For local and established businesses ready to grow
We help businesses get found by the right people, turn more opportunities into clients, and build the strategy, content and marketing assets that support sustainable growth.
Free 30-minute call • No obligation
How we help
Choose the route that best fits what you need now. Every route starts with the same principle: understand the problem before choosing the tactic.
Local Growth
Get easier to find, easier to choose and easier to contact. We improve the parts of your online presence that influence whether local customers discover you and get in touch.
Trades, professional services, clinics, salons, teachers, consultants and other locally focused businesses.
Explore Local Growth →90-Day Growth Accelerator
Find what is holding growth back, decide what matters most and spend the next 90 days fixing the priorities most likely to make a difference.
Founder-led businesses, consultancies, agencies and established companies.
Explore the Accelerator →Project Services
Commission focused strategic, analytical, content or business communication support without joining a larger programme.
Presentations, reports, messaging, customer journey reviews, strategy, campaign planning and sales collateral.
Explore Project Services →20+ years
Experience across agencies, FMCG, financial services and owner-led businesses.
£0 → £1.1m
Creating the commercial foundation, client base and growth engine from scratch.
65+ markets
Leading complex commercial growth and multidisciplinary delivery at international scale.
+28%
Growing a major retail account while improving delivery and reducing management cost.
+110% organic traffic
Digital transformation across proposition, website, SEO, content and customer journeys.
Business owner
Applying the same thinking to small businesses where every decision, hour and pound matters.
The problem
Most businesses are not short of activity. They are short of a clear line between that activity and new customers. Four gaps account for much of it.
You attract visitors who were never likely to buy, while the people who need you struggle to find you.
People reach your website or profile but still cannot quickly see why you are the right option.
It reflects who the company used to be, rather than the business you have become.
SEO, content, advertising or agencies are running, but nobody can clearly connect the activity to enquiries or growth.
Our approach
Most marketing starts with a tactic. We start by understanding how your business wins customers, where you are losing them and what is most worth changing.
Is it immediately clear who you help, what you do and why someone should choose you?
Can the right people find you through Google, Maps, search and increasingly AI?
When people find you, does what they see give them enough reason to call, enquire or book?
Are your time and marketing budget going into the things most likely to produce a result?
Sometimes the answer involves your website. Sometimes it doesn't. Either way, you get a clear priority — not a longer list of marketing jobs.
Experience
Our work combines more than 20 years across marketing, sales, agency leadership, FMCG and financial services with the practical reality of building businesses ourselves.
Experience across international organisations, complex accounts and regulated financial services.
Strategy, search, acquisition, customer journeys, digital transformation and commercial growth.
We build and grow our own small digital businesses, so we understand what it means when the budget, time and decisions are your own.
Project Services
Not every challenge requires a full growth programme. VJ Digital Growth Partner also provides focused project support when you need specialist thinking, analysis, content or business communication without an ongoing commitment.
Turn information, ideas and business data into professional, persuasive presentations.
Transform research, data, notes and existing material into clear, useful business reports.
Strengthen website content, campaigns and business messaging.
See how your business compares, how prospective customers experience your brand and where opportunities may be lost.
Get clarity around priorities, audiences, messaging, channels and next steps.
Professional proposals, capability decks, brochures and other materials that communicate the value of your business clearly.
Not sure where to start?
Use our free Business Visibility Check to see how clearly your business shows up online and where the biggest opportunities may be.
A simple starting point. No marketing jargon. No obligation.
Let's talk
Tell us where the business is now and what you would like to change. If we think we can help, we'll explain what we would do next.
Free 30-minute conversation • No obligation
Who we help
Whether you need stronger local growth, a deeper strategic programme or one important project completed properly, the starting point is the same: clarity about what will make the biggest difference.
Local businesses
For businesses that depend on customers in a defined area — from trades and professional services to clinics, salons, teachers, coaches and independent local firms.
You already have a viable business and want more of the right enquiries, not just more marketing activity.
Explore Local Growth →Established businesses
For founder-led businesses, consultancies, agencies and established companies that need clarity across positioning, visibility, customer journey and conversion.
You have a track record, a team or partners, and a bigger growth problem than one isolated tactic can solve.
Explore the Accelerator →Project needs
For businesses that need a presentation, report, content, messaging, customer journey review, strategy or another clearly scoped project.
A focused brief, an agreed project fee and no requirement to join a wider programme.
Explore Project Services →You do not need to diagnose yourself. Tell us what is happening in the business and we will help you work out the most sensible starting point.
Local Growth
For established local businesses that want a stronger online presence and more of the right enquiries.
The starting point
We look at how people currently discover your business, what they see when they find it and what may be getting in the way of the next step.
When the website is part of the problem, we rebuild or improve the foundations — structure, messaging, service pages, trust, calls to action and tracking.
Improve how the business appears when nearby customers search — including Google Business Profile, local search signals, reviews, service/location content and AI-search readiness where relevant.
Keep improving the things that drive enquiries: pages, search visibility, content, Google presence, conversion and reporting — only where the work earns its place.
We only rebuild the website if the website is actually part of the problem.
Who it suits
You already have a viable business, you care about quality, and you want more of the right customers to find and choose you.
You are looking for the cheapest website available, guaranteed rankings, or a fixed pile of marketing activity with no link to business results.
Start with a conversation or run the free Visibility Check first.
90-Day Growth Accelerator
We take the time to understand your business, uncover what's holding back your visibility and growth, then work alongside you for 90 days to fix what matters most.
How it works
We look across the business, customer, positioning, market, website, visibility, search, AI readiness, content, customer journey and conversion to understand what is helping growth and what is getting in the way.
We work through the priorities most likely to make a meaningful difference, alongside you, your team and any existing partners.
Optional. If there is more worth doing, we continue on the next set of priorities rather than creating work for the sake of a retainer.
What you receive
The Deep Dive gives you a prioritised view of what to protect, what to fix and what to stop doing. The Accelerator turns that into action with clear ownership and measurable progress.
Strategic content
For businesses that need a stronger and more connected content presence, the 90-Day Growth Accelerator can include the development of a strategic content ecosystem.
We look at what content already exists, where the gaps are, what your audience needs at different stages of the customer journey and which themes your business should build authority around.
Depending on the project, this may include content audit, customer journey mapping, content pillars, website architecture, thought-leadership planning, email, social, lead-generation content, downloadable resources, content briefs, repurposing, publishing roadmap and measurement.
Content production may also be coordinated where required. Specialist copywriting, design, video or other production can be sourced and managed as part of the project and quoted separately.
Bespoke Growth Projects
Larger growth, repositioning, content ecosystem, transformation or strategic projects can be designed around the specific needs of the business.
