The Rise Of Indie Agencies: One Agency Owner Explains How Underdogs Can Score Big Clients

It looks like an established playbook – if you’re a large multinational company, you will hire a large multinational agency. But in recent years, this trend has been questioned somewhat as indie agencies are stealing the spotlight and scoring high with big clients.

One example is studio Bien, a design agency of 10 people that’s been around since 2016 and is working with international clients like Volotea and Rimac Automobili.

Luka Perić, their co-founder, admits that there is a certain degree of safety when choosing a well-known name, but argues that hiring an indie agency will result in a tailor-made approach: “The benefit we can offer is having a whole team on the client’s disposal and approaching every client and project based on their specific needs. Working with a smaller agency means you get to be the priority, no matter the scope of your project, or your budget. We’re always ready to push the extra mile if needed, and we like to view ourselves as honest partners, not just as designers nodding heads and ticking the boxes.”

Sounds like a more personal relationship than usual? That’s the benefit, adds Luka: “Our team doesn’t have a problem asking questions, expressing an opinion when we feel something isn’t just right, or admitting when we enter uncharted waters – we’re ready to learn and adapt on the go.”

But how to do you attract those clients to begin with? Not surprisingly, one would have to be patient as the market is very competitive, but it takes a great team to build a lasting relationship with the client, and that will attract more clients in the long run. “There’s a lot you can do to improve your visibility, but in the end, word of mouth is the most powerful advertisement”, says Luka.

Being highly specialized also helps, so be sure to carve our your niche: “Everybody knows that Rimac makes the fastest production electric car, but if you want to travel across the Namib desert you will probably choose a Toyota Land Cruiser”, adds Luka.
“In digital product design, you can specialize in building marketing websites, creating complex design systems like we did for Volotea, e-commerce websites, or maybe branding and strategy for digital products. All those niches have smaller sub-domains in which your team can show its full potential if you combine them cleverly.”

So once you’ve established your niche, Luka is convinced that clients will find you: “If you are known for having a high standard for aesthetics and animations and your focus is on building marketing websites for the EV industry – after some time it becomes your signature and clients will start to notice.

To sum up, the experience is rewarding for your development as a business as well: “It’s not uncommon for big companies to work with multiple vendors, and you must be open to interdisciplinary collaboration. Whether you’re in charge of the whole process, or you work on the concept and someone else is implementing it, it’s always a great opportunity to gain experience and learn from and connect with great people from different industries.”