Over the last 25 years, we have worked with a diverse range of clients, across many different sectors. And while each and every business has its own unique approach, we often see the same questions and queries raised again and again.
We have learned a lot from every project, and we would like to spread that knowledge to you, our clients, to equip you with some of our top tips that may just help you and your business. Each of our team has written their best piece of advice below, and we hope you find it useful!
Alexis, Director
“Work out what you can afford to spend and then be consistent in using that available budget over a long period of time, trying to create as integrated a campaign as possible. In other words, wasting all your budget in one go doesn’t work. Betting on one tactic doesn’t work. Trying a little bit of everything consistently is better. Listen to the people who have 30 years of experience when they’re trying to help you…”
Andrew M, Creative Director
“Have a realistic budget. You get what you pay for and cannot expect someone to do the necessary work without paying for their time.”
Andrew P, Senior Designer
“Have a deep understanding of your typical customer, or the people you wish to target, understand their challenges and what resonates with them, and tailor your branding, identity and messaging accordingly.”
Chris, Senior Web Designer
“Details matter. Make sure you’ve considered every aspect of a project so there is no ambiguity between your vision and what’s delivered. Always work off the basis that the person you’re talking to has no prior knowledge and outline what you want thoroughly.”
Eleanor, Project Manager
“Don’t underestimate the research stages of a project. Also, try to ensure you have access to/have all logins to all of your social accounts and Google Suite in one place (GA4, Google Search Console, Google Tag Manager). This includes getting access if an agency or external company has set them up. This makes things a lot easier if you ever need to give access to a new employee or agency.”
Heather, Graphic Designer and Animator
“Trust your designer (they’re always right). On a serious note, it’s important to get a point of view from outside your business, so find someone you trust and listen to their opinion.”
James, Web Developer
“Scalability is a key factor; developing processes and methods that are built to grow as you grow are important to any company. You may only sell a small number of products now, or receive a small amount of traffic to your website, but with the right marketing this could change and grow. This necessitates prioritising your requirements and what is important for your processes, which allows you to focus on efficiency and accuracy.
A rule of coding is “only do something once”, if you have a repetitive action, you craft a function that perfectly fits that action, no matter how many times the action is taken. Now instead of doing something 100 times, you only do it once. This can only be achieved if you fully define your requirements and prioritise your expectations.”
Josh, Digital Marketing Manager
“The products/services you sell the most offline, won’t necessarily be your best sellers online. When targeting products and services online, make sure your priorities are backed by research into online opportunities, rather than internal offline sales data.
By doing this, you are able to understand the areas you should focus on, especially when testing the water as a completely new venture. Never spread yourself too thin in terms of too many products/services with not enough budget or resources to facilitate them. You’re always better off focusing on the biggest opportunities, learning what works and what does not, before going for them all.”
Kirsty, Graphic Designer
“Take time producing a detailed brief for your designer. Giving as much information as possible at the beginning of the project will help to avoid any misunderstandings and set a clear direction. When you set expectations before work begins, you make it possible to achieve a great outcome, both on time and on budget, which is what we all want!”
Laura, Head of Marketing
“Don’t spread yourself too thin – you can’t do it all. Find a team (or an agency) you can trust and build a strong working relationship with them.”
Meg, Content Writer
“Invest time and take pride in your written content, whether that be on your website, socials, printed assets, or email campaigns. Written copy is not just essential for SEO, it can be the defining factor between a customer choosing you or your competitor. Offer them the relevant information, speak to their pain points, and demonstrate that you care. A study shows that over 40% of consumers would distrust a website with bad grammar.”
Sam, Web Designer
“Invest in taking professional photos of your products or business. They can make or break a website and help you stand out from the competition.”
Plus, we couldn’t ignore this great advice from Alex, even though we’re slightly disappointed that he left us for a new challenge this week…
Alex, (Prev. Content and Search Manager)
“Don’t ignore the advice professionals give you, they are talking from experience and want to do what is best for your business.”