Bespoke quotation following an initial conversation and scope review.
Investment
The Accelerator depends on the size of the business, the priorities involved and how much implementation support is required.
We start with a free 30-minute conversation. If there is a good fit, we explain the recommended scope and provide a clear price before any work begins.
Project Services
Expert support when you need one important piece of work done properly.
Focused support
Not every business needs a full growth programme. Sometimes you need one important piece of work completed — properly.
VJ Digital Growth Partner provides focused strategic, content, insight and communication projects for businesses that need experienced support without committing to a larger programme or ongoing retainer.
Bring us your data, research, existing content, business knowledge or an idea that needs developing. We can help turn it into clear strategy, useful insight and professional business assets.
Presentations & Business Communication
Professional client, sales, internal or management presentations. We structure the story, clarify the message and turn your information into a polished professional deck.
Analysis of client-supplied data, research or findings, identifying the important messages and translating them into a clear, compelling presentation.
Turn research, data, notes or existing material into a structured, professional report suitable for clients, management teams, boards or internal decision-making.
Professional proposals, capability presentations, brochures and other sales or business materials that clearly communicate the company’s offer and value.
Content & Messaging
A focused collection of content built around one campaign, topic or business objective. Scope can include website content, articles, email, social content or supporting material.
Review and improve key website pages to make the messaging clearer, more relevant, more persuasive and better aligned with the company’s objectives.
Clarify what the business does, who it serves, why customers should choose it and how that message should be communicated consistently.
Insight & Growth
A focused assessment of selected competitors across website, positioning, messaging, content and digital presence, identifying useful observations and opportunities.
Review how potential clients move from first discovering the business through to making contact or buying, with practical recommendations around clarity, friction, trust and conversion.
Analyse existing website, campaign, social or marketing data and translate it into an understandable report showing what is happening, what matters and where attention should be focused.
A focused strategy session followed by a practical written action plan outlining priorities, opportunities and recommended next steps.
Develop the structure for a campaign, including audience, messaging, channels, content requirements and recommended activity so it works as a connected whole.
Need something larger?
Larger strategic assignments, content ecosystem development and projects requiring significant research, production or specialist support are scoped individually.
Bespoke quotation following an initial discovery conversation.
Pricing
Different businesses need different levels of support. Everything is scoped and agreed before work begins.
Three ways to work together
From one focused project, to ongoing local growth, to a deeper 90-day strategic engagement. Detailed scope and pricing sit below.
01 · Focused
From £450
Presentations, reports, content, messaging, customer-journey reviews, strategy and business collateral.
Best when you need one important piece of work completed properly.
See project prices ↓02 · Growth
Projects from £750
Website & Growth Resets are typically £2,000–£5,000+. Ongoing Local Growth typically starts from £400/month.
Best for businesses that depend on local customers and want stronger visibility and enquiries.
See Local Growth prices ↓03 · Strategic
Bespoke proposal
Digital Growth Deep Dive + 90-Day Accelerator. Scope and investment are agreed after the initial discovery conversation.
Best for established businesses with a bigger growth challenge that needs diagnosis and hands-on implementation.
See Accelerator pricing ↓01 · Standalone Project Services
A practical route when you need one specific piece of strategic, analytical, content or business communication work without a wider programme.
Click any service to see what it includes.
Professional client, sales, internal or management presentations. We structure the story, clarify the message and turn your information into a polished professional deck.
Analysis of client-supplied data, research or findings, identifying the important messages and translating them into a clear, compelling presentation.
Turn research, data, notes or existing material into a structured, professional report suitable for clients, management teams, boards or internal decision-making.
Professional proposals, capability presentations, brochures and other sales or business materials that clearly communicate the company’s offer and value.
A focused collection of content built around one campaign, topic or business objective. Scope can include website content, articles, email, social content or supporting material.
Review and improve key website pages to make the messaging clearer, more relevant, more persuasive and better aligned with the company’s objectives.
Clarify what the business does, who it serves, why customers should choose it and how that message should be communicated consistently across the website and wider marketing.
A focused assessment of selected competitors across website, positioning, messaging, content and digital presence, identifying useful observations and opportunities.
Review how potential clients move from first discovering the business through to making contact or buying, with practical recommendations around clarity, friction, trust and conversion.
Analyse existing website, campaign, social or marketing data and translate it into an understandable report showing what is happening, what matters and where attention should be focused.
A focused strategy session followed by a practical written action plan outlining priorities, opportunities and recommended next steps.
Develop the structure for a campaign, including target audience, messaging, channels, content requirements and recommended activity so the campaign works as a connected whole.
Prices shown are starting prices. Final fees depend on scope, complexity, volume of material, research requirements and the number of review rounds. You will always receive an agreed project fee before work begins.
02 · Local Growth
A mid-level growth route focused on making the business easier to find, easier to choose and easier to contact.
Typically £2,000–£5,000+
For substantial work across website, messaging, local visibility and conversion. Final scope depends on what is already in place.
Typically £750–£1,500+
For a focused local visibility piece where a full website reset is not required.
Typically £400–£1,000+ / month
The level depends on how much ongoing search, content, website, conversion and reporting support is actually useful.
You do not pay for a fixed list of marketing activities you do not need. The work is agreed around the priorities that matter to your business.
03 · 90-Day Growth Accelerator
The Accelerator is the deeper strategic route for established businesses with a bigger growth challenge. Scope, timing and investment are shaped around the business and agreed before work begins.
Bespoke & Strategic Projects
Larger strategic assignments, content ecosystem development and projects requiring significant research, production or specialist support are scoped individually.
Bespoke quotation following an initial discovery conversation.
About Us
Because most businesses do not need another disconnected marketing tactic.
They need somebody who can understand the business, see the bigger picture, work out what is getting in the way and help turn the right priorities into action.
Why choose us?
A website, SEO, content, paid activity and AI are all tools.
VJ Digital Growth Partner starts with the business: who you are trying to reach, how those people find you, why they choose you, where opportunities are being lost and what is most worth fixing first.
We look at positioning, customers, visibility, conversion and commercial priorities before deciding which marketing activity has earned a place.
You work directly with the founder. The thinking does not disappear into layers of account management before it reaches the people doing the work.
VJ Digital Growth Partner is intentionally lean. When a project needs specialist expertise — whether that is SEO, content, development, design, paid media, analytics or another discipline — the right support can be brought around the work.
More traffic, more content or a prettier website only matter if they help the right people find you, choose you and take the next step.
Founder & Owner
I’m Vera Jezkova, founder and owner of VJ Digital Growth Partner.
My background spans more than 20 years across marketing, sales, commercial growth, client leadership, agencies, FMCG, international accounts and regulated financial services.
