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Root Digital Agency | Website

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In this interview with Untold Crafts, Juan Muñoz, the founder of Root Digital Agency, shares his perspective on what it takes to create a successful digital presence in today's competitive landscape. With a strong background in web development and a passion for data analytics, Muñoz discusses the importance of a customer-centric approach and how his agency differentiates itself by building long-term client relationships based on trust and delivering tailored solutions.

Could you tell us a little about yourself and your experience?

Juan Muñoz: I sometimes describe myself as a designer, architect, and marketer trapped inside a web developer's body. I remember sketching my first house plans at my father's architecture studio when I was 4 or 5 years old. Some years later, I started reading a lot about buildings by Souto de Moura, Álvaro Siza, and Alvar Aalto. I soon began learning how to sketch and plan with software. Aalto sparked my interest in furniture, and later, Bauhaus drew me to industrial design. Things escalated during my teenage years, and instead of playing video games, I started binge learning almost anything related to design, which led me to web design. From there, I moved to front-end web development (the visual part of it) and finally, back-end development.

In terms of experience, I started working as a web developer for a software development company in 2007, and three years later, I decided to start my own business/agency.

There were four of us in the new agency, and we designed and developed websites for big companies and media brands. For instance, we planned, designed, and developed all the pillar sites for one of the most important newspapers in Spain. I became somewhat of an authority in the industry and ended up teaching employees of other publishing companies and working as a lecturer at a master's degree program.

In 2016, personal reasons made me want to learn English and discover the world beyond Spanish borders, so I left the agency in my former partner's hands, who continued it until 2020. It's been dormant ever since, and now I'm re-launching the brand with a more international perspective and a completely renewed approach.

I sometimes describe myself as a designer, architect, and marketer trapped inside a web developer's body.

What inspired you to create Root, and what sets it apart from other agencies?

J.M: The main reason I decided to create Root was my own ethics. I noticed that many companies were taking advantage of their clients' lack of digital knowledge, and I wasn't comfortable working for companies like that. Besides, my own reputation could've been damaged. After not so much thinking, I decided to take action, and Root was born.

Nowadays, the market is completely different than it was years ago. It's harder to reach good positions on SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages), and users have more options. If we don't do something right, someone else will do it for us, and our clients will choose them. This means that we require more specialization and optimization of every single piece of our work, focusing on SEO (search engine optimization), UX (user experience), and CRO (conversion rate optimization) to increase online sales and customer engagement.

I'm a terrible salesman, and I would lie if I said, "No one can do it as well as us" or made similar statements. The truth is that our clients have hundreds of options. The only thing that I can affirm sets us apart from other agencies is the trust that clients give us. It's on us to discover what our clients actually need, how to resolve it, do it right, and do it on time.

For instance, two weeks ago, a potential client asked me for some help with something that's not my speciality, an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) integration. Their provider was the perfect example of the classic: overcharging for everything and doing very little. I gave my client some hints about how to manage the project so it was up and running soon. This simple advice has led to a new contract with them as a digital consultant and a new project that covers the entire digital strategy and web development of his wife's business. In terms of business, there's nothing more satisfying than someone relying on you for their own and their partner's business.

What makes a great digital shop?

J.M: If I had to answer with just one thing, I would say "data analytics." Let me explain it and create a quick example for a business in fashion:

One of the reasons why digital has evolved so quickly is the possibility to collect data from users, analyze it, and improve different parts of the business. In other words, we can gather important metrics and insights from virtually every aspect of our digital presence. By leveraging this data to inform strategic optimizations across our online platforms, we can effectively drive sales growth and deepen customer relationships.

Let's imagine we own a fashion brand. We have a physical shop that generates good revenue, and client satisfaction is high. However, we can't find a way to bring that success to our e-commerce. I don't want to generalize or enumerate a huge list of reasons why an online shop wouldn't work, but we can always ask a couple of questions that make complete sense:

• Where are we, compared to the market?
• Are we doing it better or worse than our competitors?

This is where data analytics comes into play.

If I had to answer with just one thing, I would say "data analytics".

What elements tend to be overlooked?

J.M: Following our imaginary case, let's imagine that our website has enough traffic, but we still don't sell that many products.

Let's observe just one KPI to discover those elements that need improvements. In this case, the KPI is "add to cart."

I know that the average "add to cart" ratio in fashion is 10.7%, meaning that 10-11 in 100 people who visit a product add it to the cart.

Considering that, we have two options:

1. Our percentage is equal to or higher than the average: This would mean our product pages meet customers' expectations, so we should focus on further steps in the checkout process, such as hidden shipping costs, return policy, payment gateways, mandatory registration, or technical errors during the checkout.
2. Our percentage is lower than the average: In this case, we should focus on other elements such as site speed, product descriptions, descriptive size charts, quality of images, stock levels, prices, customer reviews, technical errors in the add to cart functionality, etc.

As I said, this is just one KPI, but it gives us so much information about how to sell more items in our online shop. There are also more KPIs like engagement based on time spent, scroll depth, number of clicks on images, whether the user shared the product, added it to bookmarks, etc.

How can Root make a difference and help brands?

J.M:  I would say our main strength is the flexibility of a small team combined with extensive experience.

In my case, I started working for a digital agency back in 2007, and I haven't stopped learning ever since. I've planned and developed projects for a wide range of sectors and different company sizes. Beyond the technical side of my role, I really enjoy digging into different business models, which helps me understand the full picture before planning a digital strategy.

I'd say the main difference with other agencies lies in the long-term relationships with clients. We don't try to sell specific products or projects because every case is different, and generic solutions rarely cover all clients' needs. Instead, we analyze the current position of our client vs. competitors, set targets together, and plan the strategy to achieve them as quickly as possible using the available resources. Our thinking is that long-term and happy clients normally lead to more projects and bring more clients. We all win.

I'd say the main difference with other agencies lies in the long-term relationships with clients. We don't try to sell specific products or projects because every case is different, and generic solutions rarely cover all clients' needs.

To learn more about how Root can help your business thrive through effective digital consulting, visit their website or connect with Juan Muñoz on LinkedIn.

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