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DBA Annual Survey Report
The DBA Annual Survey Report is an invaluable members-only business tool which enables you to benchmark your financial performance with those of your peers. Released each October it covers fees, salaries, utilisation, income, recovery rates, benefits and trends within DBA member companies. Data is segmented by geography and size of agency to make comparisons more relevant.
2020 Survey and Report
The 2020 DBA Annual Survey will open 1st June and remain open until 17 July, a longer period than usual. This will allow members to plan ahead to find the time to participate.
This year we are in a unique situation. Design businesses have not faced anything quite like the Covid-19 pandemic before.
Throughout the world’s recovery, and specifically the recovery of the UK design sector, businesses will need to know how they are faring. Benchmarking allows you to compare your results against your peers – and also for us to formulate an idea of what ‘good’ looks like.
So I urge you to complete the 2020 DBA Annual Survey – both to allow the DBA to understand what is happening in our member businesses and thereby better support you, and to enable you to get full access to the results and benchmark your performance.
The survey will be open for longer than usual this year. We understand that different agencies are going through different situations at the moment so we are trying to give you as long as possible to complete the survey. It will remain open from 1 June to 17 July.
You can keep logging in as many times as you like during that period to complete your response up to the point that you submit your data.
When you submit your response you will be able to save a copy for your records.
Completing the survey is not a test. If you struggle with any questions please contact Adam Fennelow.
Each member agency will receive a unique secure link to the survey on Monday 1st June. If you have not received it for any reason please get in touch and the link can be re-issued.
The 2020 DBA Annual Survey Report is supported by Paprika and VisionFR, and produced in association with Moore Kingston Smith.
Getting Access to 2019 Report
The Annual Survey Report comes in two formats – a PDF / hard copy summary report or our micro-site with report, full data and dynamic tables enabling users to benchmark across a range of variables including upper/lower quartiles as well as averages.
Read – To receive a copy of the 2019 PDF report email adam.fennelow@dba.org.uk.
Interact – All members who participate in the survey automatically receive access to the Annual Survey Report website. Contact membership@dba.org.uk if you cannot locate your login details.
How useful is the DBA Annual Survey Report? Here are a few DBA Members giving their views
And a few that were too shy for the camera
“We’ve gathered the data, created the spread-sheets, done the sums and calculated our new standard rate card. It all ‘adds up’ but how do we know whether we are competitive and what is going on in the market?
Without the DBA Annual Survey Report we have to learn the hard way; by losing pitches because we are too expensive or winning pitches that we can not make profitable. The DBA survey helps The Team win profitable new business.”
– James Dix, Commercial Director, The Team
“For many years here at Elmwood we have used the DBA Annual Survey Report as a guide when we are creating business plans and budgets for our business.
The information gives a number of benchmarks that then allow you to road test your own numbers and thinking versus what is happening within the sector. Always very useful!”
– Deborah Longbottom, FD, Elmwood
W: elmwood.com
“As a small (and sometimes isolated) business, the DBA Annual Survey Report is the only way of really knowing how we compare with other agencies. Otherwise we’re just second guessing in the dark.
It’s essential in helping us to benchmark what we pay our staff and what we charge clients, in order to remain competitive.”
– Andy West, Director, MultiAdaptor
“As much as we’ve learned over the years, Human After All inevitably operates within something of a bubble, lacking context on the actions of our peers agencies.
The DBA Annual Survey is a benchmarking platform that gives us both great insight and great comfort that we’re moving in the right direction.”
– Danny Miller, CEO, Human After All