That experience has involved businesses at very different stages of growth — from launching a UK operation from zero, to growing major strategic client relationships, building complex global accounts and developing a connected digital-growth ecosystem for an established financial-planning business.
It includes building a UK operation from £0 to approximately £1.1m and more than 125 clients within three years, growing a major strategic account by 28% over two years, achieving 99% delivery accuracy while reducing management cost by 15%, and helping build a global account into an operation worth approximately £5.5m across more than 65 markets.
More recently, the focus has been increasingly digital. At Heathcote Financial Planning, that has meant bringing website, content, search, local visibility, customer journeys, conversion and AI-supported marketing into a more connected growth system, with organic traffic increasing by 110% as at September 2026.
I lead the strategy and client relationship personally. When a project requires additional specialist expertise, I bring the right people around the work.
That means clients get senior thinking throughout without paying for layers of account management or a large agency structure they do not need.
We build too
Alongside VJ Digital Growth Partner, I build and run my own small digital businesses.
It means I understand growth from both sides: advising businesses on what to do, and making the same decisions when the time, budget and commercial risk are my own.
Build Along the Way: A coaching and digital-product business built around helping people turn ideas into something real.
HelloBabyName.com: A baby-name discovery platform and live environment for testing search, customer journeys, conversion and digital commerce.
How we work
Recommendations connect back to customers, enquiries, revenue or another meaningful business objective.
Strategy should lead somewhere. We are comfortable getting into the detail and helping turn the plan into action.
Specialist support is brought into the work when it genuinely adds value rather than because an agency structure needs feeding.
No jargon standing in for an answer and no dashboards nobody opens.
Careers
We're building a network of specialists who care about useful work, strong thinking and getting stuck in.
What matters
Experience matters, but a list of job titles cannot tell us how you think, solve problems or work alongside a client when something actually needs fixing.
We want to understand what you are genuinely brilliant at, what problems you can solve, what you have learned from doing the work, and how you could help VJ and our clients.
You do not need to do everything. We would rather know the one or two things you are exceptionally good at.
We like people who ask good questions, understand the business and are willing to roll up their sleeves.
If there is a better way, say so. Good work matters more than hierarchy or protecting an idea.
We care about whether the work helped the business, not how many tasks moved across a board.
How we start
When there is a live need and a good fit, we may start with a paid initial project or short one-month engagement. It gives both sides a chance to see how we communicate, think and deliver before making a longer-term commitment.
This is about finding strong working partnerships, not collecting CVs.
Interested?
Send a short message explaining what you are genuinely good at, the type of work you want more of, how you could help VJ and our clients, and one result or piece of work you are proud of.
If useful, include a link to a short introduction video of no more than five minutes, a portfolio or a CV. Nothing polished is required — the aim is simply to understand how you think and work.
Free Business Visibility Check
Send us a few details and we’ll review how your business appears across search, trust, conversion and AI visibility. You’ll receive a short report highlighting the clearest opportunities to strengthen your visibility.
You’ll receive a short, practical report covering how easy your business is to find, understand, trust and contact — plus the areas we think are most worth looking at first.
The result
Your report will review four business-friendly areas — Get Found, Get Chosen, Get Contacted and AI Visibility — and highlight the clearest opportunities to improve how your business shows up online.
Can search engines and customers quickly understand what you do and where you do it?
Does your online presence give people enough proof and reason to trust you?
Is calling, enquiring or booking obvious and easy, especially on mobile?
Can modern search and AI systems clearly understand the business and its expertise?
Case Studies
Six stories. Different challenges. One principle: understand the problem before choosing the tactic.
A successful referral-led firm building a stronger digital route to discovery, trust and enquiry.
Heathcote Financial Planning
Read case study →Launching and growing a UK start-up operation through distributors and wholesalers.
Kalfany
Read case study →Building and managing a complex global account across more than 65 markets.
SGK / British American Tobacco
Read case study →Improving delivery, customer experience and commercial performance inside a major client relationship.
CADA Design / Aldi
Read case study →Turning a founder idea into a live, usable digital product and customer journey.
Build Along the Way
Read case study →Using a live consumer platform to test acquisition, engagement, affiliate opportunities and conversion.
HelloBabyName.com
Read case study →Start with the problem, then choose the work that is actually worth doing.
Case study — Transforming Digital Growth
Building a connected digital presence for an established financial planning firm.
A connected approach across website, content, search, local visibility, customer journeys, conversion and AI-ready search.
Heathcote Financial Planning
Visit site ↗
An established Chartered financial planning firm built on expertise, long-term relationships and referrals.
A connected digital ecosystem across website, search, content, local visibility, customer journeys and conversion.
Stronger visibility, a larger owned content asset base and +110% organic traffic as at September 2026.
Heathcote Financial Planning is an established Chartered financial planning firm with more than 15 years of experience.
The business has built a strong reputation through expertise, long-term client relationships and referrals. That referral model remains an important source of new clients, but in an increasingly digital market it cannot be the only route to growth.
People now search, compare, read and validate a business online before making contact — even when somebody they trust has already recommended it.
The opportunity was therefore to build a stronger digital route into the business alongside referrals, while retaining the trust and personal approach that had already made Heathcote Financial Planning successful.
The expertise was already there. The reputation was already there. The client relationships were already there.
What was missing was a connected digital ecosystem bringing the website, content, search visibility, local presence, reputation, customer journeys and conversion together.
The underlying website had originally been built by an external agency. The bigger opportunity was to develop what happened inside and around it so that the digital presence could work much harder for the business.
The obvious answer could have been:
“We need more traffic.”
But traffic was only part of the problem.
Prospective clients needed to be able to find Heathcote Financial Planning for the questions and services that mattered, understand the firm’s expertise, build trust and move naturally from research towards speaking to an adviser.
My role was to take ownership of the digital ecosystem around the website, including strategy, information architecture, content, search visibility, local presence, customer journeys and conversion.
The website structure was developed around clearer services, real customer questions and more useful pathways between information and financial advice.
A much wider content ecosystem was created across the Learning Hub, service pages, articles, FAQs, guides, case studies, adviser-led video and interactive tools. Much of the content strategy, structure and copy was developed directly as part of that work.
The subject matter expanded across retirement, pensions, investments, mortgages, protection, equity release, estate planning and wider financial-planning questions.
Local visibility was strengthened through Google Business Profile, reviews, reputation signals and locally relevant content.
Landing pages, lead magnets, email journeys and clearer conversion routes were developed alongside the content so that increased visibility was connected to an appropriate next step.
As search evolved, the approach expanded beyond traditional SEO into question-led content and AI visibility, making information clearer and easier for both people and search systems to understand.
