Marcus Richards
We are a full-service web design agency. Our services include website design; e-commerce; digital marketing/search engine optimisation; and ongoing website support and maintenance.
Based in the heart of the UK in Birmingham, and with offices in downtown Toronto, Canada, we are able to think globally and act locally with a combination of local, national, and international clients.
Globalgraphics Web Design’s mission is to provide high quality online solutions that enable each client to unlock the vast business potential of a great website.
Tell us about yourself?
I attended one of the UK’s leading universities for industrial design, the University of Newcastle, so I’ve always had a design-oriented background.
The Internet hadn’t really come into itself back then, otherwise I’m sure I would have studied something specifically related to web-design.
Once qualified, I set up Globalgraphics as a graphics design company. Soon after I saw the opportunities arising for web design, so started offering that service too.
The business grew so quickly with both services in demand. Now 25 years down the line I have two successful web design companies in different countries, both offering a graphic design service as well!
My business partner, Richard, came from an IT training and change management role, before sidestepping over to web design. We have different skill sets, which has been really useful in helping us to move both the UK and Canada companies forward.
If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
Don’t panic – you’ll be fine! It was the start of the pandemic, and we were wondering how it would affect our UK and Canada businesses.
There wasn’t any need to worry as our business operations already accommodated remote working, and all shared technology that we used was cloud based. We actually saw our best years of sales in both countries!
What problem does your business solve?
We aim to provide clients with website solutions that can help streamline business operations. Using our expert knowledge, we also advise clients on how improvements can be made on their websites to better engage customers and increase sales conversions.
For example, we can build an ecommerce website for businesses that can be integrated and communicate with third party accountancy systems. Using a secure login on the website, their customers can then login and view invoices and financial statements.
This greatly helps their customers and cuts down the work of those working in the accountancy department. Another good example is when we build a website where customers can easily view stock levels online.
Whilst this may sound simple, for a wholesale business it can make a huge difference.
Showing current stock levels helps cut down on repetitive phone calls from customers enquiring about this information. It makes the customer purchasing process easier, plus means less work for the business and its employees.
We also offer digital marketing solutions that help push our client’s websites into the limelight.
Our expertise with search-engine-optimisation means that we know the most effective methods to direct web traffic towards our client’s websites. Most importantly, we know the right and legitimate ways of doing this that will help maintain long term results.
Also, just because a client’s web design project may be finished, it doesn’t mean that our relationship ends there. For all web design clients, we provide 12 month’s free technical support, to ensure that things go smoothly for them with their new websites.
Many of our clients continue to pay for our ongoing technical support after that period too. Providing technical advice and support is a big part of our daily work. Technology is always changing, and our customers know that we’re here for them if anything needs to change with their websites.
What is the inspiration behind your business?
As mentioned before, I am from a design background, which means I love being hands on and being creative. Web design has allowed me to fulfil this need as I work daily with clients to understand their design requirements and help them achieve the look and feel they want for their websites.
Our company’s mission is to help each, and every client make the very best of their website investment; to get their website to work for their business and help them achieve online success.
We are very lucky to have a mega-talented team at Globalgraphics, and we are all more than happy to share our expert advice with clients.
What is your magic sauce?
I think our magic sauce is a combination of our customer focused approach, our extensive experience in the industry, our fantastic team and our reputation.
There are plenty of web design companies out there that will promise you the world, take your money and then deliver you with a website that’s not fit for purpose. Good luck trying to get them to fix it too! We have had many customers come to us over the years who have experienced just that.
We always take time to listen to the individual requirements of each client. It’s important to note that our website solutions are often entirely dependent on each client too. No two clients are the same, and trying to fit everyone into the same shoebox won’t work.
When you contact Globalgraphics about your web design project you’ll speak to either myself or my colleague Jon; both of us are industry veterans. We know how passionate our clients are about their businesses, and we both really just want to help them find the best possible web solutions.
Thanks to our experience, we have come to realise that often what a client thinks they want is not necessarily what they need. During the conception phase of a project, we try to get ‘under the skin’ of each client to define exactly what they are looking for.
Sometimes we may need to put forward alternative solutions that a client may not have thought of. That can be difficult if someone’s mind is set on a certain direction, but it’s all down to communication and backing up your solution with knowledge and proof.
When it comes to our team, I don’t think you could get a better one! All of our team members have been with us for well over a decade.
Not only does this mean they’re highly experienced and knowledgeable, but it also means that our clients have been able to work with the same people over a number of years. We believe that this has massively helped us to establish the loyal client base we are fortunate enough to have today.
Our success using a customer-based approach to business, is reflected in the long-lasting relationships we have developed with our clients, some of which have spanned for over 20 years.
In fact, repeat business from existing customers is a huge chunk of our sales revenue. We continue to feel privileged that customers keep coming back to us with their online requirements.
What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?
Firstly, to keep growing our customer base in the UK and Canada, and maintain the customer bases we already have. The latter is extremely important to us as a business, as once clients have confidence in you, it can generate a substantial revenue stream.
Loyal customers will return to you again and again with their online requirements, and we are always there for them.
Five years in the web design industry can see many changes! It’s a competitive world out there, and new companies are joining the ranks to make things even harder. That’s where maintaining our great customer service and top-quality work is vital.
We have also got to keep ahead of the game with the constant evolution of technologies and systems. We are lucky enough to have excellent team members who are proactive in researching new ways of working.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?
One of the biggest challenges we faced was establishing Globalgraphics Web Design in Toronto. There was already a heap of competition out there, but we knew that North America hadn’t lived up to its potential and seemed to lag behind the UK in the quality of web design being offered.
We weren’t really sure how people would react to our English accents and seeing examples of UK website designs too! But we needn’t have worried – the business grew very, very quickly. People just liked us and what we offered.
There was a point, a few years in, when we did need to change course in Canada. We were only offering our own bespoke content management system for all types of websites, and customers were beginning to become savvier with what they wanted their websites built in.
So, we quickly moved to accommodate this demand by offering WordPress, WooCommerce and Magento solutions too. We followed suit with Globalgraphics UK too.
We are really proud of growing the UK and Canada businesses to what they are now. Even more so Canada, as it was done in half the time and boasts some amazing calibre of clients – major companies across Canada, local governments, hospitals and universities. We are delighted of course!
How do people get involved/buy into your vision?
It all starts by checking out our UK or Canada websites to see what services we offer, the amazing examples of our web design work, and the clients we work with.
If you think we’re the type of business you want to work with, please call and discuss your project with us. We’ll suggest the best available solutions for your website and then provide you with a detailed quote.
If you feel as if your business could benefit from our web design solutions, we’d encourage you to check us out on our website at: https://www.globalgraphics.co.uk
If you’re looking for something more specific, you can find links to our specific services down below:
– Web-Design: https://www.globalgraphics.co.uk/web-design-birmingham.html
– E-Commerce: https://www.globalgraphics.co.uk/ecommerce-design-birmingham.html
– Digital Marketing: https://www.globalgraphics.co.uk/seo-birmingham.html
– Support: https://www.globalgraphics.co.uk/website-support-solutions.html
