DVH Design

Q: What's your name and position in the company?
A: I'm Deb Harrison and I am the sole driving force behind DVH Design

Q: Describe your company in 5 words.
A: Small, caring, energetic, honest, helpful

Q: What's your business philosophy?
A: Perseverence pays off, and when you aren't the best person for the job, find someone who is. I should point out that I have A LOT of business contacts

Q: Describe your office environment.
A: Mainly an overflow bedroom, but I do hot desk at least one day a week just to keep me sane.

Q: Describe how your team interact and work together.
A: I have a copywriter and an Adwords Campaign team and they also work remotely. We call on each other when needed and meet very often for coffee or pizza.

Q: What makes you different from other web design companies?
A: My sole goal is the same as my customers: To have a great website that does all the hard work so they don't have to. But I care a lot and keep projects moving. I also go that extra mile, even to the extent of having to call existing web companies and getting the missing information from them. I'm never rude, just persistent. I also believe in aftercare. Changes happen and businesses certainly do. My customers know I'm on the end of a phone or email if they ever need help. Normally I beat them to it and get in touch first!

Q: How do you get the majority of your business?
A: A lot of it are from recommendations of my customer base. I also network both off and online. I'm a firm believer of getting connections and having conversations. Also being a regular poster on LinkedIn landed me one of my biggest customers.

Q: Describe how you manage projects from the initial client contact to completion and handover.
A: We start off with a brainstorm session, what does the customer ike and more importantly what don't they like. We then have a visual mockup like an interactive image so we can tackle design. This sets the stage for next phase the building of the site. Its during this that the customer or copywriter gets busy with the content for the pages they want. We then have a look and another session on Zoom. Minor edits are done there and then. If needed, we arrange a final signoff and after a vigourous test the site is launched. In an ideal world where life gets in the way this takes 6 weeks.

Q: What do you think is the most crucial element of creating a good client relationship?
A: I think trust is key for both parties. if my customers trust me, they recommend me to their customers and ditto: I recommend my customers to other people.

Q: How do you manage demanding clients?
A: They either get a phone call or meeting so we can get to the bottom of any issue and get a resolution. I'm also very honest and don't sugar coat answers. After then if someone is being downright unreasonable or unrealistic in their demands, I decline.

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: Who offers after care? Having a finished website is great but you will need to make changes eventually. I have had to pick up after so many "web design companies" that offer a free or cheap website and then charge extortionately for updates and get difficult when their customers wise up. And failing that, good old fashioned gut instinct.

Q: Where do you see your company in 10 years time?
A: As a small team still helping established businesses and building our training programme for startups.

Q: Where do you see the web design industry in the future?
A: I'm hoping hoping hoping that there will be an approval for web designers, making it easier for companies to establish who's there to help and who's more likely to do a runner. When there is, I am going for the approval option.

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

Q: How was your company name chosen?
A: It's my initials. You can guess the middle name yourself.

Q: If you were to give your clients one tip on how to get the most from their website what would it be?
A: Keep your website updated, especially if you are on a CMS platform. Love it or loathe it, people are looking you up online. What they find is up to you.