The work remained commercial throughout. Search behaviour, enquiries and customer needs helped shape priorities rather than assuming that more traffic automatically meant better growth.
Organic traffic increased by 110% as at September 2026.
Heathcote Financial Planning also achieved Top 3 Google visibility in Gloucester for retirement planning and financial planning as at September 2026.
Technical SEO improved from approximately 46 to 85+, while search visibility increased from approximately 30 to 75+.
Beyond the headline numbers, the business now has a much larger digital asset base: educational content, service information, video, interactive tools, stronger local visibility, reputation content and clearer routes from research to enquiry.
Financial information cannot simply be generated and published.
Content needed to be researched, supported by appropriate sources, reviewed with financial-planning expertise and taken through the firm’s compliance process where required.
AI was used to accelerate parts of research, development and production — not as a substitute for professional judgement.
A good business does not always need its existing model replaced.
Sometimes the opportunity is to take the reputation, expertise and relationships that already work and build a stronger digital route alongside them.
That is what happened here.
Case study — Building From Zero
Turning a new market opportunity into a £1.1m operation.
Launching a UK start-up operation for a German merchandising and promotional-confectionery business.
Kalfany — earlier commercial experience
A German FMCG and promotional-confectionery company launching a UK and Irish start-up operation through wholesalers and distributors.
The route to market, distributor relationships, pricing, pipeline and white-label digital product experience were built around how customers actually sold.
The UK operation grew from £0 to approximately £1.1m within three years and more than 125 clients.
Kalfany was an established German FMCG and promotional-confectionery business launching into the UK and Irish markets.
The local operation was effectively a start-up. There was no established UK revenue base, client portfolio or proven route to market waiting to be managed.
Products were sold primarily through wholesalers and promotional-merchandise distributors, who in turn supplied branded products to corporate customers for promotions, campaigns and events.
The challenge was therefore not simply to sell products. It was to build a functioning local business around the way those distributors actually worked.
The UK operation was starting from zero.
There was a strong manufacturer and product range behind the business, but the local market, customer relationships, proposition, pipeline and sales process still had to be built.
Distributors were not simply buyers. They were part of the sales experience.
Their own customers had chosen them, so sending those customers directly into a manufacturer-led sales journey risked weakening that relationship.
The commercial and digital experience needed to make it easier for distributors to sell while allowing them to retain ownership of their customer relationship.
Responsibility for the UK launch covered market development, distributor relationships, pipeline creation, pricing, profitability and adapting the proposition to the way UK promotional-merchandise businesses actually sold.
One of the digital solutions introduced was a white-label product experience.
Products could be presented under a distributor’s own identity and branding, allowing it to show personalised confectionery to customers without unnecessarily introducing another brand into the relationship.
The technology itself was not the important part.
The important part was understanding the commercial model first and then designing the solution around it.
The UK operation grew from £0 to approximately £1.1m in revenue within three years.
The client portfolio grew to more than 125 businesses.
Technology works best when it solves the commercial problem first.
The question was never simply:
“What digital tool can we build?”
It was:
“How do we make it easier for our customer to sell?”
Case study — Leading Globally
Building a new account into a £5.5m operation across more than 65 markets.
Growing a complex global relationship across packaging, marketing delivery, imagery, animation, e-commerce and digital content.
SGK / British American Tobacco — earlier commercial experience
A newly won global SGK account for British American Tobacco, spanning packaging, marketing content and more than 65 markets.
The account was led and developed with the wider team as the operation expanded across account management, delivery, imagery, animation, e-commerce and digital content.
An operation worth approximately £5.5m supporting 65+ end markets over roughly four and a half years.
Through SGK, work was delivered for British American Tobacco on a new global account that developed into a large multidisciplinary international operation.
The relationship began around packaging and artwork but expanded considerably over time, covering design, imagery, animation, e-commerce, campaign assets and wider digital content.
The work involved global, regional and local stakeholders alongside marketing, procurement, operational and specialist delivery teams.
The challenge was not simply producing more work. It was building an operation capable of supporting increasing complexity across more than 65 markets.
The account had been won, but there was no mature operation waiting behind it.
Responsibility for managing the account sat within the team from an early stage, while the processes, commercial model and stakeholder relationships were built alongside the work itself.
Growth created complexity.
Different markets had different requirements. Marketing, procurement, operations and delivery teams all needed to work together, while specialist creative and production disciplines needed clear coordination.
The account needed to grow without losing control of quality, commercial performance or the client relationship.
The account was built and managed from its early stages, with the wider team supporting the relationship as it expanded.
Multidisciplinary capability was developed across account management, project management, artwork, quality assurance and specialist delivery.
The work extended beyond packaging into design, imagery, animation, e-commerce, CGI, campaigns and digital content for markets around the world.
As the account grew, the work increasingly involved senior client relationships, commercial planning, forecasting, scope and resource decisions, workshops, proposals and resolving complex delivery issues.
The objective was not simply to process more work.
It was to build an operation capable of supporting an increasingly complex global marketing relationship.
The account developed from no active revenue into an operation worth approximately £5.5m.
It expanded to support more than 65 end markets over approximately four and a half years.
Growth creates complexity.
More markets, more channels, more suppliers and more specialists do not automatically create a stronger business.
Sometimes the next stage of growth depends on creating clearer structure, stronger relationships and a way for different disciplines to work together as one system.
Case study — Growing at Scale
Growing a major client relationship by improving delivery first.
Strengthening client experience, delivery and multidisciplinary working before expanding the relationship.
CADA Design / Aldi — earlier commercial experience
A major retail relationship covering brand experience, large-format graphics, wayfinding, merchandising and customer-facing environments.
We improved briefing, workflows, delivery visibility and multidisciplinary coordination before expanding the relationship.
+28% account growth over two years, 99% delivery accuracy and a 15% reduction in management cost without added headcount.
At CADA Design, the work combined retail design, brand experience and the way customers navigate physical environments.
For Aldi, that included large-format graphics, external communication, signage, wayfinding, merchandising and visual elements throughout the customer journey.
Long before digital customer journeys became part of my work, many of the same principles were already relevant in physical spaces: helping people notice, understand, navigate and act.
The commercial challenge was to deliver that work consistently at scale while strengthening an already important client relationship.
Aldi was already a major strategic client.
This was therefore not a new-business challenge.
The opportunity was to strengthen an important existing relationship, improve the way the work was delivered and create the confidence for that relationship to expand.
Growth and retention were closely connected.
Before more work could credibly be won, the client needed confidence in day-to-day delivery.
The starting point was therefore not:
“How do we sell more?”
It was:
“How do we make the existing relationship work better?”
I led the client relationship at a senior level, working with a multidisciplinary team across account management, project management, design, artwork, implementation and specialist suppliers.
