Creating a non-traditional working environment has been key to a decade of success for Clicky founder Oli Yeates, but this may not suit all customers.
The Cheshire-based digital agency celebrated its ten-year anniversary at the end of July with a party at Chester Zoo.
When he started the agency, Yeates decided that culture would be part of the foundations of the business, something which has meant giving up on a more traditional model.
鈥淚 thought if I could create something that was fun and that people would want to be part of then I鈥檇 get the loyalty that I was going to need,鈥� he told 老九品茶Cloud.
鈥淭hen you鈥檝e just got to accept that if you鈥檙e going to create an enjoyable atmosphere it can鈥檛 be a traditional working environment where everyone鈥檚 got their heads down. Some clients love that and it may not suit others.
鈥淲hen clients come on board we get them into the office and involve them so we become an extension of their business.
鈥淚t suits almost all of our clients but I鈥檓 sure there are agencies out there that would find the way we work quite odd.鈥�
Yeates says that a lot of Clicky鈥檚 clients initially spot them from a cultural perspective, which then sparks interest in working with them.
However this doesn鈥檛 necessarily mean that all the agency鈥檚 clients have a similar culture.
鈥淥ften that鈥檚 quite a welcome thing from their perspective,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey get a different type of working environment here and it鈥檚 more based around creativity and ideas which is usually what they鈥檙e coming to us for anyway.鈥�
The other key to Clicky鈥檚 success over the last ten years, says Yeates, has 鈥� somewhat paradoxically 鈥� been to take a more cautious approach.
鈥淲e鈥檙e really careful about our aims,鈥� he said. 鈥淟ots of clients work with us for a long time and it鈥檚 about not promising the earth and achieving deliverable things which match their objectives.
鈥淲e only really exist because of our clients so if we don鈥檛 maintain relationships with them the agency doesn鈥檛 exist either.鈥�
This has also been a crucial part of the company鈥檚 success internally, and one of the reasons Yeates believes the company has lasted so long in a market which has seen a huge influx of agencies.
鈥淚鈥檝e always been pretty carful about聽jobs and the people I support in the company and my own personal security,鈥� he said.
鈥淚鈥檓 fairly risk averse even now. When I hire a new person or open a new office I endlessly calculate whether we can afford it.鈥�
He has also found that making the team feel part of the success creates an entrepreneurial spirit.
鈥淚f we have a good month everyone knows about it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a very organic business. We haven鈥檛 borrowed money or got investors so we don鈥檛 have anyone to please other than those in the company itself.
鈥淚t creates a willingness for everyone to want to push and pull together and achieve the right things.鈥�
Having a team that pulls together is at the heart of a company which prides itself on offering customers the full package.
This 鈥榟olistic approach鈥� is going to be vital as agencies set themselves apart in a crowded industry, says Yeates.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got around 43 in the company at the moment and we can do pretty much everything from building a site to designing a marketing campaign to an SEO campaign,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 hate the term 鈥榦ne-stop shop鈥�, but lots of our clients use us for more than one thing.鈥