Q: What's your name and position in the company?
A: Eric Hirschhorn, Partner
Q: Describe your company in 5 words.
A: Full-service digital advertising agency
Q: What's your business philosophy?
A: bloomfield knoble is focused on process and understanding. Without both, it's just a guessing game. From website design to advertising campaigns, we work very hard to understand. Additionally, our goal is long-term business relationships. Our average client tenure is 6+ years.
Q: Describe your office environment.
A: Focused and intense with many spurts of bust out laughter. Many people are friends within the office and there is plenty of play time to offset the work. We get to work on some meaningful projects that actually help people, so that is why we work so hard. All said, our motto is family first. If you need to take time, take it. Someone, or many someone's, will pick up the slack until you are back in the saddle.
Q: Describe how your team interact and work together.
A: It's our practice to brainstorm as a group, grabbing everyone available. There are no divisions on creativity and thinking, so from the interns to the office assistants to the creative director, we like to share the burden/joy of imagination. We have fast turn times, so everyone has access to other people's work and no client is silo'd unless it is demanded by the client (US Treasury, for instance.)
Q: What makes you different from other web design companies?
A: We transitioned some time ago from being a web design-only company to a full-service agency to meet our clients' requests to help them grow. Their trust and needs led us to where we are today, 20 years later. Also, we adhere to the philosophy "form follows function."
Q: How do you get the majority of your business?
A: Friendly introductions and current clients moving to new positions.
Q: Describe how you manage projects from the initial client contact to completion and handover.
A: Initially assign 1-2 point people that develop talking points and decide on team members. Once the kick-off is started, one point person remains to lead the development team that also interacts with client. Move to testing and feedback changes. Provide outside, inside and third party QC and hand over assets, once approved. However, we generally are asked to manage the site to some degree, along with content marketing, advertising and SEM. This is not always the case, but our clients appreciate we can be turn-key.
Q: What do you think is the most crucial element of creating a good client relationship?
A: Honest, transparency and regular communication.
Q: How do you manage demanding clients?
A: We don't. As a business we determine if we are a good fit. Clients that are too demanding or don't appreciate their vendors don't make it to our portfolio. That said, if the meaning of "demanding" is about the workload, we constantly reassess to make sure we have all the points in place for real time needs. This might require a full or part time bk member to be on point. Hard work does not scare us. Quick turns are the norm. Clients that don't appreciate are removed for the greater good.
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: References, references, references. Then make sure the web company understands your internal processes and is the right fit based on personalities and that "special" feeling you get when you like and trust some one.
Q: Where do you see your company in 10 years time?
A: Expanding on creative internally. We are enjoying the new tools coming out daily and hope to be producing proprietary content to keep our skills honed. Also, we have a few former interns that have grown up in our agency and I hope to see them running the business and departments, moving we old dinosaurs out.
Q: Where do you see the web design industry in the future?
A: More and more internalized based on new tools. That said, good design and usability will always have a place. Just means the opportunities will be fewer.
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: A few glasses of Glenlivet
Q: If you were to give your clients one tip on how to get the most from their website what would it be?
A: Sorry, but there are two: First, don't build something if you don't have a clear path to market it. Next, don't put in too many processes to update sections/blogs that become too great a burden and you stop doing it.
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