We got closer to the client’s operation, improved briefing, clarified workflows and created better visibility across increasingly complex programmes.
Projects could move from early concept and creative thinking through design, technical development, production and rollout.
The work also included larger store and sustainability programmes involving UK and Irish client teams, studios, production partners and specialist suppliers.
As delivery became stronger and the relationship deepened, additional project streams and services followed.
The account grew by 28% over two years.
Delivery accuracy reached 99%.
Management cost was reduced by 15% without increasing headcount.
Not every growth problem is an acquisition problem.
Sometimes the biggest opportunity is already inside the business — in existing customers, relationships, expertise, processes or activity that could work considerably harder.
Growth can start by fixing friction first.
Case study — Building a Digital Product
Taking an idea from concept to a working online product.
A founder project built to test proposition, digital-product design, customer journey and implementation.
Build Along the Way — founder project
Visit site ↗
A founder-led digital product designed to help people move from a long-held business idea to a practical test.
The concept became an interactive HTML workbook with nine guided sections, cPanel deployment, payment/access journey and supporting content.
A live digital product with a 90-day testing approach — built to prove that strategy can become something people can actually use.
Build Along the Way grew from a simple observation: many people have an idea for something they would like to create, but struggle to turn that idea into a practical first step.
The philosophy is deliberately based around testing rather than spending months trying to create a perfect business plan.
It is also one of my own testing grounds for product development, content, customer journeys, payments and digital delivery.
That means the same decisions recommended to clients have to be made when the time, budget and commercial risk are my own.
The project started with a question:
Could an idea be taken from proposition through to a functioning digital product without simply handing the entire build to a development team?
Having an idea is easy.
Turning it into something another person can discover, understand, buy and use requires a much wider set of decisions.
The product, content, technology, payments, access and customer journey all need to work together.
The first product, The Idea You Have Had Since ______, was developed as a structured digital workbook for people who have thought about creating something of their own but have not yet acted on it.
The experience was organised around nine guided sections, a 90-day testing approach and a One Page Plan developed from the user’s own answers.
Rather than producing only a static PDF, the product was developed as an interactive HTML workbook with supporting printable resources.
The wider journey included deployment and management through cPanel, payment and access, supporting content, calls to action and the practical mechanics required to turn the idea into something somebody could actually use.
AI-assisted development accelerated parts of the build, but the proposition, product decisions, customer experience and testing remained human-led.
There is deliberately no revenue or sales claim attached to this case study.
Its purpose is different.
It demonstrates the ability to take an idea beyond a strategy document and turn it into something working, usable and live.
I am not only telling other business owners to experiment, launch and learn. I have to do it myself.
Case study — Testing Digital Commerce
Using a live website to test acquisition, engagement, conversion, affiliate opportunities and upsells.
A founder project used as a real-world environment for testing how digital journeys actually perform.
HelloBabyName.com — founder project
Visit site ↗
A baby-name discovery platform with approximately 8,500 URLs, designed to encourage exploration and test real visitor behaviour.
Search, paid acquisition, internal journeys, affiliate opportunities, upsells and conversion can all be tested within one live Cloudflare environment.
A practical testing platform for understanding how acquisition, engagement and monetisation interact before applying the learning elsewhere.
HelloBabyName.com began with a simple idea: choosing a baby name should feel like discovery rather than searching a database.
Names carry stories, family connections, memories and possibilities.
The experience is therefore designed to encourage people to browse, compare, discover something unexpected and continue exploring related names and ideas.
The website has grown to approximately 8,500 URLs and is currently being used as a large live testing environment.
HelloBabyName.com provides a practical environment for exploring how people move from search or advertising into a website and what happens once they arrive.
Unlike a conventional client project, experimentation is part of its purpose.
It gives me somewhere to test digital-growth ideas with real behaviour rather than relying entirely on theory.
Building thousands of pages is not the interesting part.
The harder questions are:
Can the right audience be attracted?
Can people be encouraged to continue exploring?
Can useful offers and commercial opportunities be introduced without damaging the experience?
And what actually causes somebody to move from one stage of the journey to another?
The site has been structured around discovery and internal journeys rather than simply presenting thousands of isolated name pages.
Search visibility, paid acquisition, landing-page behaviour, messaging, internal navigation, affiliate opportunities, upsells and conversion can all be tested within the same environment.
Affiliate products are being explored as a natural part of the customer journey rather than as unrelated advertising.
The project also makes it possible to test when an additional offer is useful, where friction appears and what encourages somebody to continue engaging.
The site is built and deployed through Cloudflare, creating a practical environment in which changes can be made, tested and developed over time.
The important part is that decisions can be informed by real visitor behaviour rather than assumptions.
There is deliberately no revenue or performance claim attached at this stage.
The value is the testing environment itself: approximately 8,500 URLs, real visitors and a live platform for learning how acquisition, engagement, conversion and monetisation interact.
You form a hypothesis.
You put it in front of real people.
You measure what happens.
Then you improve it.
Insights
Written for people running established businesses, not for people running marketing departments.
Being findable is starting to mean something different. Here's what to check first.
Read →
Most conversion problems are really clarity problems in disguise.
Read →
Why a shorter list beats a longer one, every time.
Read →Insights — Visibility
Being findable is starting to mean something different. Here's what to check first.
For twenty years, being found online meant one thing: ranking on Google. You showed up in the results, people clicked through to your website, and some of them got in touch. Most marketing advice is still built around that idea.
That's changing fast. More and more, people ask a question and get an answer, not a list of links. Sometimes the answer comes from Google itself, in the AI summary at the top of the page. Sometimes it comes from ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity. Either way, a customer can now decide who to call without ever visiting your website.
Fewer people click. In the UK, around seven in ten Google searches now end without a click to anything. That was the highest rate of the six countries studied, ahead of the US, France and Germany. When Google shows an AI summary at the top of the results, people click on a result roughly half as often as when it doesn't.
People ask AI for recommendations. In one 2026 US survey, 45% of consumers said they had used ChatGPT or similar AI tools to find a local business. Google's AI Mode alone now has more than a billion monthly users. This is no longer a niche habit.
AI names very few businesses. One large study found ChatGPT recommended just 1.2% of local business locations, while around 36% appeared in Google's local map results. A search results page shows ten or more options. An AI answer might name two or three. Being on Google's first page doesn't mean you'll be in the answer.
The answer is built from what others say about you. AI tools decide who to mention by cross-checking your business details, your reviews and the other websites that mention you. Your own website is only one voice in that conversation.
The basics haven't gone away. A clear website, accurate listings and genuine reviews still matter. They just matter in more places now, and gaps that used to cost you a little now cost you more.
