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10, 20, 50, 100 or 1,000; what’s the perfect size for an agency?

Client / Agency relationships, by David Hunt

178, the size of HAVAS LYNX. Ask anyone that manages an agency of 178 & they will say the same – it’s perfect. I imagine that in a few weeks 181 will be even more perfect. 

For years we were perceived as being too small. Now we are too big to be innovative, yet still too small to be a player?!? I disagree with both opinions.

Innovation & creativity is not about headcount. Never has been, never will be. It’s about people, passion & culture. With a background in digital, technology & creativity, I was appointed CEO at the age of 33. I’m driven by ideas & not numbers. Supported by a management team that believes in great work, we  now invest in more diverse expertise, try more unique technologies & chase more ideas than ever before. We are constantly looking for new concepts for ourselves, for our clients, for HCPs & for patients.

Can you be small, commercially motivated & technology agnostic? With the correct approach and the right people, perhaps. However, are you more likely to settle with the specialist you shared lunch with, or the unknown you still need to locate? With a big agency comes diverse expertise under one roof, providing seamless access to broad ideas. But can you be big & still bright? Certainly, but only by breaking down silos & embracing diversity. Different experiences, points of view & interests inspire innovation.

Like the story of Goldilocks, some agencies are too big, some agencies are too small, and some agencies are just right – it depends on your taste.

Three Bears
It is a matter of taste

Another strange question – do you have enough capacity? Does a prospective customer really want an agency that’s quiet? I’ve never walked into an empty restaurant, however if it’s heaving I want a reservation – evidence suggests that the product will be great. Do you want a partner that is free, or do you want a partner that is expert? A well run agency will have the infrastructure, process & connections to scale smartly and meet the fluid needs of their customers.

I’m proud to say that we are very big and we are very busy. And our clients choose HAVAS LYNX for our  ideas, innovation & ability to exceed expectations, and we are grateful for their patronage. 

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Addressing the needs of pharmaceutical marketing and embracing 2014

2014, what are the strategic priorities for HAVAS LYNX? By David Hunt

Embracing 2014 and building on our strengths
Embracing 2014 and building on our strengths

Agency life is exciting, fluid & often unpredictable. I believe that the success of an agency depends on the team & the culture, and the ability they afford an agency to respond to change. However, whilst responding to the market, competitive landscape & technology is essential, so too is a bold strategy. As we embark on 2014, what are the strategic priorities for HAVAS LYNX?

People make an agency. Their talent, expertise & commitment deliver great campaigns, great innovation & great service. In 2014 we are launching the LX Academy to develop expertise & knowledge.

And it’s not just our people that shape our fortunes, the impact of good & bad clients is immeasurable. A good client values your opinion & respects your service. A bad client jeopardises your product, profitability & most importantly your people. In 2014 we will be as selective as our clients.

HAVAS LYNX Medical was launched in 2013. 2014 will be their year. Combining scientific expertise, digital innovation & ethics, they will provide unsurpassed medical education & scientific exchange. Led by Dr Nick Broughton, they will deliver significant ROI through smart, integrated campaigns that are defined by customers & not tradition.

The fantastic teams in LYNX London, LYNX Local & HAVAS HEALTH Software will continue to prosper & build on robust foundations. They are each unique & entirely designed around the needs of pharmaceutical marketing. LYNX London are shaping global strategies for Novartis, Janssen & Roche. In their fourth year, LYNX Local continue to ensure global campaigns have a local impact. And HAVAS HEALTH Software are a technology start-up that is redefining healthcare communications.

Founded in 1986 as Creative Lynx, HAVAS LYNX were driven by ideas & strategy. In the early noughties we embraced & defined digital in healthcare, but we never forgot our roots. As we move forward many of our clients partner with us for their strategy, ideas & innovations. Our ambition for 2014 is to continue this trend, delivering best-in-class campaigns that are defined by customer needs & not technology. 

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High5ives to the team at HAVAS LYNX

Good business, by David Hunt

25,302 pounds in just one year, 500 pounds per week for 52 weeks, or 150 pounds per person – however you decide to analyse the efforts and achievements of the HAVAS LYNX #High5ives team this year, it is a tremendous effort. But CSR doesn’t just include charitable donations & raising money, they went much, much further.

£25,302 raised in 2013.
£25,302 raised in 2013.

