Malbec Media

Q: What's your name and position in the company?
A: Adrian, Founder

Q: Describe your company in 5 words.
A: What we do is fun.

Q: What's your business philosophy?
A: The philosophy is keep it simple and enjoyable for the client while at the same time deliver huge value every single time. This "philosophy'' is pretty effective at keeping our clients happy and our pipeline full, its a win win for everyone.

Q: Describe your office environment.
A: It's fun, a crew of talented people sharing an office and getting excited about design and programming.

Q: Describe how your team interact and work together.
A: Well...I would say we pack the punch of the A-Team, the deep understanding of Buddha, and the problem solving of MacGyver into one efficient unit. Mmm…. Yes, that is definitely an accurate description of the team, how we work together and tackle tough projects is equally awe inspiring.

Q: What makes you different from other web design companies?
A: We say no more then yes when it comes to taking work.

Q: How do you get the majority of your business?
A: Word of mouth and a little Guerrilla marketing...

Q: Describe how you manage projects from the initial client contact to completion and handover.
A: Depending on the size and complexity of the project we have few different work flows. Small projects start with a phone call, small brief and proposal that once agreed upon enter our system and rapid collaboration starts. Bigger projects we scope, bid, propose, collaborate, then roll-out according to contract. We use tools such as basecamp and sugarCRM to keep things organized and the client involved.

Q: What do you think is the most crucial element of creating a good client relationship?
A: I have been told by female counterparts that great relationships are built off open communication and trust... wise words. Since we LOVE working with our clients, we keep communication open, respectful and professional... all of which helps build trust. ProTip: doing what you say your going to do makes keeping relationships easy ;)

Q: How do you manage demanding clients?
A: If they are demanding bad (cheap) we try not to take them on in the first place. If they are demanding good (know what they want and need) the process is awesome as we are a proactive team to begin with.

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: First off, review portfolios, look for real work and experience. Once you have a few choice companies selected do yourself a favor and pick up a phone and call them. By talking to a few companies and asking basic questions you can see who is serious or not. Unfortunately, too many web design companies are flaky or go out of business after a year or two, so look for web companies that make money and be ready to pay a little extra for quality.

Q: Where do you see your company in 10 years time?
A: We are excited about what this company will look like ten years from now.

Q: Where do you see the web design industry in the future?
A: More pre-designed templates, Woothemes type operations will dominate the bottom end giving people really good design and many choices for next to nothing. On the other end of the spectrum very high quality custom application development will be in demand to build next generation services.

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: Malbec is a tasty wine from Mendoza Argentina. Digital Media is what we do... To truly understand how the name came about I suggest you buy a bottle of Malbec to share with friends... then imagine yourself enjoying life high in the pristine Andes Mountains and getting paid for it.

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 a way to capture data.. emails, phones, anything, just get something real to follow up on. Websites are great tools to build brand and image, although when done right they are also good at gathering data and building new sales channels.