Non-Zero Digital in the Press

An article about Non-Zero is was published in the September 2009 business supplement of the Oxford Times. The article is below.

Making Internet marketing and development more affordable and effective is the vision of a new Oxford company Non Zero Digital, a collaboration of Oxfordshire web specialists, is a partnership in the true sense of the word.

Each member brings expertise from a different discipline to provide a complete web development service for customers who may have been discouraged by the higher costs of larger agencies.

The venture's core trio web consultant Michael Howard, copywriter and editor Miss Shirelyand web developerBob use an increasingly popular IT business model, known as clustering, to serve the individual needs of small enterprises without breaking the bank.

Drawing on experience from the world's of marketing, publishing and web development, they aim to undercut the bigger fish who charge up to £1,000 a day.

Entrepreneurs are realising the advantages of the Internet but to many, creating a website and unleashing its power for marketing can seem daunting.

For novices, grappling with concepts such as 'search engine optimisation', 'usability' and' e mail marketing' can be mind boggling enough without then deciding on a strategy to implement them.

This is where Non Zero comes in.

Mr Smith said: 'We believe there is a gap in the market and that by filling it, we can help small businesses expand into Internet commerce and improve revenue streams.

“We want even the meekest businesses to tool up with all the firepower that Internet technology offers today marketing weapons that have tended to be the preserve of larger organisations."

Non Zero's collective skills add up to the complete Internet strategy professional graphic design, copywriting and web marketing advice.

The company's 'cluster structure' allows greater flexibility, with clients able to select and pay for only the elements they need.

“A business may want the full package, and we are happy to provide that and set up a website from scratch," said Mr Smith.

“But many firms already have an Internet presence and may just want to add new elements to their existing strategy, such as e mail marketing.

“Or they may need advice on the options for getting their product to a wider audience, in which case, we evaluate their situation and spell out long term and short term options.

“Ours is a flexible approach that allows people to pick and mix.”

Writer Ms Medina says the new venture practises what it preaches in its own business dealings and on its website at www.nonzerodigital.co.uk

She said: “Our structure avoids the expensive overheads of a central office and we work together on line instead. It helps keep expenses down even more.”

In unlocking the complexities of Internet technology, Non Zero's approach is to keep things simple.

“We want customers to see web technology as a tool to aid communication, as we do,” Mr Smith added. “Effective communication is the key to business success.”

He insists business communication on the Internet is different from traditional means of interfacing with customers.

In his view, it must draw on a variety of online elements: the design, or look and feel of a website, and the ease with which people can use it to find what they are after.

Web developerBob said: “Equally important is the ease with which the site owner can keep the content up to date. This is achieved by the bits people don't see, the underlying technology

“We've all been frustrated from time to time by unwieldy and out of date websites.”

And, of course, words and the way they are used can be dynamite.

“So often, websites are let down by the way they are written. They may look slick, but you often find sloppy language and spelling mistakes, or passages lifted straight out of company brochures. It all gets in the way of communication and projects the wrong image,” said Ms Medina.

The trio's innovative use of technology opens up new services such as e mail marketing and automates existing tasks in a way firms may never have considered.

Early customers range from a poet to a furniture retailer, and from an accountant to an extreme sports company

Typically, they are small businesses (accountants) which have a colossal amount to gain from a sophisticated Internet presence.

The name Non Zero sums it up. It's a term drawn from mathematics which describes a scenario where the best outcome is achieved through collaboration.

“It adds up to a win win situation all round,”.

E: enquiry@nonzerodigital.co.uk T: +44 (0)1845 554 2512

All new for 2009