Winning business

This section looks at ways business is gained as well as attitudes to free pitching

How do design businesses target new clients?

Half of design consultancies and freelances rely on personal recommendation for winning new business; 5% say they do not target new clients at all

Is the market for design businesses becoming more competitive?

Competition has increased for two thirds of design consultancies in the past three years

We asked design businesses whether they thought competition in the design industry had decreased, stayed the same or increased during the past three years. More than two thirds (69%) say it has increased while 27% say it has stayed the same. Slightly more freelances and in-house designers (70%) than consultancies (66%) feel this increase.

Almost a quarter of in-house design teams have to compete against external design consultancies or freelances for projects. The most commonly cited reasons for organisations choosing to have an in-house team rather than outsourcing all work are cost effectiveness (47%) and ready availability of expertise within the organisation (39%).

How many pitches do design businesses win in a year?

Consultancies with more than five employees win 66% of their pitches, while those with fewer than five staff win only 33%

Whether design businesses target new clients or clients approach the designer, the accepted way of winning new business involves design businesses pitching for work.

Success rates vary widely. Success does not appear to be related to experience but there does seem to be an association between size and winning pitches. This may be due to the fact that the more pitches you win the more you grow, or because larger organisations have more resources available to prepare pitches.

Four out of ten product designers have not pitched for work at all in the past twelve months. Of those that have pitched, however, 45% boasted a 100% success rate.

Chart 31

Percentage of pitches that were successful

Freelances	%
0	14
1-19	10
20-39	10
40-59	17
60-79	16
80-99	16
100	18

Design consultancies	%
0	3
1-19	2
20-39	15
40-59	28
60-79	22
80-99	14
100	16

Chart 32

Pitching success rates by type of design business

Type of business	%
Larger consultancies >5 employees	66
Freelances	41
Smaller consultancies <5 employees	33

Chart 33

Pitching success rates by age of the business

Age of business	%
Operating 10+ years	57
Operating 4-10 years	56
Operating 0-3 years	53

What is the design industry’s attitude to free pitching?

31% of designers think free pitching is a fact of life; 23% think designers should insist on being paid the full cost of preparatory work

Should designers be paid some or all of the cost of their preparatory work when they are pitching for new business? Fittingly for an issue that has been the subject of much industry debate, opinion on free pitching is divided.

For many, free pitching is a fact of life. Almost half of all design consultancies (44%) and freelances (43%) say they either always or frequently have to pitch creatively for free.

There are also variations between design disciplines. Just over three quarters (76%) of interior and exhibition designers think that designers should insist on being paid all or some of the cost of preparatory work.

It seems, however, that the industry struggles to stick to its guns. Of those who think designers should insist on being paid the full cost of preparatory work, 32% never pitch for free and 48% only do so occasionally. Likewise, of those who think that designers should accept free pitching as a fact of life, 62% either always pitch for free or do so frequently.

Chart 34

Attitudes to free pitching

Designers should	%
Accept free pitching as a fact of life and adjust their fees accordingly	31
Encourage clients to contribute to the cost of preparatory work, but cannot insist on it	20
Insist on being paid some of the cost of preparatory work	24
Insist on being paid the full cost of preparatory work	23

What helps design businesses win new business?

44% of design consultancies think creativity is very important in winning business

Three quarters of freelances and almost the same number of design consultancies say ‘understanding a client’s needs’ is very important, while 60% of consultancies and 58% of freelances say that the relationship or chemistry with the client is very important.

Chart 37

Proportion identifying factors as very important in winning business

Understanding client needs	%
Design consultancies	73
Freelances	75
In-house teams	66

Realtionship/chemistry with client	%
Design consultancies	60
Freelances	58
In-house teams	40

Creativity	%
Design consultancies	44
Freelances	40
In-house teams	38

Reputation	%
Design consultancies	41
Freelances	46
In-house teams	27

Price	%
Design consultancies	30
Freelances	32
In-house teams	40