Your website may get fewer visitors, but the people who do arrive have often already shortlisted you. That makes the page they land on more important, not less. If it doesn't quickly explain what you do and who it's for, you lose them at the final step. We cover this in more detail in Your website isn't underperforming. Your positioning is.
You don't need to do all five this week. Start with the first check, because it shows you where you stand. If you're not sure how to choose after that, The three to five things worth doing next walks through a simple way to decide.
If your traffic has dropped, it may well not be anything you did wrong. The way people search has changed underneath everyone. So stop judging your online presence on visits alone. Watch the number and quality of your enquiries. Every few months, check whether AI tools mention you and whether what they say is accurate.
Not sure where you stand? The Digital Growth Deep Dive looks at how you show up across Google, maps and AI search, and what to fix first. Or get in touch and we'll talk through what you really need.
Insights — Positioning
Most conversion problems are really clarity problems in disguise.
When enquiries slow down, the website usually gets the blame. So the business pays for a redesign: new layout, new photos, new colours, maybe a new agency. It looks better. Everyone's pleased with it. Six months later, the enquiries look the same.
Often, the website was never the problem. It was doing exactly what it was built to do: showing a message that wasn't clear enough to begin with. A redesign with the same unclear message just makes the confusion look more expensive.
This matters because a website is the cheapest thing to change and the easiest thing to blame. Positioning is harder, because it means making a decision about who you're really for.
Long-running research from Nielsen Norman Group found that people often leave a web page within 10 to 20 seconds. To hold their attention, a page needs to make its value clear within about 10 seconds.
In that time, a visitor needs to understand three things: what you do, whether it's for them, and why they should pick you over anyone else. Good design can help people take that in faster. But no design can answer those questions if the business hasn't decided the answers.
If two or three of these sound familiar, changing the design won't fix it. The message needs work first.
Here's the difference in practice. An unclear homepage might say: "We're a full-service consultancy delivering tailored solutions to help businesses reach their potential." It's not wrong. It's just empty. It could describe thousands of firms.
A clear one might say: "We help family-owned manufacturers in the South West win bigger contracts by fixing how they bid, price and present." Now a visitor knows straight away whether it's for them. The right people lean in. The wrong people leave, which is also useful. Fewer, better enquiries are worth more than a full inbox you can't convert.
People aren't the only ones reading your website. AI tools read it too, then summarise you for customers who never visit. Businesses that describe themselves clearly and consistently, on their own site and elsewhere, are easier for AI tools to understand and recommend. A vague message gets a vague summary, or none at all. We explain this shift in What changes when customers ask AI instead of Google.
Before you touch the website, try to answer these three questions in one sentence each:
If you can't answer these simply, your website can't either. Once you can, rewrite the top of your homepage around those answers. Then show it to someone who doesn't know you and ask them to explain what you do. If they can, you're ready to think about design. If they can't, keep working on the words.
Clarity won't fix everything on its own. But it's usually the first thing to fix, because everything else depends on it. For how to decide what comes after, read The three to five things worth doing next.
The Digital Growth Deep Dive starts with your business, not your website. It looks at who you're for, what makes you the right choice and where the message is getting lost. Not sure that's what you need? Get in touch and we'll talk it through.
Insights — Strategy
Why a shorter list beats a longer one, every time.
Most businesses aren't short of ideas. They have a list. Redo the website. Start a newsletter. Post more on LinkedIn. Try some ads. Sort out SEO. Get more reviews. Make some videos. Update the brochure. Look into AI.
Every item on that list sounds reasonable. Most of them would probably help a little. That's the problem.
Three to five is few enough to actually finish, and enough to tackle the real problem from more than one side. Each priority gets proper time, budget and attention. And when something changes, you can see why.
It also forces a conversation most businesses avoid: what are we not going to do? Choosing what to leave out is where strategy really happens. Anyone can make a long list. The skill is in knowing what to cut.
There's a practical reason too. Most smaller businesses don't have a marketing department. The work lands on one or two people who already have day jobs. A short list is the only kind that survives a busy month.
Every business is different, but a few themes come up again and again.
The first is clarity. If people can't quickly tell what you do and who it's for, everything else has to work harder than it should. We cover that in Your website isn't underperforming. Your positioning is.
The second is being findable where people now look, which increasingly means AI tools as well as Google. What changes when customers ask AI instead of Google explains what to check.
The third is the enquiry itself: how easy it is to get in touch, how fast you reply and what happens next. This is often the cheapest fix with the quickest return.
New channels, new content and new tools are rarely in the top five. They usually come later, once the basics are working. A new social channel on top of an unclear message just spreads the confusion further.
This is the hard part. Everything that didn't make the cut goes on a "not now" list. Not "never", just "not now". The list stops good ideas getting lost, and it stops them sneaking back in halfway through.
Review your priorities every 90 days. When one is done, check whether it worked, then bring the next one off the "not now" list. Some items will still be waiting a year later, and that's usually a sign they were never that important.
Over a year, this gives you a steady run of finished work instead of a pile of half-started projects. It also makes the next decision easier, because by then you'll know what actually moves the needle in your business rather than guessing.
The Digital Growth Deep Dive ends with exactly this: a prioritised Growth Opportunity Map showing the three to five things that matter most for your business. Not sure where to start? Get in touch and we'll talk through what you really need.
Guides
Clear, useful guides built around the questions business owners actually need to answer.
How to tell whether customers can actually find, trust and contact you online.
Read the guide →A practical way to work out whether the proposed activity is solving the right problem.
Read the guide →A structured way to identify what is really holding growth back before adding more activity.
Read the guide →Guide
How to tell whether customers can actually find, trust and contact you online.
Most local businesses don't lose customers because they aren't good enough. They lose them in the few minutes someone spends searching, comparing and deciding. This guide helps you see your business the way a new customer does. It takes about 20 minutes.
Fix things in reverse order. Start with contact, because the people you lose there already want to buy from you. Then work on trust. Then work on being found. There is little point sending more people to a website that doesn't turn visitors into enquiries.
If you’d like a second pair of eyes, the Digital Growth Deep Dive looks at all three areas in depth and gives you a clear list of priorities to act on.
Not sure what you need yet? Get in touch and we'll talk it through. It's an honest conversation about what will actually make a difference, with no hard sell.
Guide
A practical way to work out whether the proposed activity is solving the right problem.
Plenty of businesses pay for SEO, a new website or an agency, and six months later they can't say what changed. Usually the work wasn't bad. The problem is that nobody agreed what it was meant to fix. Ask these questions before you sign anything.
You should be able to say it in one sentence.
Look for evidence from your own data, not a hunch or a standard package.
Agree on measures that matter to the business, such as enquiries or sales, not just rankings or traffic.
