Four Lakes Internet Services

Q: What's your name and position in the company?
A: Colman Carpenter - Owner

Q: Describe your company in 5 words.
A: Hard Working Websites

Q: What's your business philosophy?
A: Delight the customer. Stay true to your principles, even if that means turning down work. Build organically.

Q: Describe your office environment.
A: Surrounded by IT kit and paper (I hate filing).

Q: Describe how your team interact and work together.
A: We're a virtual team, so much of the communication and organisation is carried out online. With customers we use whatever tool they are comfortable with (phone, email, Skype, Google+, etc). Internally it tends to be a bit of a mixture too, although we try to standardise on Google tools as much as possible.

Q: What makes you different from other web design companies?
A: Tough question! There are lots of web development companies, using many different approaches and aiming for different sectors of the market. Four Lakes aims to gain the customer's trust, so that we can be part of the decision-making process as early as possible. I have a background in IT going back 25+ years, so I've seen many of the problems companies are facing, and believe I have an insight into the role IT & their website can play in addressing those issues. Additionally, we really see the customers website as the hub of their online marketing efforts. Integration with email marketing, social media, etc. is key to the success of the site, and it's contribution to the success of the company.

Q: How do you get the majority of your business?
A: Referrals, by a big margin!

Q: Describe how you manage projects from the initial client contact to completion and handover.
A: We're flexible and try to fit in with the client's preferred way of working as much as possible. Sometimes initial face-to-face meetings are useful to break the ice and start building the trust we are aiming for, other times everyone's happy to talk on the phone initially. At that point the scope is agreed and we tend to go away and start researching the various aspects (themes, plugins, integrated services, etc). There's constant communication as the project progresses until it's done and the customer is satisfied. Internally we've been researching project management tools to help manage/document this process, but haven't found the right one yet.

Q: What do you think is the most crucial element of creating a good client relationship?
A: Honesty

Q: How do you manage demanding clients?
A: Being polite but firm, especially in areas where they are paying for our expertise. If that doesn't work and we thing the client is being unreasonable, then we're happy to step away.

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: Talk to them and see if they 'get' what the website should be doing for their business.

Q: Where do you see your company in 10 years time?
A: Bigger, and still adapting to a fast-changing online world.

Q: Where do you see the web design industry in the future?
A: Definitely more mobile, more location-aware, and more social. Google are doing some very interesting things at the moment with Google+ that has the potential to change the market immensely. It will be interesting to see it develop, and even for us it's sometimes a challenge to keep up.

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

Q: How was your company name chosen?
A: I'm Irish, my home town is Carlow, which is an anglicised version of its Irish name, Ceatharlach. The literal translation of Ceatharlach is 'Four Lakes'.

Q: If you were to give your clients one tip on how to get the most from their website what would it be?
A: Understand where it fits in the marketing mix and how you can use it effectively. For some that means having a built-in blog (essential). For others it's about the whole cycle of change, measure, feedback.