Featured Customer: mmd

Please introduce yourself to our audience – who are you, and what do you do?

I’m Gregor, Managing Director of mmd. Essentially, we offer two services: we create, develop, and manage WordPress websites, and we craft and execute digital marketing strategies for our clients.

Basically we make sure your website is generating lots of really good quality leads to keep your sales team and directors happy!

What does mmd specialise in? Do you serve any particular sectors?

We focus solely on WordPress for technology needs because it’s well-known, reliable, and flexible.

Clients like it, and it can be customised to be as straightforward or complex as needed.

We don’t limit ourselves to any specific industry. The insights we gain from marketing in one area can often be transferred to another, leading to great results.

This approach broadens our experience, which we can then leverage for the benefit of all our clients.

What is the secret of your success?

Being responsive and flexible.  A lot of our clients have joined us after running into problems with their last agency.

The issue usually boils down to not feeling valued or heard.

I can’t tell you how many times clients have been pleasantly shocked by how fast we get things done.

We’ve been in that spot, waiting for an answer and getting nothing but silence, so we make it a point to get back to our clients quickly.

In terms of digital marketing campaigns, we maintain a grounded approach.

We avoid making grandiose promises and hold regular meetings with clients to assess our progress towards agreed campaign goals.

We set clear expectations, acknowledging that not every single thing we try will be successful and we’re honest about the outcomes they can anticipate.

What do you love about what you do, and do you have a favourite project that you have worked on?

It’s difficult to answer this question without it sounding like a thinly-veiled marketing pitch but I like it when we do things for clients and they’re genuinely excited or happy about the outcome – big or small.

It can be when a client has seen some really good leads come in after the launch of a marketing campaign or it can be when we’ve solved a simple problem that was holding them up.

But when I get an email saying they really appreciate something we’ve done then that makes me happy!

And to answer the second part of your question with another answer that sounds like a thinly-veiled marketing pitch, my favourite projects are ones where we’ve made a big difference.

For one client we got them on page 1 for over 50 high value search terms, increased their number of visitors by over 140% and most importantly increased the quality of enquiries and number of enquiries by 231%.

Those are the sorts of projects I enjoy – when we can make a big difference to a client!

What are some of the challenges that mmd is facing, and how are you tackling them?

WordPress is constantly changing and evolving (for the better, in my opinion) so it can be a challenge to keep on top of that.

Getting the timing right on when to embrace some of these new developments can be tricky.

For example, Gutenberg has been a great addition to the toolset but it has taken some time to get it into a condition that I’m happy for clients to work with it (and for us to invest resource in developing with it).

On the marketing side, Google is constantly changing its ranking algorithm which can lead to positive and negative knock-on effects with search rankings. 

This could be an issue if a client sees an unexpected change in their rankings but because we have regular client review meetings then we can explain what’s coming and how it might affect them.

Regular communication with clients around digital marketing campaigns is one of the things that’s really important and which gets overlooked far too often!

The other challenge related to Google – particularly with older websites – is keeping on top of Core Web Vitals and PageSpeed scores now that it’s such an important ranking factor.  Good quality hosting is important here!

How do you use 20i’s Reseller Hosting? Do other members of your team make use of it too?

We don’t do anything particularly revolutionary with it, we just know that it’s a great hosting platform and it’s a great place to host client websites. 

For us, performance and reliability are key, and that’s where 20i shines.

Equally vital is the quality of support; we’ve dealt with many hosting services prior to working with 20i that fell short in this area and it’s good to know that when issues arise you’ll get prompt, expert support.

mmd have been with 20i for quite some time now. What made you stick with us?

You just give a really slick, high-quality service at a sensible price point and have done so consistently.

I don’t think anybody wants to move from a hosting provider but it’s so stressful if you can’t rely on them. 

So when you find a provider that does it well and that you trust then you’re going to stay with them!

What does the future hold for you and mmd?

More of the same really! The variety in our work keeps us engaged and excited. With WordPress and Google constantly updating, there’s always something new to learn.

Plus, with tools like AI evolving at the pace it currently is then there are lots of new tools we can use with clients to give them an edge.  So we’ll just keep doing what we do!

What advice or wisdom would you like to share with other web designers/marketing professionals?

There’s lots of advice out there and lots of people telling you how best to run your business or agency but what works for some people won’t necessarily work for you.

It’s good to consider advice from different sources, but it’s also important to have the confidence to set aside the ‘experts’ opinions and rely on your own judgment.

Where can people find you and get in touch?

We’re at www.mmdweb.co.uk, you can email us at info@mmdweb.co.uk or you can call me for a chat at 0118 380 0131.