The person pitching isn’t always the person delivering.
This could be time, content, approvals or access. Be realistic about what you can give.
An honest answer here is a good sign.
SEO takes months, while a website change can show results in weeks. Know which one you’re buying.
The website, domain, accounts, content and data should belong to you.
Reports should be in plain English and tied to your goals. Agree how often you’ll get them.
Ask about contract length, notice periods and how the plan changes if results don’t come.
A good partner will welcome these questions. If the answers are vague, that tells you something too.
If you can't yet answer question 1 yourself, start with the Growth Clarity Guide. Or get in touch, and we'll talk through what you truly need before you spend anything.
Guide
A structured way to identify what is really holding growth back before adding more activity.
When growth slows, the instinct is to do more: more posts, more ads, a new website. But adding activity on top of an unclear problem usually just adds cost. This guide helps you find where growth is really getting stuck, so you know what to fix first.
You don't need a dashboard. Rough figures are fine.
Growth usually gets stuck in one of five places. Be honest as you answer each question.
Your numbers from step 1 will point the way:
Choose the biggest leak, not the one that feels most urgent. Then finish this sentence:
“Our growth is being held back by ______, and we’ll know it’s fixed when ______.”
Now you can test any idea, whether it's SEO, a new website or a campaign, with one question: does this fix the thing we wrote down? If it doesn't, it can wait.
If you’d like help working through this properly, the Digital Growth Deep Dive does exactly that and leaves you with a clear set of priorities.
Not sure where to start? Contact us and we can talk about what your business really needs.
Let's talk
Local business or established company — the first conversation is simply about understanding where you are now and whether we can genuinely help.
No cost and no obligation. Enough to understand the business, the problem and what you are trying to change.
If we think there is a sensible way to help, we will explain it. If not, we will say so.
Scope, timing and price agreed before any work starts. Nothing open-ended.
Legal
How VJ Digital Growth Partner handles personal information and website technologies.
Last updated: 23 September 2026
In this Privacy Notice, “we”, “us” and “our” mean VJ Digital Growth Partner operating under Build ALONG The Way. We provide digital growth, marketing, advertising, search, content, website, analytics, automation and related consultancy services.
For most of the personal information described in this Notice, we act as controller. Where we process personal information solely on behalf of a client and on that client’s documented instructions, we generally act as processor.
Privacy contact: please use our website contact form. Postal address: 4th Floor, 18 St. Cross Street, London, EC1N 8UN.
This Notice explains how we use personal information relating to website visitors, people who contact us, prospective and current clients, client personnel, suppliers, contractors, business partners, marketing recipients, event attendees and job applicants where applicable.
It does not normally explain processing we carry out solely on behalf of a client as processor. In that situation the client is normally responsible for telling individuals how their information is used.
Our ordinary services are not designed to collect special-category personal information or criminal-offence information. Please do not provide this type of information unless it is genuinely necessary and has been specifically agreed with us. Where such processing is required, we will identify an appropriate legal condition and safeguards.
| Purpose | What we do | Typical legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Enquiries and proposals | Respond to enquiries, arrange meetings, understand requirements and prepare proposals. | Steps before a contract; legitimate interests. |
| Client services | Manage relationships, deliver services, administer projects, communicate and report. | Contract; legitimate interests. |
| Billing and records | Invoice, receive payments, maintain financial and business records and comply with tax/accounting duties. | Contract; legal obligation; legitimate interests. |
| Website operation | Operate, secure and troubleshoot our website and systems. | Legitimate interests; legal obligation where applicable. |
| Analytics and improvement | Understand use of our site and services and improve content, journeys and performance. | Consent, legitimate interests and/or an applicable storage/access exception, depending on the technology and purpose. |
| Direct marketing | Send relevant B2B marketing about our services and insights where permitted. | Consent or legitimate interests, together with PECR compliance where applicable. |
| B2B prospecting | Identify and contact relevant decision-makers at organisations that may benefit from our services. | Legitimate interests where appropriate and PECR compliance where applicable. |
| Security and legal rights | Prevent misuse, manage security, investigate incidents, recover debts and establish or defend legal claims. | Legitimate interests; legal obligation. |
| Recruitment | Assess applications and communicate with candidates where applicable. | Steps before a contract; legitimate interests; legal obligation where applicable. |
Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider the purpose, necessity and impact on individuals before relying on that basis. Where consent is required, you can withdraw it at any time without affecting processing that was lawful before withdrawal.
We may send relevant business marketing to existing clients, prospective clients and professional contacts where permitted by law. The rules can differ depending on the communication method and whether the recipient is a corporate subscriber, sole trader, partnership or individual.
You have an absolute right to object to the use of your personal information for direct marketing. You can unsubscribe using the link in an electronic marketing message or contact us at our website contact form.
If you opt out, we may retain limited suppression information so that we can respect your preference and avoid contacting you again for marketing.
Where permitted, we may use professional contact information from public sources, professional platforms, referrals or reputable business data providers to identify relevant organisations and business contacts. We do not treat publicly available personal information as automatically free to use.
Where required, we provide privacy information within the applicable period and respect objections and opt-outs.
At launch, this website does not use advertising or behavioural analytics cookies. Cloudflare may use strictly necessary security and delivery technologies, and external services are contacted only where needed to display the site or process a form you choose to submit.
See the Cookie Policy below for the technologies currently used.
Some services may involve processing personal information on a client’s behalf, for example CRM administration, lead management, email marketing, conversion tracking, audience management, website operations, analytics implementation or marketing automation.
Where the client determines the purposes and essential means of that processing and we act only on documented instructions, the client is normally controller and we are processor. Those arrangements are governed by our Data Processing Schedule or another written data-processing agreement.
Where necessary and lawful, we may share personal information with:
Where a supplier acts as our processor, we require appropriate contractual and security protections. We do not sell personal information as a commodity.
Website form submissions are currently processed through FormSubmit so that enquiries, visibility-check requests and specialist introductions can be forwarded to our business inbox. FormSubmit states that submission records may be retained for up to 30 days.
Some suppliers may process personal information outside the United Kingdom. Where a restricted international transfer occurs, we use an appropriate legal mechanism, which may include UK adequacy regulations, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, the UK Addendum to approved contractual clauses, or another lawful safeguard.
We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including legal, tax, accounting, contractual, security and dispute-resolution requirements. Our normal starting points are:
Actual periods may vary where necessary because of a dispute, legal obligation, investigation, security issue or other justified reason.
Depending on the circumstances, you may have rights to access, correct or erase personal information; restrict processing; object to processing; receive certain information in a portable format; withdraw consent; and challenge certain solely automated decisions. These rights are not absolute in every situation.
To exercise a right, contact our website contact form. We may need to verify identity before completing a request.
