This week, we’ve handed the blog over to Strut Co-founders Chris and Ed, who have shared how their business has adapted and grown, and what exciting plans they have for the future. Read more from the dynamic duo in this two-part blog!
Overcoming Challenges
We’ve perhaps been fortunate that the brand and digital space has been less impacted than other sectors in recent years, indeed we’ve been presented with a number of opportunities.
So much of our daily activity has moved online that almost every business has had to look at their website and digital channels again and consider how they can work harder for them.
Brand has also become very important to many businesses, as they have recognised the value a strong and differentiated brand can bring during these challenging times.
On a practical basis, with the growth of online meetings and the explosion in collaborative tools, we are able to work very effectively remotely, and a number of our team now work largely from home.
The other shift we have benefitted from is that location is no longer viewed as a major issue when clients are selecting a new agency. This has allowed us to access new markets and also recruit from a much wider talent pool.
We’ve lots of exciting plans in the pipeline but rolling out our newly developed CORE web framework is top of that list. We believe that every business is unique, and that one size does not fit all. Therefore, we don’t use templated solutions. However, this can lead to quite high costs compared to our competitors, leading to lost opportunities. This has led to the development of CORE which has allowed us to dramatically reduce the development time and therefore costs on web projects, whilst maintaining our high levels of quality.
We can now offer secure, cutting-edge websites, that are elegantly designed and give a great degree of flexibility. However, we still ensure these websites maintain a premium feel and that accessibility and web standards are met.
Highland Relationships
We already work with some great Highland brands. However, our client base is UK wide, and we want to do more to raise our profile locally and let Chamber members know about the services that we can offer. Being featured as member of the week looks to be an excellent platform to do this as it gives great exposure on a number of channels.
We’ve attended a number of Chamber events recently and had useful conversations at every one. As well as meeting new faces we’ve also been resurrecting old relationships, like for example with David at Story + Stage, whilst making new connections, like Neil and Simon at Clan Alchemy. Both are great businesses, offering complimentary services to our own and we look forward to seeing how we can enhance each other’s offering.
Our top tip would be to actively engage with the Chamber team so they can help advise you how maximise your membership. We were members of the Chamber a few years ago and let our membership lapse, which on reflection was the wrong decision as we just weren’t speaking to the Chamber team and making the most of the opportunities on offer.
Whilst the practical benefits like the HR and business support services are great, I think the biggest value so far has been to feel like we are part of the local business community. It’s sometimes easy to get the sense that you are the poor relation being based in the Highlands, but being a member of the Chamber has reminded us what a thriving business community we have here, with some fantastic companies, and we should all be proud to be part of that.
What the future holds…
Well, they say the best laid plans and all that, but if all goes as we hope then we are looking to continue delivering for our existing customers whilst at the same time growing our client base and taking on new projects.
Of course, the Highlands will form a large part of that strategy, but we are also excited about our new partnership with Cortex, who are a sports technology and marketing provider based in London. We have worked with them recently to successfully deliver the Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) website project and their software is used by some of the biggest names in global sport. We are confident that this partnership will help open up some new opportunities in the sports sector, so watch this space.
What our clients have to say:
“From the beginning of our digital journey, Strut have proved to be a dedicated and reliable partner. Their expertise and innovative approach have been invaluable in delivering a platform that gives us strong foundations for online growth and we look forward to further collaboration and enhancing the PWR brand together.” Paul Morgan – Communications Manager, Premiership Women’s Rugby
“We are honestly delighted with the work you’ve done and it’s been a pleasure dealing with you and the team…..a breath of fresh air!” Morna Eadie – Director, Tailormade Moves
“From the very start Strut have been very understanding of our needs for the NC5000 website, whatever challenge we have presented to them they have found a solution. The relationship we have developed with Strut over the years has been very positive and I would have no doubt at all in recommending them to others.” Craig Mills – former general Manager NC500 (now Chief Exec of Cairngorms Business Partnership – also a Strut client)
Thank you to Chris, Ed, and the Strut team for featuring as our Member of the Week!