FINALLY, WE WORK HARD BECAUSE WE ALL LOVE WHAT WE DO. FOR EXAMPLE, THIS COULD MEAN THAT YOU COULD RECEIVE EMAILS FROM US AT ALL SORTS OF RANDOM TIMES OF DAY. IT’S NOT THAT WE’RE NOT ORGANISED OR THE BOSS IS A SLAVE-DRIVER – IT COULD JUST BE WE ARE REALLY PSYCHED ABOUT AN IDEA AND WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW ABOUT IT, OR THAT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE’RE NOT HOLDING OTHER PARTS OF YOUR BUSINESS UP. AND DON’T WORRY, WE KNOW HOW TO KICK BACK AND RELAX AS WELL!

Every project is bespoke; we don’t do gold, silver, bronze or even copper packages. The project is designed to suit your business and targets the results you want. There is no one-size-fits-all packaging system.

We don’t try to extract every last penny we possibly can from our clients either. We will only do the stuff we have to do, and if you don’t need to do something then we will be the first people to tell you. We want long-term relationships, not short-term financial gain!

We also focus on what is going to give you a return. We’re realistic – if we don’t provide you returns (whatever they may be), you aren’t going to want to stay just because we’re nice guys.

That said, we are here to educate. Noble as it sounds, it isn’t purely selfless; the more you know, the easier it is for us to get results.

We also play nicely with others! The most effective relationships we have with clients, other agencies and suppliers are built by working for a common goal. We know how to compromise and work together to get the best results for the entire project, not just the digital marketing part. That said, we can still fight our corner for the stuff that really matters!

We like to get to know our clients as well, and if possible (and if you want us to) we like to come and work in your space. The best way to truly understand your needs is to experience them first-hand.

When you do meet us, you’ll realise we are passionate about digital marketing and every project we work on. Your results matter just as much to us as they do to you.

The other thing you’ll notice is that we know our stuff. We haven’t just appeared from nowhere; we have years of industry experience with everyone from local businesses to large multinationals.

And it’s not just about what we have done either! It’s also about what we are planning to do. We keep up-to-date with the latest industry trends, algorithm changes and best practices to make sure that you don’t have to. As a wise man once said, you don’t buy a dog and then bark yourself!

It’s not even just about doing what everyone else is doing, either; if you just do that you can only be as good as everyone else. We like to spend time coming up with our own stuff and getting out in front of the competition. Our competitive advantage is your competitive advantage!

And if the data or tool isn’t available, we also like to indulge our geeky side and make our own.

You don’t just get the team at 31; you also get access to our network of exceptionally talented and hand-picked freelancers. We pick the very best person for each job and will personally vouch for each and every one of our suppliers.

This doesn’t mean we are outsourcing on the cheap though! In fact, far from it. We work hard to find the very best copywriters for your niche, along with developers and graphic designers, to help achieve great results for our campaigns. We want to make sure everything we produce is created by an expert in their field!

This doesn’t mean that we’re delegating responsibility though. We may use other resources, but at the end of the day, if in the highly unlikely event they don’t deliver or you’re not happy (which has yet to come up), we take full responsibility for all work produced.

And that goes for everything we do. Digital marketing is not an exact science and results can never be guaranteed. But the one thing we do guarantee is that if we mess up or things don’t turn out as expected, we will be the ones holding our hands up and letting you know why and working hard to resolve it. We certainly won’t go quiet or try to hide stuff.

As we are based in Oxford, we also want to be part of our local community. We love to get to know other locally-based businesses. Being local means that we can always pop in and see you, and it also means we have a much better knowledge of your local area and business.

Being part of our community is only part of who 31 are! We firmly believe that a strong company culture is what defines us a business, and you’re not only buying our services but our culture too. We try our best to incorporate it into everything we do, whether it is being available for our clients when they need us or advising against something even though it would bring us more business!

We also like to try and go a bit further and help out in the community where we can. One of the clients in our list, Project Stitch, is a charity set up by a local doctor to help disabled people in Haiti. We redesigned and built their new site for them free of charge, and will be continuing to support them in any way we can (you should as well). Feel free to get in contact if you think we can help your charity.

It’s not necessarily all about the money with us either. We are happy to negotiate other deals for work as well (if possible). It would be hard to turn down a free meal every now and again or some photos for our site in return for some marketing advice!

This culture is reflected in our hiring too. Being the right fit for the team is more important than skills and experience; those can be taught whereas believing in what you’re doing can’t!

Our offices are a reflection of us as well. We are currently sharing a quirky studio. We work alongside a bunch of entrepreneurs from related industries on a daily basis, meaning that we pick up on all sorts of new skills and trends we can use to improve our own services. This fits well with our bespoke, value-led service beliefs.

Just because our office is quirky, it doesn’t mean we don’t have some awesome tech in it. We have invested in the best possible tools to make sure we are as efficient as possible (and partly as we also love shiny stuff!). We don’t want to be held back by technology!

Bespoke doesn’t mean expensive though! We can design a project or campaign to fit any budget, big or small, and we treat everyone the same whatever their level of spend.

You get to know us too. We’ve never liked playing Chinese whispers, so we don’t hide behind account managers or assistants. When you want to talk to us, you get our direct lines, emails or even social media accounts (we are tech people after all).

Speaking of documents, we get to the point. We want to give you the actions not the theory. That is unless you ask us to; if you need something for your boss, someone else or just to have something to wave round the office, we will happily go into as much detail as you want.

We believe our time is better spent working with you, your designers, developers or PR team. You will get a lot more value from a face-to-face meeting than a 70-page document. So as much as we can, we like to get together.

But we don’t just rely on automated tools to do our jobs. They only provide data. We then use our experience to interpret that and use it to your advantage.

We don’t write documents for the sake of it. Any document we produce has a purpose.

As with any professional, we have tools of the trade and we know the right ones to use and when. So you not only get us, but also the very best technology available.

One of the main differences about us is that we aren’t based in London. Which is not to say we don’t like it there. We will happily work there and turn up for meetings there (or anywhere else for that matter); it just means that we’re not paying a small fortune in rent. This means that we can provide the best possible services at the best possible rate for our clients. Plus, as we are based by the train station, it is probably faster for us to get to some places in London than local agencies can anyway, so you get the best of both worlds.