It was just over twelve months ago when Tim Woodcock, General Manager LYNX London, developed a penchant for 30 mile runs. Further investigation uncovered his proposed participation in Marathon des Sables: The Toughest Footrace on Earth. It was a phenomenal effort; equally phenomenal was the support that Tim would receive from the agency. The endeavour also saw Nick Greenwood create the #High5ives brand, which became a catalyst for our CSR movement. In the age of damage, it perfectly illustrates the impact of a genuine brand, with values, behaviour, and personality entirely aligned.

High5ives Brand
#High5ives

50 pints of blood were donated by members of HAVAS LYNX. Each donation had the ability to save 3 lives. The initiative was led by Julie Southam, who delivered an exceptional service to her clients, whilst simultaneously organising critical help for 141 strangers. As an agency, we believe that who cares wins and in helpful change. Our campaigns are centred on patient wellbeing, so too are many of our personal activities.

Leanne Ledger leads our activities in higher education; she also helped to educate the wider community on the 1.4 billion people that live in extreme poverty. Living on just £1 per day for a week, Leanne raised money & awareness through https://www.livebelowtheline.com. Our social reach is 142,750 in 2013.

James Young ran a marathon dressed as “Where’s Wally”, featured in the MEN, made sandwiches for the office every Thursday, and raised £1,000 for AMREF. The team ran another 300km as part of the BUPA Great Manchester Run, with all proceeds going to Motor Neurone Disease Association. In October Lukeki participated at The One Young World Summit 2013, having won one our internal competition. Following the inspirational event, Lukeki will be launching her initiative to tackle self-esteem issues and the wider problems low self-esteem can bring.

Continuing the #High5ives theme into 2014, HAVAS LYNX Medical will be launching one of the industry’s first events focussed entirely on ETHICS, and asking, “Ethics and the Pharmaceutical Industry: Is compliance enough?” The one-day interactive symposium will explore some of the ethical issues that confront the industry, with all proceeds going to NeuroMuscular Centre. Chaired by Mr Michael Buerk, with confirmed speakers including Dr Des Spence Glasgow GP & BMJ columnist, Mr Gyles Brandreth Raconteur & former Conservative MP and Dr Karl Wilding Director of Public Policy, National Council for Voluntary Organisations.

In keeping with the #High5ives theme and as we concluded 2013, the team decided on local charities over Christmas cards. Throughout December and into January, they are collecting donations for Barnabus, Wood Street Mission and Whitechapel Mission. Great charities that are in even greater demand over the holiday season. It’s a fitting end to a great first year for High5ives. Led by Claire Knapp & Tom Wordley, and supported by Claire Elliot, I have little doubt that this is just the beginning.

As CEO, their energy & achievements fill me with immense pride, equally their passion & expertise fill me with great confidence for the future.

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2013, More Ups and Downs than the Big Dipper

A review of 2013, by David Hunt

We knocked down & rebuilt our home, I became CEO of HAVAS LYNX and most amazingly became a Father.

The Big Dipper
The Big Dipper

Having started at Creative Lynx as the studio junior, it was with immense pride that I became Chief Executive this summer. In many ways very little changed, I was still part of the same brilliant team with David Whittingham, Steve Nicholas and Neil Martin, but in many ways far more changed than I’d expected. Within two months we’d lost one of our most significant accounts and with the inevitable self-reflection that follows, recognised that we needed to evolve our business. HAVAS LYNX, formerly Creative Lynx, has been established for over 25 years and it is testament to the organisation’s DNA that it has consistently evolved to meet the changing landscape.

We believe that the global fiscal climate demands smart business models that provide high value services. We believe our clients are faced with an unprecedented spectrum of healthcare stakeholders and therefore require greater support than ever before. We believe to harness the brilliance of over 150 strategic, creative and digital experts, you need collaboration, integration and an agile philosophy.

On the 9th of August, as part of our Agency Day, we launched LYNX PRIDE – a complete re-structure of our business designed around the needs of the market, our clients and our teams. It was a courageous move, epitomising our heritage & philosophy. As we close 2013 the results speak for themselves; feedback from our team & clients is unsolicited & overwhelming, we collected two further awards at the prestigious PMEA Awards and we have just secured a fantastic new account working with a bold & exciting team that share our passion for ground-breaking campaigns. They say, “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger”, and I’m excited to announce that we are just getting started!!

