PoppenWorks

Q: What's your name and position in the company?
A: Mark Poppen, owner of PoppenDesign

Q: Describe your company in 5 words.
A: Young, innovative, professional and honest

Q: What's your business philosophy?
A: We can make a difference and help Saskatchewan thrive towards financial awesomeness.

Q: Describe your office environment.
A: My office is a home office.

Q: Describe how your team interact and work together.
A: With my team being all over the world, we keep in touch through IM (Skype, MSN and Google Talk) and Social media like Twitter and Facebook.

Q: What makes you different from other web design companies?
A: Opposed to big firms we don't have a large office to take care of. We focus on web design, where others take web design as a "side job". Opposed to freelancers I don't try to do it all myself.

Q: How do you get the majority of your business?
A: Word of mouth is the best advertisement you can get. We also get clientele through Google, because we're easy to find.

Q: Describe how you manage projects from the initial client contact to completion and handover.
A: A lot of communications. Face-to-face, by email and phone.

Q: What do you think is the most crucial element of creating a good client relationship?
A: Communication. Take interest in the product the client is trying to sell and support it even when you're not working on the project.

Q: How do you manage demanding clients?
A: With care. Communication is key in anticipating demanding clients. So far, I'd like to believe we did a good job handling demanding projects.

Q: If a client was trying to decide between a shortlist of web design companies, how would you recommend they go about selecting the right one for them?
A: Don't go with the cheapest right off the bat. Do some research, check out the portfolio and contact the people they worked for, and decide from there.

Q: Where do you see your company in 10 years time?
A: I'd rather look 5 years ahead because the web is changing so fast, it's hard to predict 10 years from now. The business has grown into a bigger design-firm with employees, still handling clients with care.

Q: Where do you see the web design industry in the future?
A: Like I said, it's hard to predict, but the web will continue to go more mobile. Mobile devices are the future.

Q: What computers do you have use in your offices, PCs or Macs?
A: Mac

Q: How was your company name chosen?
A: Poppen is my last name, and Design is what I do best.

Q: If you were to give your clients one tip on how to get the most from their website what would it be?
A: Promote the website as it was your business. Make sure you mention the site on anything you create (like flyers, posters, business cards etc.).