Amsterdam, 26th April, 2019

Based in Amsterdam, Ask Phill is the number one Shopify partner in the Netherlands specialising in building e-commerce experiences.

Martijn Wijsmuller founded the company in 2016, and before settling with Shopify, the agency completed a series of projects across a variety of platforms including WooCommerce, BigCommerce and, of course, Shopify.

The later is the one that won the contest when it came to creating “truly unique e-commerce experiences for our clients, helping them to increase revenue and grow their businesses,” according to Martijn. “There is also a growing trend of customers specifically requesting that their site is built using Shopify or that we relocate it onto the platform.”

Ask Phill works with a variety of customers throughout Europe – from start-ups to established companies and from recurring business models to B2B stores.

We asked Martijn what the company’s vision and mission was and without hesitation, he said, “We believe that close collaboration with our clients is paramount for continuous innovation and remaining on the front line of e-commerce evolution. Their success is born out of our motivation by innovation and openness to change.”

“It is essential to meet rapidly changing customer trends and expectations. To achieve this, we are continually exploring e-commerce best practices, challenging assumptions, benchmarking our clients and sharing our knowledge across projects.”

“For us, it’s about building beautiful e-commerce experiences, which make our clients, stand out from the competition.”

How has Ask Phill evolved since you started in 2016?

Our team has grown from 2 to 11, and we have established ourselves as the leading Shopify expert in the Netherlands, leading to interest and requests from some of the biggest players in the game.

Besides running Ask Phill, we are co-running parfumado.com and have a new subscription service in the pipeline. But the details of this are still top secret! Parfumado.com provides a perfume discovery journey. Clients can subscribe for E14.95 a month, and they will get an 8ml sample (fours squirts) of any perfume they choose on a slick small cylindrical, label-less bottle.

What is your design process?

Our design process is built upon a strong and close communication with the client. Every step of the way we refer our work back to our client to take on-board any feedback they have.

After the initial briefing, in which we discuss the overall aims and wishes of the client, we will make a visual proposal. Once this has been approved, and the client and our design team are both on the same wavelength, we will begin research about user experience and implement this into wireframe sketches.

After some time working on the wireframes we will again consult the client for comments and feedback. Once everyone is happy we will start to fill out the wireframes, usually making multiple versions with different colours etc.

How do you define your agency building process?

We are opportunistic. We believe in starting with a small MVP (minimal viable product), and from there we gradually build and test the next stages of development.

How would you describe the creative culture of your agency?

Experimental, out of the box and without boundaries – we are not afraid to try out new ideas, even if they don’t work there is always something to be learned.

How is that culture cultivated and maintained?

Our office forms the basis of creativity – it consists of many spaces, each producing a different working environment. We encourage everyone to rotate around these rooms to shake up the working routine and inspire new thoughts or ideas. Also, we are always sharing new best practices and sources of inspiration between each other, and organising parties or drinks outside of work. If you have fun, you will be inspired.

The Ask Phill team includes people from a range of backgrounds and interests. Throughout the Ask Phill journey so far we have had members of staff from the Netherlands, China, the U.K, Syria, France and more. We’ve had Sneakerheads, Technoheads, Fashionistas, Chefs, Bookworms, Design Gurus, Kanye Lovers, Kanye Haters, Dreamers, Believers and Kanye Inbetweeners all throw their ideas into the melting pot.

Every day we have lunch together, and round the table, people will share new concepts or ideas they have seen recently, and it is the vast differences in interests and sources of inspiration that keeps the creativity flowing and keeps Ask Phill feeling fresh.

It is important not to burn out and risk getting a creative block – to ensure this doesn’t happen; we will go out for a Chinese meal and drinks every month as a team, an opportunity to unwind together outside of the office and leave the pressures of work behind, and afterwards we always return feeling revitalised and re-motivated.

And the office itself is a source of creative inspiration too. It has a shop front and it is located in the oldest and most beautiful part of Amsterdam, which in itself is an inspiring place to travel to and work in every day.

What challenges do you face today in your agency / with your team?

We have a growing number of clients that are keen to start working with us, but our team is not scaling up as quickly as we would like. It’s true, there are worse challenges to face, but it’s a serious challenge nonetheless. We want to be able to help every potential client that comes to us. It is difficult to turn clients away or have to ask them to wait.

What first drew you to the creative field?

I was first drawn to the creative field because of my love for Electronic music production and cooking.

What is your personal definition of creativity?

Being able to inspire others.

To which qualities of creativity are you most sensitive?

Creativity requires an ability to think independently and not merely follow the trend – this resonates well with the team at Ask Phill.

Do you consider yourself a team player?

Yes, I like to work together with the whole team in order to get the best results.

Thanks Martijn!

By Geny Caloisi.
genyc@topinteractiveagencies.com

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