Don’t knock down your home when your wife is 6 months pregnant – I learnt that in 2013. I also learnt that needing a great creative & great developer is not just the formula for success in marketing communications. Working with Phill Armstrong of White box Architecture we have emerged with a beautifully designed home and at the heart of that success, and at the heart of most client-supplier successes is a friendship & mutual respect. Even the best ideas still require flawless execution and with an obsessive attention to detail, I have quickly come to realise that I am that “client”. Fortunately, I found a builder with an equally sharp eye, a genuine commitment to quality and an essential sense of humour – E.P. Muldoon. Demonstrating expertise, initiative and most importantly patience, his team has built our home around us considering every detail, and adding value every step.

The 30th of April 2013, the highlight of this year and the last 33 – I became a Dad. Like many men before and after me, it was equally terrifying & amazing. Every day my world changes a little bit. Every day I learn a little bit more. Every day I realise that everything that every parent said is entirely true, and it really is the best thing in the world. And everything else… secondary. 

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Steve Jobs, a catalyst for innovation or a poster boy for the digital revolution?

User experience; Pursuit of perfection, by David Hunt

Where does the late Steve Jobs sit amongst the greatest minds of our time? Is he simply the poster-boy for the global culture of innovation? Or is he the catalyst that inspired a generation to think differently?

iPod
iPod, where it all began?

He didn’t create the Internet, he didn’t create the MP3, he did not invent the mobile phone, but does that lessen his impact or contribution to the digital revolution? Through his pathological commitment to a customer-centric approach, he took alien and complex concepts and brought them into the main-stream. He was the perfect foil to a software engineer, able to take “black magic” and make it simply magic.

His impact is significant; he challenged conventions and improved our lives. He didn’t look at what the competition did, he looked at what they didn’t do. He saw things differently. He knew what people wanted and he fulfilled the need, in terms of product, positioning and marketing.

His products were the best. He had the vision to challenge conventions and he had the obsession to shape every detail. His solutions weren’t defined by rules or existing boundaries, but by form, and experience. Whilst the design & integration of his products were flawless, product semantics were at the heart of their success, providing complete alignment with a user’s instincts. We didn’t have to learn how to work his products, they learnt how we work. Consumers may choose an Apple product because it is pioneering, it is desirable, it is premium – I choose Apple because of the experience. It is an extension of me. Every detail considered around my needs; from the physical interaction to the  seamless interface, driven by a deep rooted desire to exceed my expectations.

He defined product classes. Apple did not produce the first smart phone, or first MP3 player, but they did bring them to the public conscious. His product positioning was flawless, (unlike some). He could bridge the gap between technology and need. He would take an idea and make it relevant. There are those that can create technology, and there are those that know how to use it, Steve Jobs was the latter and his impact all the greater.

Was Steve Jobs a marketing expert? In 1983 he didn’t think so. In hiring John Sculley from Pepsi to become CEO of Apple, he highlighted the value he placed on marketing & communications, but an unusual lack of personal belief. Those in his presence, and the wider world would disagree, citing his “reality distortion field” – an ability to make the impossible, seam possible. Despite the economic challenges of the past decade, Apple has continued to succeed. Many wrongly believe that in austere times a cut in sales & marketing drives profit, Apple have baulked this trend and proven the wisdom of communications to maintain long-term success.

It is impossible to say where the world would be without Steve Jobs and Apple. However, I would speculate that whilst the technology would exist, the benefit it brings would only be enjoyed by engineers & technicians, the wider society would be oblivious to the benefits of “black magic”.

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently…they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.”
– Steve Jobs

References:

– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs

– Jobs [Movie, 2013]

– Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson

– Keep It Simple: The Early Design Years of Apple by Hartmut Esslinger

Sent from my iPad

 

 

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Going Beyond The First Date, What it Takes to Win a Pitch

Agency Management; A good agency will still lose pitches, by David Hunt

You’ve had all the right signals; she laughs at your jokes, shows an interest in your stories, and your friend said – her friend said – that she said – she liked you. So why, when you asked her to the cinema, was she washing her hair? The life of an agency can at times, resemble those formative teen years. A lot of time, effort & dedication but without fair reward. To be successful there are three key ingredients – timing, chemistry & brilliance (I think you can win with two).

