REAL IT Solutions (UK)

Q: What's your name and position in the company?
A: Andrew - Developer

Q: Describe your company in 5 words.
A: creative, dynamic, innovative, results driven

Q: What's your business philosophy?
A: Simple really, it's to help our clients get results, through understanding the project and using our wealth of experience, whether its a branding project, a website, a software project or printed material, it matters to us that it delivers measurable results for the client.

Q: Describe your office environment.
A: relaxed friendly but professional

Q: Describe how your team interact and work together.
A: Working together, we push ourselves as individuals and as a group to produce the best we can for a project

Q: What makes you different from other web design companies?
A: We offer a full range of solutions that focus on your objectives, and combine strategy, creative ideas and innovative technology solutions to deliver measurable results. Real IT have a range of solutions for all sizes and budgets.

Q: How do you get the majority of your business?
A: The majority of our work is recommendations and ongoing business from our existing client bank as we help them to grow and evolve their online presence. We also get a lot of work from other agencies such as PR, marketing, design and web agencies who need a specific set of skills for a project that they may be working on.

Q: Describe how you manage projects from the initial client contact to completion and handover.
A: Initially we have a look at the market and advise the client if this a viable project. If it is then we go through the process of meetings with our designers and developers to specify what is required, and this is then presented back to the client. If the client likes and accepts the proposal, then we move to design where we produce visuals for approval. Once this has been argreed we move on to the build where our clients can access the non-live demo version of the site to see how its progressing and once the client is happy we go live.

Q: What do you think is the most crucial element of creating a good client relationship?
A: Communication is key, you have to get to know the client, their business and their market and build a long term relationship that is more a partnership than just a client/supplier

Q: How do you manage demanding clients?
A: No client is demanding, everyone has their views and ways of approaching a project and you have to work with that. I think during the process of discussing / winning a project you know who you can and can't work with and thats part of building the relationship.

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: It's about a number of things really, what track record do they have, can they offer the skills you require, are they within or close to budget, do they offer something different, did some of their suggestions make sense for your business, and ultimately if you feel you can both work together you will get great results.

Q: Where do you see your company in 10 years time?
A: Continuing to work with our existing clients, getting more recommendations, and winning new contracts allowing the business to grow naturally, whilst maintaining the high standards we all strive to maintain, and above all having great fun with our clients.

Q: Where do you see the web design industry in the future?
A: Its changing unlike many industries, IT and the web are changing on a daily basis, new technologies are meaning the web is accessible from a whole host of devices no longer just computers. The reality is that the industry will continue to grow, and will become more professional as agencies strive to meet high industry standards.

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

Q: How was your company name chosen?
A: Real IT Solutions is probably not the best company name, especially as the business has evolved. But staying true to our roots, it does some us up the fact that we deliver "real IT solutions" for your problems. We have considered changing it but too many people know us and know what we do.

Q: If you were to give your clients one tip on how to get the most from their website what would it be?
A: Many clients build a site and then it loses focus within the organisation, it needs to be an integral part of your business and you need to work it. Once launched, how can we improve it, hows it being used analyse the stats, what would our clients need next. EVOLUTION EVOLUTION