Overview
It is estimated that 7 out of 10 businesses that could be claiming Research & Development (R&D) Tax Relief are not doing so. THIS R&D work with businesses across a range of industries to change this statistic, working within HMRCs framework and guidelines. To ensure they were able to reach as many businesses as possible, THIS R&D sought the expertise of ITRM’s Web Design and Development Team to build a more user friendly, interactive website and brand which better promotes their services.
Challenge
THIS R&D had been using a simple one-page website providing basic information online. Due to its structure, the ability to optimise the website to be easily found in Google search results was challenging and its basic design and functionality limited their ability to communicate their services with eligible businesses. THIS R&D wanted to improve their online identity to enable them to reach those many businesses who are eligible, but are not claiming R&D tax relief. To support this, they also required a brand refresh which reflected their company values and create a great first impression with prospective customers.
THIS R&D contacted ITRM in 2020, in the height of the Pandemic which meant ITRM were unable to meet and conduct fact finding meetings and project planning sessions within the usual approach. ITRM had quickly adapted to remote working and were able to maintain a great customer experience throughout the project scope and delivery for THIS R&D, with regular communications and virtual methods. ITRM were able to understand THIS R&D’s industry, their company values, challenges and exactly what they wanted to achieve to make recommendations for further enhancements.
Together with THIS R&D’s dedicated account manager, a clear project scope was built, ensuring that the brand development and new website would help them achieve their business objectives and greatly improved the experience of all visitors and potential clients to their website.
The Solution
Our Web Design team reviewed the existing THIS R&D branding and worked collaboratively with them to create a fresh look and feel with clear brand guidelines to strengthen their brand identity. This work guided the website development part of the project.
ITRM designed and built a multipage website and bespoke CMS featuring a tax relief calculator to assess visitor eligibility to make a claim, and an interactive calendar to request a meeting without even picking up the phone. The website and branding now provides a great user experience and first impression to visitors of THIS R&D.
The Outcome
• Intuitive and user-friendly website.
• A bespoke tax relief calculator which has had proven success in enabling existing and prospective clients to understand their eligibility and value of any potential R&D claims they may have. Within two weeks of the website going live, the calculator provided a claim opportunity worth £81,000 to a client who went on to successfully complete the claim with THIS R&D for £69,000 and a further £34,000/£35,000 rebate for the next financial year.
• User friendly, bespoke CMS which enables this R&D to easily manage their website content.
• Attractive branding and guidelines to ensure consistency across all marketing platforms and stablish a strong brand identity.
