 56 million freelancers in 2017 and this figure is expected to increase by 40% by 2020. If the marketing agencies want to survive in the near future, then it is in their best interest to form an alliance with the freelancers to combine their talents and rule the world.