1st date

I’m busy tonight
Having graduated in Design in 2002, I found myself in Vancouver with Tim Woodcock, now GM of HAVAS LYNX London. I had a strong portfolio, excellent qualifications & the confidence of youth. With the help of the local design directory we set about securing employment. As a 22 year old, desperate for a job & a new life, I learnt more about pitching than at any other stage in my career. I’d know who I was meeting, their background, work, interests & ambitions. I’d know which of my portfolio would resonate the best, ideas they would get, reference they would love. The feedback was tremendous & disappointing in equal measure, “Love it!! But the timing…”, “Wow! But at the moment, we just can’t…”. In 2001, the burst of the dot.com bubble had ensured that the US investment had been withdrawn from Vancouver and local agencies were having to re-align their strategy & adopt a more cautious approach to recruitment. Despite, my best efforts there were simply not the opportunities. As I would learn throughout my career, even the most confident candidate, with their favourite ideas & best customer insight can be unsuccessful if the timing isn’t right.

It’s not you, it’s me
Without doubt our best campaigns are powered by chemistry when the client & agency teams work as one, from the medic through to engineer. Total alignment, a shared goal & a rewarding experience. Equally, at the heart of our more painful campaigns is a toxic relationship. A lack of empathy, trust and fragmented communication, will inevitably lead to a flawed deliverable. A defective relationship does not signal a bad agency, it simply confirms that as people – there are those we like & those we don’t. I applaud clients that make decisions based on their instinct, based on the people they meet and a conviction that they can collaborate. A campaign involves a long-term partnership, inevitably with highs & lows, so working with someone that you respect, whose opinion you value and company you enjoy, is a key ingredient for success. Even with perfect timing & great ideas – chemistry can be all important.

I’m just not sure
There are those agencies who believe life is a game of numbers, the more you ask, the more you get. They pitch more, but offer less. They don’t expose themselves, confident in the knowledge that they’ll win a couple. I COMPLETELY disagree. I have been brought-up to always give 110%. My Father-in-law, Carlo Distefano, owns an incredibly successful restaurant group and as he explains, “I work because I love it, and then it doesn’t feel like work”. You must be passionate about an opportunity, you must care about the outcome, you need to be your best. At the heart of every success is always a brilliant idea. It can be the right time and the right team, but without the excitement of an idea there is no vision. 

I ask three things of my teams at HAVAS LYNX:

  • Commit entirely to an opportunity, and deliver a brilliant idea
  • Understand the client, and build a partnership for success
  • Enjoy the creative process, as it just might not be your day

And like all the best relationships, the first date is just the beginning. Each & every day, we need to make our partners happy.

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It’s not about knowing their shoe size. It’s about knowing what makes them tick.

Closed-loop marketing (CLM), by David Hunt
Part I: start, and therefore finish, with insight

My first experience of healthcare marketing, and indeed closed-loop marketing, was in 2004. Even then it was being presented as the ultimate sales tool – the silver bullet for customer engagement. Almost a decade later, the story remains the same. Truly bespoke experiences are as unique in their delivery as they are in their frequency.

I am fortunate enough to have worked on some amazing campaigns, with some amazing people. And with 10 years’ experience, I have come to realise that delivering a true closed-loop experience is not about the technology, it’s not about budget, it’s not even about expertise – it is about absolute commitment to the vision across an entire organisation. You need the full support of senior management, experienced marketers that truly understand their customers and products, an engaged field force looking for a competitive advantage AND a flexible IT infrastructure that is committed to dynamic innovation. It is only with complete dedication that an organisation can deliver a SUSTAINED, tailored experience.

Conversations often begin with technology – a ridiculous and bizarre starting-point. Technology is only the platform. It is the idea that truly counts. First we need to really understand our customers. In face-to-face interactions we each instinctively perceive their interest. We do this based on a reaction, we do not do this because they have spent 12 seconds digesting a piece of information.

Within CLM, we shouldn’t just be looking at page metrics. At best it is inconclusive, at worst it is misleading. Who led the interaction? What was the facial response? What was the real reaction? My wife and I recently had our first child. The use of customer relationship management systems by large superstores is both exceptional and well documented. As a result of our “tells” we received the right offers at the right times. It wasn’t because of a request on our part, it was because of an action observed on theirs. To deliver a true closed-loop marketing experience in healthcare, we need to design and study genuine interactions, interactions with meaning. The late Steve Jobs and his team afforded us a revolutionary piece of kit. It demands engagement, it ensures participation and if done right, it absolutely captures true reactions and true, actionable insights.

