177 | UK Enterprise Awards 2022 Jun22724 Investing in digital may seem, to some businesses, to be an added expense, however improving the customer experience is a revenue stream that is built on repeat business, conversions, recommendations, and customer loyalty. We find out more from Michael Salmon as his firm, The Digital Age, is recognised as expert in its field in the UK Enterprise Awards 2022. The Digital Age (TDA) is a creative digital agency based in Edinburgh, Scotland, that helps brands succeed in The Digital Age by providing a arrange of services, including strategy and consultancy; user experience; design and development (websites, apps, e-commerce, extranet); content design and development; digital marketing (advertising, SEO, PPC etc.); analytics and insights; and social media management. The firm enjoys a diverse client portfolio which straddles, amongst others, FMCG, engineering, property, law, sports, whisky, technology, and the charitable sectors. As an agency partner, TDA works with small to medium enterprise organisations (and a few FTSE 100s) to balance their business objectives with customer needs, operating an offering of creativity, technology, and marketing effectiveness. “At TDA, we view digital through the lenses of creativity, science and technology and this leads to excellence in digital experience and communication,” enthuses Founder Michael Salmon, who set up the agency in 2016. “We strive for excellence and our technical expertise has been accredited by Modx and the UK Government Most Innovative Digital Marketing Agency – Scotland digital marketplace. And we have long been acknowledged for excellence in creativity and effectiveness by various industry bodies.” Michael has more than 15 years’ worth of industry experience of working on domestic and international projects, therefore his experience plays a huge part in the firm’s success. From its establishment nearly seven years ago, TDA has navigated a competitive agency environment, a global pandemic, and homeschooling, all to build an agile agency employing 13 people and working with the some of the biggest names in the UK industry – no small feat! “Experience tells us that the best practices come from collaboration, not a sales pitch,” Michael continues. “It is this approach that has seen us partner with clients in Engineering (The Weir Group and Babcock LGE), in FMCG (Princes and Symington’s) and in Law (Brodies LLP), to mention a few notable names.” Digital has long been a buzz word in marketing and business circles. However, Michael tells us that many businesses and brands chose to think about digital as channels, rather than an approach to business. “Recent trends have seen a shift to customer centric services and communications, rather than a focus on channel,” he elaborates. The first step to this customer centricity for TDA is to map the customer journey - this is, quite literally, a map of the route a customer takes from the time they first encounter a brand, to the time they make a purchase, and Michael tells us a little more about just how vital it can be to a company to understand this journey. “Unlike the more rigid, linear marketing funnel, the customer journey can be (and usually is) meandering and circuitous. A customer journey tracks the individual touchpoints a lead encounters before making a purchase. Every interaction – for example, visiting your website or opening a marketing email – is a touchpoint.” Given these complex touchpoints, it is important that TDA devises a service that serves and communicates with customers at each point they encounter the brand. In this way, the agency can focus firstly on the needs of the consumer and, secondly, balance this with its clients’ business objectives. Being based in Scotland, TDA has the benefits of the UK’s skilled workforce, good education system and growing sense of entrepreneurship, and enjoys strong relationships with several universities and colleges to identify new talent that is suited to the business and fits in with its internal culture of being creative, effective, and technically adept. “We are a champion for diversity and inclusion,” states Michael. “TDA is proud to have fostered an inclusive and diverse workforce, with 50% of our staff self-identifying as being part of the LGBTQ+ community. We are also multinational, with employees from eight different countries.” Now, as it enters its seventh year of operation, TDA has been recognised in the UK Enterprise Awards 2022 and bestowed with the prestigious title of Most Innovative Digital Marketing Agency in Scotland, and Michael is now humbly looking forward to a bright future. “We are optimistic about the times ahead both for our clients and ourselves. Our singular vision is a creative agency with digital at its heart; an agency suited to the digital age and, whilst we will continue to mentor and develop our people, we will also remember that we are only as good as our last project.” Contact: Michael Salmon Company: The Digital Age Web Address: www.thedigitalage.co.uk
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