Q&As
DF: We too have faced this problem.
Within our sector, designers and
developers are notoriously the hardest
to recruit. The problem is the number of
agencies versus a relatively small pool
of credible talent. However, this will
go full circle and there will be a period
when you can recruit the talent on the
basis that many agencies have gambled
on securing projects to sustain the team
they have assembled. I have seen this
circle so many times in various guises
and unfortunately luck plays a huge part.
What we have done to negate this
issue is to tap into the network of the
local university and introduce work
placements to second year students
with a guaranteed job at the end of their
degree. We repeat this process year-
on-year, which provides a constant
stream of talent. Secondly, don’t forget
to promote your brand and ethos outside
the agency. Make sure the business
features on the digital landscape in
news stories, award shortlists, online
journals and being active and visible on
social media. Become an agency where
designers and developers would love to
work and you should see an increase in
CVs without advertising roles.
Business
NOT SO TENDER
I’m in my first year of running my own
digital agency. Some other agency owners
(a little boastfully) have told me that they
rarely need to look for new business,
because they get so much repeat business
and word of mouth. As a rule of thumb, do
you think that’s what all studios should
be aiming for and, if so, what sort of
timescale is reasonable to expect that to
naturally happen?
JJ, Manchester, UK
DF: I recognise your concerns and the
comments you have heard are true
of ourselves at Fishtank. It does not
matter how great you think you are, in
my experience tendering is a waste of
time. Our success rate has been poor
to the point we now won’t take part in
any tendering opportunities. We now
strictly focus our energy on customers
who require our services. Equally
don’t sell yourself short and stay true
to the premise of why you created the
business. When starting Fishtank 10
years ago, there was a gap in the market
and we were able to bridge the void
between designers and developers when
creating engaging and functional digital
platforms. Consequently, we created
some sterling websites and associated
marketing strategies. The word spread
and referrals came very quickly. There
is no time frame on this. Be the best you
can be when the opportunity presents
itself and the next project will follow.How difficult do you find
it to convince clients that
going with a local agency,
rather than a London one,
is in their best interests?
Rowena Carey, WolverhamptonAfter digital agency Fishtank was founded 10 years ago, word quickly spread of the work it did and it no longer needs to take
part in tendering opportunities
3 SIMPLE STEPS
Global thinking
DF: Locality should not be
considered an issue. A digital
agency should aim to be working on a
global landscape; after all, a website is
created for the world to see.Time zone neutrality
At Fishtank we have a nice blend of
UK and international clients and
with modern technology we negate any
issues of time zones using applications
like Slack, Asana, BugHerd or Google.Point of difference
We are based in rural West
Yorkshire but this works in our
favour. The general association with
London agencies is that regal brands with
obscene budgets often run campaigns
over an extended period. But not all
projects can be campaigns and these
agencies are not always interested in
singular projects due to their various
financial commitments.