So how do we know what makes our customers tick? We typically default to traditional market research, which has both its values and challenges. Research of this nature is set-up to validate a story, it does not convey the nuances of our interactions. I believe in multi-disciplinary teams, and I believe in iterative product design. Led by the brand team, with valued input from the field and true digital creatives, we can create interactions that are worthwhile to the customer and loaded with insight for us. The customer tell. We can create a campaign designed around a conversation to support the field, support the business and, most importantly, to support the customer.

It is not always possible to augment traditional research with robust, integrated workshops and numerous prototypes, but if we want to deliver closed-loop marketing we need to do more than embed the technology, more than talk about the benefits, we need to start, and therefore finish, with insight.

Part II: roadmap to success

Part III: judging the impact

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Understanding who you are, And knowing where you are going

Merger; From the Inside, by David Hunt
Part I, Initial engagement 

June 2012 was huge, after 18 months of careful planning I married my beautiful wife, running to the same timeline Creative Lynx merged with Havas. Both life changing events, both spectacularly exciting, but whilst friends & family can offer advice & council on your marriage, a merger is an altogether more isolated experience.

Having completed an MBO in March 2008, just six months after the credit crunch had started, business was going exceptionally well. We’d experienced year-on-year double-digit growth, collected 16 wins at the PM Society Digital Awards in 3 years and continued to develop a number of industry firsts. At the heart of our success was an exceptionally talented multi-disciplinary team that combined insight, with creativity and innovation. A team that would be at the forefront of our thoughts, every step of the way.

Through sustained growth & success, we saw three opportunities;

  • We were a young agency with brilliant ideas and passion, but we were a young agency that could benefit from a global partner. We needed global experience and sophistication to transform raw talent into global communication experts
  • Inside and outside of healthcare, consolidation is an increasing trend. As a boutique agency it can be seen as a threat or opportunity. We saw this as an opportunity to combine our intimate service with a global footprint
  • We’re based in Manchester, which is brilliant for creative & digital talent. However, in global communications it can be viewed as a province and whilst this perception is changing, before Havas we were being overlooked for the best global briefs

We’ve always grown our business through referrals, recommendations and repeat business. Through experience & intuition we know how to run an agency, we know how to build teams & deliver results, we know our business. But a merger is not about today, it is about tomorrow. Suitors have a passing curiosity in where you have come from, they have a fascination in where you are going. Having previously been focused on the here & now, at the outset of the process we became smarter, more considered, strategic – by simple proximity to potential global partners we were setting out our long-term ambition, designing a roadmap and creating an infrastructure to deliver sustained success.

Following our deal with Havas we have;

Our vision & ideas, originally inspired through the merger process are now becoming reality as a result of the support, infrastructure & expertise that we can now harness.

Having committed to the process & having defined our vision, we engaged with a number of networks. As a result of our success, we had already been approached by nearly all of the global communication networks –  now on our terms, in our time, the courtship could begin. I first met Donna Murphy & Doug Burcin (Global CEOs of Havas Health) in 2011, they were brilliant, the perfect combination of drive & consideration. Someone that I wanted to both work with and learn from. Alongside them was Ed Stapor, with an absolute passion for us and for Havas. Ed was driven by people & relationships, as were we.

As the journey unfolded we met a number of brilliant & respected leaders from across the major networks. Every interaction was another opportunity to learn, engage and shape our plans – they were all worthwhile. Whilst similar in their achievements & proposition, it quickly became apparent that there were significant differences in their approach. I believe that Havas made their decision based on the people & our ideas, the others focused more on numbers & forecast.

Beyond the chemistry that would ultimately shape our decision, Havas also talked more about digital, more about social, more about the future. They didn’t just want to buy the answer, they wanted to help create it. It wasn’t just about our insight, our ideas, our technology, it was about shared expertise, shared resource, a shared vision. It was about creating something unique. It was about creating a global group that would shape & define digital communications in healthcare – HAVAS LYNX.

It has been a fantastic start. We have enjoyed the honeymoon period, it is new, exciting and fun. There will always be highs & lows, it’s a relationship and we are all passionate. However by following our instinct & choosing people over profit, I know that we’ll have an ally when times are tough and an advocate when moving forward.

