Midlands Enterprise Awards 2021

51 | Midlands Enterprise Awards 2021 Created by a husband-and-wife team, Design in the Shires is a website design and marketing agency like no other. Renowned for putting its clients first, we speak to one half of the dynamic duo about the benefits of building strong, long-lasting relationships. Design in the Shires is a creative design agency specialising in website design, graphic design and digital marketing, and offers a suite of scalable B2B services to businesses and organisations that can make use of its skills. With a mission to provide a trustworthy and accessible route into improving the digital marketing strategies, branding, and website performance of its clients, Design in the Shires prides itself on being true to its core values of creativity, connection, honesty, happiness, sharing knowledge and transparency in everything it undertakes. “We do our work in a different kind of way to others, our approach is relaxed and stress-free, allowing creativity and productivity to flourish,” explains Founder, Jess Williams. “We specialise in offering our clients a complete digital and print design and marketing service. We can cover all of their needs therefore removing the requirement to work with several agencies, and the resulting headache this often causes. We can work as a complete design and marketing team for our clients, or we are happy to work alongside the in-house marketing teams that may already be in place.” It’s not simply the range of services offered that sets the firm aside from competitors, it is also renowned for its scalable options and is very happy to work within a client’s budget. “We work with our clients to establish what is the most cost-effective way that we can meet their needs,” elaborates Jess. “We aren’t here to simply make money, we are here to do something that we are passionate about and to ensure our clients benefit from our skills and knowledge.” But it is the firm’s relationships that it develops with clients that is its most important USP. Most Innovative Digital Marketing Agency - Worcestershire “We genuinely get to know the businesses and people that we work with. By understanding their businesses and industry we can make sure the products and services we are offering will effectively meet their needs, and most importantly provide people with the results that they want.” Covid took its toll on most of the businesses in the UK, however the design and marketing industry was one of the lucky sectors that benefited from the pandemic. With people being much more interested in making sure their digital assets are up to date, easily communicating online and visiting online platforms, Design in the Shires discovered that companies were much readier to invest in their digital marketing strategies and was advising them that there is a lot that can be done organically, before they have to invest in expensive paid campaigns. “We are also finding that businesses are taking their branding and brand image much more seriously, and are more open to having conversations about their brand vision and mission. This is because it has become clear that ensuring you are talking the language of your customer base is critically important in securing their business before they move on to a competitor. As a business, we launched several marketing campaigns to encourage people to invest in their online assets.” The UK is a hub for innovation and technological development and Design in the Shires is proud to be based in the UK’s ‘cyber valley’ of Malvern. Surrounded by businesses who are pushing the boundaries with their inventions and software developments, Jess tells us that the company has been lucky enough to work with several local firms who have provided exciting and different projects. Of course, being located between the two major cities of Birmingham and Bristol also presents many opportunities to connect with corporate clients, working both nationally and internationally. Having recently won the coveted accolade of Most Innovative Digital Marketing Agency - Worcestershire, it seems that it’s very much onwards and upwards for Design in the Shires. Having doubled the team over the last year, the firm’s main aim is to bed in processes and protocols that suit a larger team. It is also intending on moving to a larger office space, to include a meeting room to host clients more comfortably. “We are very excited for the future,” Jess enthuses. “We are very much looking forward to continuing to nurture the relationships we have with our current clients, as well as starting some exciting new ones. We are looking to work with more corporate clients for whom we can offer our complete services, which we feel makes a real difference to the results that are achievable for businesses.” Contact: Jess Williams Company: Design in the Shires Web Address: www.designintheshires.co.uk Jul21108