Our mission to make 'Everybody Smile More' isn't easy, so we have values that reflect our high levels of ambition. These five key motivations keep us focused, and act as our 'true North' when making decisions for our customers and business.
Our five values are:
But what does this mean in practice? And how do we apply it to client work as well as internal customs and culture?
At ESM Inbound we strive to ensure that we can be counted on. After all, there’s no point outsourcing your marketing to an agency that you can’t rely on. Dependability is about delivering what you’ve promised or been asked for in the specified timeframe. And if it can't be done, it's about being honest and communicating setbacks so they can be rectified quickly.
Our work is delivered on time and is of high quality. In addition, we make sure that our appraisals and project-scoping discussions are honest and pragmatic so that our clients’ expectations are managed, and that briefs are trustworthy and reliable.
Our aim is to take parts of your day-to-day life that cause friction, and make them frictionless, as well as to add skills to your business that you might not currently have. Do do that well, we have to be dependable.
Our team takes ownership of their work. This means being fully responsible and accountable for projects in their entirety, rather than being tunnel-visioned on individual tasks. Just because we are a cross-country team does not mean we are a siloed team!
Ownership at ESM Inbound materialises itself in our project-management systems and processes. If you look at our Teamwork Projects, there is a clear structure of responsibility, from start to finish.
What's more, we want to take ownership of tasks: completing work 'for you, not without you' is one of our mantras. We delight in removing obstacles for you, so you can focus on the things that matter.
Whether it’s project scoping, website building, campaign creating or data reporting, we obsess over the details.
But more so, we don’t just do what our clients ask, we drill down to what they need from a project or piece of work. For example, a client might ask that we automate an existing process. So the MarTech department will create the workflow and ensures that its specifications meet the brief. But it doesn’t stop there.
We ask them what they want out of a project. We’ll look at any other workflows or processes in place, check how existing workflows could be impacted by the new one, and ensure we’re not duplicating an existing function.
Accuracy is doing the right thing, the right way, at the right time. By taking the time to ask the right questions, we aspire for accuracy in all our endeavours.
Our fourth value is clarity: we aim to always communicate clearly.
Our emails are easily understood and what we are asking clients to do can be seen at a glance.
Our meetings are productive and only happen if we have a goal and agenda in place. Timelines are easily found and frequently communicated, and project progress is recorded and accessible by all key players.
It means sending a video when text will confuse things. It means getting on a call to walk a client through a problem, rather than sending them yet another email.
Our data visualisation and reporting are designed with specific stakeholders in mind. We provide customers with comprehensive Qwilr documents and project outlines to avoid confusion and ensure they know exactly what to expect from us.
We couldn’t seriously say our mission is 'Everybody Smile More' if we didn’t value Joy.
We make sure to celebrate the wins that happen every day for our customers – an increase in traffic, leads or customers; amazing feedback from a successful project; a webinar that was a hit with attendees – the list goes on. Our job is to bring our customers joy and if we aren't delivering on that, we have to set it right.
One way in which ESM encourages joy in the workplace is by taking time during our morning briefings - which include the directors - each week to discuss our ‘professional and personal highlights’. This allows the wider team to share in our professional successes and hear about the progress of projects that they haven’t worked on.
Personal highlights also contribute towards team spirit - this is especially important for a fully remote team scattered across the globe. It’s a space for the team to share the important things happening in their lives: weddings, dogs, successful baking, or just a really weekend good lie-in.
More broadly, we make sure we work on projects that excite us, that allow us to flex our existing skills and push us to learn more; from complex API integrations to designing fresh engaging websites and traffic-driving content offers.
Without core values and a mission statement, who is your business? How do you communicate your workplace values and morals to customers? How do you demonstrate them in interactions with prospects, as well as long-term customers? We invite you to re-consider your values, define them and if you aren't already, shout about them from the rooftops!
ESM Inbound is a UK-based marketing consultancy offering audits, reports & campaigns.
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