Part II, Agreeing the finer details

Part III, Business as usual

Part IV, A year in & the lessons I learnt

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eDetail Aid Apathy, Inevitable without Innovation?

eDetailing; Maximising the opportunity, by David Hunt

You have a stunning eDetail aid! It’s compelling, engaging, memorable. It addresses customer needs & it absolutely helps the representative. It has won awards & everyone LOVES IT!! Odd then, that the usage is declining. It’s not been used by the field and your customers have lost interest. It’s being left in the bag, tucked-up alongside last year’s leave piece.

As an industry we have become lazy. Apple did our job for us. With the launch of the iPad we could not fail. The device itself captured attention, implored the field to use our sales material & engaged the customer. But now what? Now the novelty has worn off, where do we go next? We can’t just sit & wait for the next Technology Push – we need to re-imagine, re-invent & re-define the detail aid. We need to be creative, innovative and smart. Finally, we need to really use the power of the hardware. Rather than a glorified PowerPoint, embellished with animation, we need to create a truly immersive experience.

iPad
Succeeding in a saturated market

It’s not easy. How many apps really deliver an experience beyond a website? How many sectors have successfully gone beyond the obvious migration? We are not alone in simply changing platform, rather than changing the experience. However the trend is changing, smart people are understanding the real opportunity & maximising the iPad. The lag is not uncommon, it takes game developers years to harness the power of the latest Play Station. But to maintain customer engagement & a competitive advantage they are committed to innovation. They are determined to master the technology at their disposal. We need to do the same. Now is our time to innovate, go beyond conventions and maximise the opportunity at our finger tips.

The future will be defined by ideas & not software;

  1. Social CLM
    Blending the value, credibility and authority of peer-to-peer endorsement with the relevant, tailored stories of closed-loop marketing. It is the promise of social media, within a safe environment.
  2. Active participation
    We strive for engagement, knowing the importance to message retention. Yet, we worry about a HCP interacting with the device, controlling the flow, taking an interest? It is a customer-centric approach at its finest, we need to re-design the interaction and maximise the opportunity.
  3. Agile story-telling
    The stories we tell are founded in a traditional approach that pre-dates the digital revolution. We can deliver our stories, but to make a difference we must be believed. To be believed we must earn trust. To earn trust we must engage and respond, telling the customer’s story and not our own. 

Has the iPad killed innovation in healthcare communications? Or, has it created the platform to drive innovation? I believe the latter, but only with the necessary ideas, insight and commitment to beat the technology.

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An Agency’s Ultimate Priority – Experience, Their Customers & Their Customers’ Customer

Experience; Why it is everything, by David Hunt

For my wife’s Birthday we stayed at the Sanderson, in London. I had heard of its reputation, and the location was great. It was expensive, but I wanted the trip to be special. A month later we travelled back down to London, and without hesitation booked the Sanderson again. It was that good. Equally, I’ve stayed in a number of budget hotels and the experience has been just that.

Distinctive design
Distinctive design

As a business you must define your proposition and price point, you must then honour that commitment in everything you do, both in service & deliverable. Every detail of my stay at the Sanderson was considered; from the fresh fruit & water awaiting our return from a night out, through to every member of staff knowing our names & preferences. I am sure that there are exceptions, mistakes and the occasional frustrated client, we are human after all. However, I am also confident that the energy, courtesy and passion of the staff will ensure that the majority of experiences are exceptional.

When I selected the Sanderson I understood their rates. I recognised that it would be a premium experience, with an appropriate cost. As an agency, should we expect the same of our clients? Are they looking for an exceptional service, or something simply adequate? The Sanderson would not have expected me to challenge them with the rates of the local economy hotel, but equally I would not accept an economy service from the Sanderson.

If I book a flight with Virgin, I know it will be more expensive than the low-cost alternative but whilst both will get me to my destination, I know that it will be a better experience with Virgin. If a client briefs an agency on a website in the majority of instances the cost will be an indicator of quality, both in the experience with the agency and in the ultimate experience of their customers. No doubt both websites will function, but the superior expertise, insight and time associated with the premium offer, should shine through in the final solution and the experience of the users.

“Just because it is more expensive, doesn’t mean it is better!?!” A strange point of view, not one I would share with the Sanderson, but for completeness – with higher cost comes the opportunity to include more talented staff and motivate their performance. With higher cost comes more experienced personnel that understand your business and can discuss your opportunities. With higher cost more time to craft a solution around the user and deliver a premium experience. 

I was under little doubt that the staff at the Sanderson were experienced & expert, they were motivated & passionate, they took pride in their work & were rewarded for their endeavour.