It'seeze Northampton-Bedford

Q: What's your name and position in the company?
A: My name is Steve Axtell and I am the Owner of It'seeze Northampton-Bedford

Q: Describe your company in 5 words.
A: Lean, professional, focussed customer driven

Q: What's your business philosophy?
A: To provide website solutions tailored to our client's overall business plan and to work in partnership to assist client's in achieving their aims.

Q: Describe your office environment.
A: I work from a small office near Olney in Buckinghamshire which is as paperless as I can make it. All of my immediate support staff plus designers, optimisers and techies are based at the Spoton.net head office in Torquay.

Q: Describe how your team interact and work together.
A: We work very much in partnership and the support from the team is excellent. All of our client's work is project managed from start to finish in house as we do not sub contract to freelancers. This enables us to deliver a quality product on time, every time. Regular contact either by phone or Email is the order of the day and everything works smoothly.

Q: What makes you different from other web design companies?
A: The main difference is that we have a superior product!! We provide what we like to call "The Worlds Best Self Editing Websites" and with good reason. Ours is not a basic content management system but total access to your site which includes built in SEO and statistic tools. Absolutely anyone would be able to use our system and I am always on hand if needed for advice and support. No HTML knowledge is needed. If you can send a Email, you can edit our sites.

Q: How do you get the majority of your business?
A: Mainly by referrals and networking. I am finding that even when a contact is in a contract with another provider they are recommending my sites to their contacts. I also hit the phones and use up shoe leather when I find the time. My own Website and the franchisors website plays a major part of course! www.itseeze-northampton.co.uk or www.itseeze.co.uk.

Q: Describe how you manage projects from the initial client contact to completion and handover.
A: First I take the time to understand the business, create and agree a brief, project manage at Spoton then deliver back on time.

Q: What do you think is the most crucial element of creating a good client relationship?
A: Listening and understanding. I have spent over 30 years in business development and I have found that if you understand where the client is coming from you are best placed to deliver what they want. I am always available and go the extra mile for my clients as every one of them is important to me and I want them to know it.

Q: How do you manage demanding clients?
A: With a great deal of patience. I find that often if a client seems over demanding there is a lack of understanding on one or both sides. As I make the effort to understand I have been fortunate enough to be able to limit any negative effects in this area. I have great systems in place to ensure that I can deliver to even the most demanding of clients. I think often clients that have been previously let down tend to be more demanding as they believe that no one can give good service. My job is to change that point of view.

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: I would always look at more than 1 but no more than 3, as life can get very confusing past that point. Clients should look for the company and personnel that can deliver what they want, within budget and on time. After delivery they must be able to contact their provider and receive good support. Look for a company that understands your business aims and treats your website as part of your overall marketing strategy, not just a bolt on because "everyone has a website". I would also recommend keeping everything under one roof to ensure total accountability.

Q: Where do you see your company in 10 years time?
A: Bigger with even more happy clients. This business is ultimately very scalable however I would want to keep the personal touch and do not envisage a time where I would not be dealing with my clients directly. This is very important to me.

Q: Where do you see the web design industry in the future?
A: I think there needs to be a bit of a shake out! I have found that there are a lot of companies out there, lets say doing an OK job, to be kind. There are also some great companies but they are not in the majority. This industry has quite a bad name and it has been likened to estate agents (sorry, estate agents). In the end the better companies will win through and improve our image but when you consider most of my new business is with unhappy current website holders we have a way to go yet.

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

Q: How was your company name chosen?
A: This is a derivitive of the Franchise name It'seeze. This name really does sum up our product.

Q: If you were to give your clients one tip on how to get the most from their website what would it be?
A: Consider 4 things. Optimisation, Navigation, Technical and visual. All are important and linked. A site that can be found that doesn't work will create a negative impression. A great site that can't be found is pointless. All of these points should be covered by your provider at reasonable cost. If not, change provider.