Why Alliance Investments decided to work with MadeByShape

It's great to hear about case studies, final projects, website launches - but we wanted to understand why Alliance Investments decided to choose MadeByShape as their new digital partner. So we interviewed Jordan Stachini, Head of Marketing at Alliance and asked several questions.

What were the core reasons of needing a new website?

• Our current site was built before the brand guidelines had been established or a brand identify established separate from the wider group
• It is also outdated and built in WordPress which is really hard to maintain
• Too much of a focus is placed on one part of the business and doesn’t portray the scale and size of the company or breadth of expertise
• As the business has grown we have also had a requirement for the website to act as a central hub for all online enquiries with the ability to track where the original enquiry has come from (e.g. PPC or a third party email marketing campaign)

How long have you been searching for a digital partner to work with?

I joined the business in December 2018, and promised to deliver the board a new website over the summer months. I began my search in mid-May 2019 and appointed Shape in the June. We kicked off start of July.

How many agencies did you consider for this project?

We considered 3 agencies.

Your offices are based in Manchester, Were the digital agencies you communicated with all based in Manchester?

• No – MadeByShape are based just outside of Manchester obviously
• Another Manchester city centre agency, who I had previous dealings with
• Another digital agency based in Brierfield, recommended through a colleague

Did you have Face to Face meetings with them all?

Yes – I don’t trust anyone who I’ve not looked in the eye.

How did you find out about MadeByShape?

I just did a Google search for ‘Website agency Manchester’ and you guys ranked #1 organically.

Why did you initially include MadeByShape on your list of agencies you'd like to work with?

I liked your website and the user journey. I also needed a digital agency that could not only deliver a website, but could also act as an extension of my in-house team post go live – and look after all of the hosting and technical SEO side of things, the same way a developer or in-house SEO expert would. I needed an agency that understood the commercial value that the new website had to drive. I also really liked what I read on the culture tab of the website – from the off you seemed to be people orientated, which is how I like to work.

Can you offer any advice on this process you went through for other brands out there looking to engage in a digital brief?

• Do your homework
• Know what you want
• Know what you like and don’t like – and share that for reference
• Don’t get sucked in by flashy city centre agencies (or their price tags)
• Have a clear idea as to what you want to achieve and the structure you envisage – Andy might end up ripping it apart but you will have a really clear starting point for the project and a mutual understanding of what the end goal looks like.
• Take the time to meet with people, if the chemistry isn't right - would you want to work with them?

What were your first impressions of meeting Andy and the MadeByShape studio?

‘Oh great… another hipster creative who looks about 12’ …. Joke… he well looks his age ;)

My first meeting was with you, Andy. Really friendly and welcoming – you had obviously spent time looking over the brief I had put together and challenged me on my thinking. There was no bullshit from the off, it was apparent that you had an unfailing belief in your team’s ability to deliver but not in a way that was blowing smoke up anyone’s arse. Jason and Andy (Co-Founders) are obviously grafters from everything they have achieved at their age – I was just really impressed and liked Andy as a person – I knew the website project would be in good hands and you would see me right.

MadeByShape presented a proposal for the project, how did this differ to other agencies?

It was very clear and again no bullshit – it was very obvious what everything cost and what was necessary and what were nice to haves, future considerations.

You decided to work with MadeByShape, but what were the core reasons why you came to that decision?

• I just got a good vibe when I was in the MadeByShape design studio
• I trust Andy’s judgement and knowledge implicitly
• I knew I was going to be dealing with straight laced no bullshit people – which is refreshing and something I have bags of time for
  

Since starting the project, how has communication between with your project manager at MadeByShape?

10/10.

If you went back in time, would you decide to go with MadeByShape?

Yes, definitely.