Bay Area Graphics & Marketing

I recently placed an ad on Craigslist, Tampa for a website developer to assist our company with some web design and graphic design   projects on a contractual basis. The response was not only a bit shocking but somewhat overwhelming.

It seems that there are far too many intelligent, talented designers looking for work. From those who have recently lost their jobs that they’ve had for years due to corporate failure, to those students fresh out of school wishing to build a portfolio, the calls and emails have poured in. From India to California, New York and North Carolina...the calls and emails just kept coming. Many Tampa Bay area website design firms contacted me with requests for overflow projects and I couldn’t help but wonder why.

Bay Area Graphics&Marketing, was established in 2001 and was a spin off from another company that I had back in the early 90’s. I had a small business as a bookkeeper--setting up accounts and accounting software by day, and moonlighting in graphic design by night. Like other small businesses, I sought out affordable website design services in Tampa Bay, but—to no avail. It seems that big business had big websites and small business had no websites---and if they did, many times Uncle “Joe” who taught graphic design at the local college many years back (until he retired) had kindly offered his services at a "reduced rate" and, well---I leave those results up to your imagination. (Sorry,Uncle Joe.) My vision back then was to offer graphic and website design services for small and large companies with an emphasis on attainability, affordability and yet, with a higher level of customer service. Connecting with clients on a more personal level was not to be compromised as growth occurred— With much faith and my big  nose to the grindstone (and red, bleeding eyes from too much computer work!) the vision prospered. Alhtough Bay Area  Graphics & Marketing is a “humble” little business—we’re hanging in there with the big dogs— and with our standards intact.

This year has been very busy thus far—and we’re so pleased! But with so many responding to our ad we wanted to know why? Why are so many designers looking to us for work especially the smaller website design firms from Pinellas and the Tampa area and even as far as New York?  After careful thought I've come to the conclusion that clients keep coming to us via word of mouth and our utilization of good old fashioned marketing techniques.  Our strong belief in customer service and attention to detail has proved to be beneficial and has yielded great results. Tried and true business practices are making their way back to the forefront and marketing trends are changing. What does marketing boil down to? People. What do people want? Good products or services and great customer service. Most can agree that customer service is lacking in most businesses--unless you think customer service means press one for help, two for help me now, 3 for emergency or 4 for the address to write  with your complaints means "service." 

Bay Area Graphics & Marketing has never lost sight of the basics of good business. Maybe others who are having a hard time are going to have to learn to go back to that basic place...and some may have to go "there" for the very first time.

With so much competition why is that all too often our clients express to us that their former Tampa Bay area website or graphic designers wouldn’t bend over backward to assist them? Ego. It seems that somewhere along the techno-highway egos were developing at a rapid rate and as technology became immeasurable-- so did the “ego.” Now-- we may not be at the top of the search engines (some who responded were) and we may not offer some of the developing skills that some very large companies require of a website design firm. What sets us apart is great diversified design services, consistency  and last but certainly not least-- we really do care about what we do and the people we do it for. Let’s face it—people don’t really care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Now, I’m off to kindly answer the remainder of applicants...
They keep trickling in!