Berlin-based digital agency Mobiteam‘s Founder, Marcel Sobieski told us about their company’s journey, approach to business and insights from the industry.
Mobiteam is a creative Web Design Agency from Berlin. Specialized on creating High-End, Modern Websites & Online Shops at real prices.
We talked about their business approach, strategies and journey.
Q1: What motivated you to start a company in the first place? How did you get inspired to shape your career within the digital marketing industry?
I think we should be honest with ourselves and without hypocrisy say that business. To be good in this business you have to deliver outstanding quality, a lot of extra mile to your clients. New touches both in design, marketing strategy and coding. Strong communication with the client, to be empathic with their thoughts and needs. After all these years I can say that we are good at it.
Good business results come along with good payout and professional appreciation. And these are the two important factors that come hand in hand:
- Making money
- High appreciation from your clients
Mobiteam is specialized in Web Design, WordPress and Web Development in Berlin, for eCommerce, Corporate and Personal high-quality websites. Our clients get websites that sell, attract and obtain market and customer’s respect. Mobiteam operates since 2013 has 12 professionals, 3 own start-ups and 2 exits to US and UK companies in 2017.
Q2: Which challenges did you face during your journey? How did you overcome them?
Many and from all the angles. From competitors, from scam clients, from technology changes, design trends, SEO changes, high operational costs, etc. Solving all these issues takes place exactly like anything else in this life – one step at a time. No one closes open issues all at once. You take one, analyse the situation, try to find a solution, apply and see the result.
I’m not able to give a general solution for that, but my team is indubitably a key factor in solving all these issues. The guys we have in the team are since many years together and despite their different point of view at many things, they are homogenous when it comes to solving a common problem Mobiteam is facing, no matter the topic. We are lucky from this standpoint of view.
Q3: When scrolling down Mobiteam’s website, we see various brands you’ve worked with such as In Interiors, a creative network Heiknonaut, and even a Hookah brand called Burn. How do you collaborate with such clients and what benefit do you serve each other?
That is correct. You know, as a professional in your field, you can’t refuse the communication with any of your potential clients. However, there are several very important criteria we keep in mind before accepting cooperation.
We want to make sure the project they need has a real impact on the market and society. We make sure they are not bringing any harm to the environment or people around. It should be legal and have a good faith approach.
Another important detail is our professional capability to deliver exactly what the client needs. Once we commit to a project – we are 100% sure we can deliver that and even more. We will not take a project that is beyond our technical expertise, and that is normal. As a gynaecologist, you can’t start fixing someone’s teeth, even though you are both doctors.
And the last, but not least – the income. We do our best to have the client satisfied and grow is business or presence online. And doing so, we want the same for ourselves. There must be a pleasant, mutual benefit from each cooperation. And the same for the risks, we will split the risks with our clients too. And that gives a priceless feeling for all of them.
Q4: In a few words, could you describe an ideal web development process at Mobiteam?
As one of the Best Web Design Agency in Berlin Mobiteam has a pretty straightforward approach and workflow. Our clients know that I am a fan of the in-person meeting. It helps from many points of view:
- You shake hands
- You get to know each other better
- We start a new relationship
- We feel each other
- Underline things we both consider important
- At the end of the day, it’s a personal and not virtual connection
Some of our clients don’t know how their end project should look like, or what functionality it requires. They rely a lot on our expertise and consulting. We prepare the RFP, project description, exact functionalities, pros and cons, competition research, etc. After several calls, emails or meetings, they will approve the final version and we are good to start the project.
Once we start it – the 1st phase is the design. Victor, our Head of Design Dept will prepare 2 different layouts. This is the part where we need to communicate more with the client. After the feedback loop and design approval, we move to the development. Here Mircea, our CTO will take over the project with his team. At this stage, the client is free from us and should watch the calendar for the launch day. He is needed at the delivery and acceptance phase.
After the project is live, we are offering on-demand support and maintenance.
Dan, our Head of Marketing and always happy to work with our clients when everything is ready and to start popularizing their new websites. Thru organic, content-driven, social, viral, free and paid channels.
Other clients are more prepared and share with us all the documentation so that we just straight to phase 1. The rest is the same. A lot of communication, feedback and adjustment.
We also have a ticketing system on www.mobiteam.de where our clients are adding their ticket whenever they have one. Within 1 hour, someone from the team will take it over and get back either with a solution or some clarification questions.
Q5: What are some useful digital marketing tools that help you and your team accomplish your goals every day?
These tools are always changing. Some become obsolete, some better. Hotjar, SEMrush, all Google’s services, Elastic Mail and many others. These are the ones that I see now opened in my browser’s tabs.
Q6: Which publications and online resources would you like to recommend to digital marketing professionals?
Good question. I also ask my colleagues about new good resources. As everyone is unique, so are his interest in particular. For instance, I am always reading Spark, Business Insider, RBK, vc.ru, Mashable, TJournal, BBC Business. These resources are always in my RSS feed and their news format is exactly what I need.
Q7: As a mobile developer, what are your thoughts and opinions about mobile domination in the digital world and how do you expect it to develop in the future?
They say mobile is the future for many years. That is correct. However, no-one yet refused to use the PC. They will go hand-in-hand for a long time, in my opinion. We research and use a lot the phones, but final decisions are still mostly done from the PC.
But from the business perspective – we must all be adapted 100% for mobile phones. You might have a splendid desktop website, but what’s the point, if your mobile version is weak? Your potential clients will most probably first give you a visit from their phones or tablets. And if it is of poor quality, high loading time, not responsive – they will quit and you will lose money on your customer acquisition in the best case, or, a client, in the worst.
To me, it should be hand-in-hand.
Q8: We’ve read that on your LinkedIn profile that you’ve built 4 successful start-ups so far. What tips would you offer to entrepreneurs running a new start-up?
I want to add that from 4, only 2 were big, which we made exits with. The other two are RIP projects. At this very moment, we work on 2 new projects, besides the Custom Web Design and Development services in Berlin and Europe.
If all goes according to our plans, we should have them both live in the Q1 2020.
As for the advice – to work a lot. To work and again work. Second – to search for your luck. Sadly, it will never hit you unless you search for it, go for it. The more you try and knock on the doors (metaphorically speaking), the more chances of success you have.
It is easy to say – “never give up”. But in reality, it is much difficult. Your financial resources are most of the time-limited. So are your emotions and believe in what you do. But it depends a lot on your team or partner. They can motivate and push you to still continue. And this is my 3rd advise – the team. They will do on your behalf the things you can’t and vice-versa. Because you all have the same goal. Is it money, fame or social impact.
In the end, I invite our readers to give us a visit at www.mobiteam.de and see what we do. We are open to give a free quote to anyone who wants to start their web project. Just fill in the form and we will get back to you with more details.
Q9: How does being a DAN member contribute to your business?
Our mistake was that we did not track anything until now, for this reason, can’t give an exact appreciation. The only data we know is from Analytics. However, I have a pleasant and warm relationship with you guys and feel very comfortable with your help and service. For this reason, I am not considering to terminate our relationship anytime soon.
At the end of 2019, we will have a little more data and then, we can return to this topic based on numbers as well. But so far so good. Thank you for that.
Thank you for the nice interviews, guys. Always a pleasure talking with you.
About Mobiteam
Mobiteam is a creative Web Design Agency from Berlin. Specialized on creating High-End, Modern Websites & Online Shops at real prices. Working with ✓ WordPress ✓ E-Commerce
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