Calm Digital

Q: What's your name and position in the company?
A: Danielle Bloom, Director

Q: Describe your company in 5 words.
A: Bringing brands to life online

Q: What's your business philosophy?
A: To make beautiful websites that give users full control, are simple to use and that get results.

Q: Describe your office environment.
A: Light, bright, happy, welcoming, hard-working and Calm

Q: Describe how your team interact and work together.
A: Four of the team members at Calm are all shareholders in the Company. This makes each and every person strive to perform at their best, and drive the company forward. We all trust each other to deliver for the company and our clients. We have a laugh, but we always get the job done.

Q: What makes you different from other web design companies?
A: We really care - this is because the company belongs to all of us. Our reputations are on the line. We are small enough to give a really personal and friendly service to our clients, yet large enough to handle large multi-level projects with the agility to deliver on time and on budget.

Q: How do you get the majority of your business?
A: Word of mouth, a loyal core bunch of clients, referrals, recommendations, business support organisations, networking and social media.

Q: Describe how you manage projects from the initial client contact to completion and handover.
A: We use a quality assurance system based on ISO 9001 tailored to a digital and creative agency environment. This means that we ask for client sign off at significant milestones within the project. Projects begin with an initiation meeting which is useful for clarifying assumptions, taking the creative brief, scoping the deliverables and working out the timescales and key miilestones. From here we prepare a scoping document which must be signed off by the client before work can be booked into the studio. We ask the client to sign off the inteface design and all site graphics. Then the website goes into developmet, and is checked by our team at alpha stage before going live on a development area for beta testing by the client. We would trian the admin team on the CMS at this stage. Once the site has been tested thoroughly, content added and signed off, we ask for full payment before the site can go live.

Q: What do you think is the most crucial element of creating a good client relationship?
A: We always try to take the time to really get to know the person leading the project. We like to understand their business, their likes and dislikes and find things in common. Clients need to be able to trust you to interpret their vision, and if we can do what it takes to ensure we get this right and earn that trust.

Q: How do you manage demanding clients?
A: At Calm we are honest and upfront about when work can be booked into the studio and the timescales involved. If we are able to squeeze work in because you have a tight deadline we always make it clear that it is dependant on the studio calendar. If a client's demands are over and above what was originally scoped for the project, we would raise this with the client as early as possible to make sure the project was delivered on time and finalise any work outside the scope.

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: A client should always choose the company who shows the best understanding of their objectives and target audience. This insight will mean that the web design company can accurately plan the right kind of user experience, with the desired outcomes, tailored to the right audience. If these three things are overlooked the website will not produce results no matter how pretty it is.

Q: Where do you see your company in 10 years time?
A: In 10 years Calm Digital will be at the forefront of consumer-facing web-design in the North East of England. Many of our marketing products such as Advent Calendar Online are successful on a global scale and we have many big brands on board from around the globe. But critically, our suite of products in key markets (healthcare improvement, online site inductions) will continue to grow so that we become a service and product based business.

Q: Where do you see the web design industry in the future?
A: Ongoing research and development is required to keep abreast of new trends. New ways of communicating and sharing information are constantly emerge. I believe hand-held devices will be the key to all online communication and media interaction even more so than they are today whilst VR will lead the way in entertainment and shopping.

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: Calm in the eye of the digital storm.

Q: If you were to give your clients one tip on how to get the most from their website what would it be?
A: Make sure you plan the customer journey and give clear calls to action to achieve the desired outcome: "get in touch", "add to basket" , "go to checkout" etc etc. Make sure your content is of value and that it is worth sharing. Make sure you use keywords and keyprhases that will help enhance your search engine listing. Make sure your website is accessible and complies with Government standards for Accessibility. Finally, be real, be touchable and don't hide behind a slick corporate persona. Give your audience an insight into who the people behind the brand really are, so that they feel they can talk to you and share information. This is the most significant shift in the way that organisations communicate with thier audience - use this opportunity to really engage and spark conversations.