SiteManager
2019/10/08 13:55:39

These two brothers combine graphic design, photography and web development in one full-service agency.

Alexander Hoogewijs

Elias and Andreas Van Esbroeck are two ambitious digital natives working in Belgium. Last May they decided to take a leap and start their own digital marketing agency Two Impress. We talked to Elias about their company, their challenges and their ambitions for the future.

What can you tell us about your company?

Two Impress is a marketing agency that I started together with my twin brother. I’m in charge of web design and development, and my brother does photography, graphic design, video, etc. We combine all these different services in one marketing agency.

Our biggest strength is that we work together very well. I try to keep track of the latest digital trends, and my brother focuses on telling the story of our clients.

It all started a few years back when we organized a small music festival. We created a website, the graphical work, and we did the marketing. When we looked to the competition, we noticed that there were many organisations with limited knowledge of marketing. They tried their best, but often failed marketing their events the right way. The festival was the first time my brother and I learned what it meant to build a brand and make it successful.

What we do now is pass that knowledge to our clients.

So you are doing more than just webdesign: you build brands?

When someone launches a website, they expect something in return. Some are only interested in creating an online presence, but often the client expects more: a return on its investment. They are focused on results that can be measured: an increase in sales, bookings, reservations, etc.

We offer clients what they need to create an online presence for their brand that can deliver those results. We do that by combining different aspects of digital marketing: a website, video marketing, social media campaigns, search engine optimization, etc. We really feel this combination works.

Web designer Elias doing research
Elias: "Often the client expects more of a website: a return on its investment"

When a client first comes to you, how do you get started?

First we do some research. When they already have a website we’ll look into it and see what could be improved. Is it structured well? Do they use titles? How does it perform in search engines? Once we finish our research we work on a plan and develop a strategy to deliver better results.

And you offer a long-term service to the client?

Yes, I want to offer a great service to our clients. Whether they have problems with the website, hosting, email, they can always count on us. We find this customer centric approach very important.

After launching a new website we keep track of how the website is doing, what the challenges are and how we can solve them. It’s possible that after a couple of months we need to change something to the website or add a new page or feature. It’s a living process where we continually make change.

What are your challenges and ambitions for the future?

We started in May of 2018. Our plan is to continue to grow the coming year and hire our first employee in the future. In the future we really want to focus on offering a complete digital marketing service, so we’ll need to start hiring experts.

Right now it’s still just me and my brother, so we really need to work efficiently to remain profitable.

I used to work with freelance developers, but that was a real burden. When a client asked for some changes to the website, it took forever to get it done. It slowed down the entire process and ultimately hurt the profitability of my business.

I was looking for an accessible CMS that could meet the needs of our clients. That’s difficult with other platforms like Squarespace or Wix, because they’re still quite limited. WordPress on the other hand is more difficult to set up and maintain.

Building a hotel website in SiteManager
"Working with a freelance developer slowed down the entire process and ultimately hurt my profitability."

So you ended up working with SiteManager?

Before I started my own business I was working as a project manager. I heard about SiteManager but didn’t have the time time to look into it.

When we started TwoImpress I had to make a choice. I’d either have to improve my skills so I could start working with WordPress, or I’d have to find a freelance developer to do the work for me.

But then I found a gig on a freelance marketplace. They were looking for a designer that could build a website using SiteManager. Immediately I was thrilled with the assignment: It gave me a good reason to check out the platform and learn how it works.

Any regrets?

Not at all. As an entrepreneur it gives me a sense of peace knowing that the team behind SiteManager is always available to help in case I have any questions or problems. This is something you don’t have with other systems. You can’t just pick up the phone and call WordPress.

The customer support is really great. It’s the kind of service I want to offer my clients. Customers need to feel that they can count on the company they’re working with. I feel great and I want my clients to feel great too

I love the fact that SiteManager provides education in the form of online webinars and tutorials. As an entrepreneur, it’s not always easy to keep up with the latest trends and innovations. Your webinars make it easy for me to keep up-to-speed in an efficient way.

Photo's made by Andreas Van Esbroeck (Two Impress)

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