Clickingmad

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Shaylor Group is a principal contractor throughout the United Kingdom. We handle construction, interior fit out, repair, maintenance, and heritage construction projects on a scale of up to £40 million. I’m the head of communications and marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Clickingmad Ltd?

We needed a brand-new website. When I came into my role, I inherited a very old website with an ugly design that wasn’t very engaging. The company that provided it established an ongoing relationship before my time at the company.

The website was a build and deliver option, so we couldn’t access it or edit it. The previous company had to handle editing, and they charged for it. I found that their service wasn’t good. They often didn’t do what we asked of them and took a long time to do any work. I didn’t have my own team and knew it would be a tremendous draw on my time and resources. Clickingmad made everything so simple.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I’ve never worked in the construction industry before, and my goal was to present a website with a construction-themed design, emphasizing a mix of architecture, design, and building skills. I wanted it to be more professional, slick, and imaged-based to make our company stand out. I had very strong concepts of our corporate branding and how our site should reflect that.

I gave initial briefs to Clickingmad and they were very good at asking questions. For instance, they wanted to know where I wanted the logo placed on the site. Nothing was left to chance. We drilled down to a detailed brief, and the designer took that and sent me back a dozen designs.

Every page has slightly different design aspects. I chose what I wanted for each page and tweaked the design as needed. I never felt like I was bothering Clickingmad with my changes—they were always very accommodating. They sent every page for final signoff before we proceeded to populate and add content.

I wanted a built-in interactive map that showed every live construction project we had throughout the country, as well as projects that were coming up. That feature cost about 50% of the going price. A lot of companies I met with in the beginning said it couldn’t be done or that it would mean a significant cost.

They’ve also helped with some websites for spinoff companies that we work with and our charity foundation. They’ve helped me run Google AdWords campaigns and have advised me on everything.

What is the team dynamic?

I worked with a couple of designers along with Shaun [Managing Director, Clickingmad, Ltd] and Ivet [Sales Manager, Clickingmad, Ltd]. Every member of their team is really attentive.

How did you come to work with Clickingmad Ltd?

In my role, I receive a lot of sales literature and introductions from external agencies. I was keeping a directory of web developers so that I would be ready when the project was approved. Clickingmad was one of the companies who reached out to me.

I had a very fixed price from our board of directors and went through a thorough search process, including top agencies from London. I narrowed the 20 companies I spoke to down to a list of 12 who felt they could deliver for my price. Then we narrowed it to three, and those companies presented to my manager and board of directors. I already knew at that point that I wanted to work with Clickingmad.

On paper, every company can do the same thing to varying degrees. I mostly work with people rather than businesses—I try to find a person who understands me and the way I communicate. I don’t need to know all the development jargon to grasp the concept I’m trying to achieve. The first people I met from Clickingmad were Shaun and Ivet. When I saw how they took time to teach and advise clients along the way, I knew they were the agency I needed.

My senior leaders also felt they would be a great company to work with. In the construction industry, senior leaders are not known to be technologically savvy. I faced a lot of initial opposition to building a new website, but Shaun won the trust of some of the senior team, which was amazing. They were all very happy for me to proceed with Clickingmad after meeting Shaun and Ivet.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent £20,000 on the website. The total we spent with them could be £40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The initial project began October or November 2013, and the site was live in April or May 2014. That timeframe didn’t have anything to do with Clickingmad’s speed of work. It was all based on my availability.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The map feature proved tremendously successful and met one of my main objectives: for people to think of us as a national construction company. We are based in the center of England, but we wanted to move strongly into the London market, so we opened an office in the far south. Still, people kept talking about us as a midland construction company. The map of England with little flags all over it showing exactly where we’re working changed that—the media started to refer to us as a national contractor.

My business development team has received incredible feedback. We deviated from our industry norm, which Clickingmad was very familiar with. They found it refreshing that I wanted to do something different. Top architecture practices in London have called our offices to say how much they love the clean design and usability of the site. We got a lot of praise and still do. They love the imagery and navigation–all guided by Clickingmad.

How did Clickingmad Ltd perform from a project management standpoint?

They were exceptional. They were very patient with me. I imagine that a company of their size found resource planning difficult for a client that drug things out over months. They understood my challenges with obtaining funding and the confidence of our board of directors. Shaun gave me updates every two weeks on the progress. He put things in a time scale that my directors could understand and used construction programming bar charts they were familiar with. Shaun created a system that automatically sent me updates I could present to my senior team.

Our offices are about an hour apart. They were very willing to travel to meet me based on my work schedule. Sometimes it was advantageous for me to go to their offices where they had all of their equipment.

I communicated with Shaun two or three times a day. Shaun knew how busy I was and made himself readily available to me. I would gather and email information to him and  then I’d have a phone conversation with him to ensure that he understood everything. That was a great chance for him to guide me and suggest things he thought might work better. We spoke on Skype and video calls. I’ve never had an instance where I tried to contact him directly and didn’t receive an immediate response.

They always deliver what you ask for. Many people miss that simple step. Clickingmad applies their knowledge as specialists rather than expecting their clients to have that knowledge. They delivered a range of options for getting a message across and introduced me to new user experience approaches.         

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s their people. As the years have gone by and the team has grown, every person I’ve spoken to has been so professional and courteous. When you talk to people who are very good in specialized areas, they can come across as patronizing or frustrated at having to speak to people without the same knowledge as them. Clickingmad takes the time to listen to their clients.

If they hadn’t familiarized themselves with my company, they couldn’t have gotten the feel for things that led to the designs and content they presented to me. Many agencies I’ve worked with over the years think they hear what the client is saying, but they don’t truly listen. Clickingmad really listens and keeps asking questions until they’re sure of the answers. I’ve never felt like I was a burden for not knowing something. They’re a great team to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. Where they’re located in England isn’t the most central hub. But they are very accessible and responsive by video, telephone, email, etc. They might argue that they don’t need a strong physical presence because they work remotely with so many clients, but proximity is the only thing I would improve.

I haven’t had a single even slightly unpleasant experience with them.

Do you have any advice for potential clients?

Pick up the phone and speak to them. You’ll find people on the other end will listen, guide, and deliver the project to exceed even the highest expectations. I had a very, very high standard in mind for what I wanted to achieve. I also wanted to impress my superiors, who I felt doubted my abilities. Clickingmad helped me do that and even more.