We do not ordinarily make decisions about individuals based solely on automated processing where the decision produces legal or similarly significant effects. If this changes for a particular activity, we will provide the information required by law.
We use technical and organisational measures appropriate to the nature and risk of the information we handle. Measures may include access controls, multi-factor authentication, secure cloud services, encryption where appropriate, device security, backups, confidentiality obligations, security updates and incident-response procedures. No internet or information-security system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
If you are concerned about how we have handled your personal information, contact us at our website contact form or 4th Floor, 18 St. Cross Street, London, EC1N 8UN. We provide a clear route for data-protection complaints, will acknowledge a complaint within 30 days of receipt, will investigate it without undue delay, will keep the complainant appropriately informed and will communicate the outcome without undue delay.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Website: https://ico.org.uk/.
Our website and services are principally intended for businesses and business professionals and are not directed at children. We do not knowingly seek personal information from children through our ordinary business activities.
Our website may contain links to third-party websites or services. We are not responsible for third-party privacy practices. Please review the relevant third party’s privacy information before providing personal information.
We may update this Privacy Notice to reflect changes in our services, technology, practices or legal requirements. The latest version will be published on this page with an updated date.
Last updated: 23 September 2026
This Cookie Policy explains how Build ALONG The Way, trading as VJ Digital Growth Partner, uses cookies and similar storage and access technologies on this website. It should be read together with our Privacy Notice.
References to “cookies” in this policy include, where appropriate, pixels, tags, scripts, local storage, link decoration, fingerprinting and other technologies that store information on, or access information from, a user’s device.
These may be used where necessary to transmit a communication or provide a service or function that you have requested. Examples can include security, load balancing, session management and storing your privacy choices. Where the law permits these technologies without consent, they may be active by default.
We may use technologies to collect statistical information about how our website or service is used so that we can improve it. Where the applicable legal exception is used, we will only rely on it where the sole purpose and other legal conditions are met, including appropriate aggregation, limited retention of individual-level information and a simple, free means of objecting. If those conditions are not met, we will obtain consent where required.
These may remember choices or adapt how the website appears or functions in line with a user’s preference. Where an exception is relied on, we will provide the information and objection mechanism required by law. Otherwise, consent will be obtained where required.
These may be used to measure campaigns, record conversions, build or measure audiences, limit repeated advertising, understand interactions with advertising, support remarketing or deliver targeted advertising. Where consent is required, these technologies will not be activated until valid consent has been obtained.
No optional analytics or advertising technologies are configured on this website at launch, so a consent banner is not currently required for those technologies. If optional technologies are added later, we will update this policy and introduce the appropriate controls before activating them where consent is required.
| Technology | Provider | Purpose | Category | Duration | Legal treatment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare website delivery and security | Cloudflare | Serve the website, protect it from abuse and support network security. | Strictly necessary / security | Session or variable where a security challenge is used. | Necessary to provide and secure the requested website service. |
| Web fonts | Google Fonts | Load the Playfair Display and Montserrat typefaces used by the website. | Functionality / content delivery | Request and browser caching periods vary. | Used to deliver the requested page presentation; not configured by us for advertising or behavioural analytics. |
| Website form handling | FormSubmit | Forward information you choose to submit through enquiry, visibility-check and careers forms to our business inbox. | Requested service | FormSubmit states that submissions may be retained for up to 30 days. | Used only when you choose to submit a form. |
Some storage and access technologies may be supplied by third parties. Those providers may receive information from the device and may process it under their own terms and privacy notices. Where consent is required for a third-party technology, we will not intentionally activate it before the required consent is obtained.
We may update this Cookie Policy when our technologies, suppliers, consent approach or legal obligations change. The latest version will be published on this page.
Questions about our use of cookies or similar technologies can be sent to our website contact form.
Legal
Terms governing use of the public VJ Digital Growth Partner website.
Last updated: 22 September 2026
These terms govern use of this website (“Site”). The Site is operated under Build ALONG The Way using the trading brand VJ Digital Growth Partner. Business address: 4th Floor, 18 St. Cross Street, London, EC1N 8UN.
By using the Site, you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, please stop using it. These terms govern the public Site only. Paid client services are governed separately by the applicable proposal, Statement of Work and Client Terms of Business.
The Site and our services are principally intended for businesses and people acting in a professional or commercial capacity. Unless we expressly say otherwise, information on the Site is an invitation to discuss services and is not an offer capable of acceptance.
Content on the Site is provided for general information. It may discuss marketing, advertising, SEO, websites, analytics, technology, automation, artificial intelligence or business growth. It is not tailored professional advice and should not be treated as legal, tax, accounting, financial, investment, medical or other regulated advice.
You are responsible for evaluating whether information on the Site is appropriate for your circumstances and for obtaining specialist advice where needed.
Marketing and business performance depend on factors outside our control. Case studies, examples, estimates, forecasts, projections, statistics and past results do not guarantee that another business will obtain the same or similar outcome.
Unless expressly agreed in a signed client contract, nothing on the Site guarantees particular search rankings, traffic, impressions, leads, conversion rates, advertising return, sales, revenue, profit or other commercial outcomes.
We aim to keep Site information useful and reasonably accurate, but information may become outdated and third-party platforms, technologies, laws and market conditions may change. We may update, suspend, remove or change Site content without notice.
Unless otherwise stated, we or our licensors own the intellectual-property rights in the Site and its original content. You may access and use the Site for legitimate personal or internal business purposes.
Without prior written permission, you must not reproduce substantial parts of the Site, republish our content as your own, sell or commercially exploit our content, remove ownership notices, misuse our branding or systematically extract Site content or data except where the law permits.
You must not knowingly use the Site unlawfully; attempt unauthorised access; introduce malware; interfere with security or operation; overload or disrupt systems; impersonate another person or organisation; submit unlawful, infringing, deceptive or malicious content; or use the Site in a way that infringes another person’s rights.
We may restrict access where we reasonably believe misuse has occurred.
The Site may link to third-party websites, platforms, applications or resources. A link does not necessarily constitute endorsement. We do not control and are not responsible for third-party availability, content, security, privacy practices, policies or services.
We do not guarantee that the Site will always be available, uninterrupted, error-free or free from vulnerabilities. You are responsible for using appropriate security protections when accessing the internet.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not responsible for loss caused solely by malicious software, distributed denial-of-service attacks, unauthorised third-party activity, external infrastructure failures or other events outside our reasonable control, except to the extent caused by our own breach of a duty that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.
Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.
Subject to the paragraph above, and to the fullest extent permitted by law, we exclude liability arising solely from use of, inability to use, or reliance on general information published on the Site, and we exclude representations, warranties and guarantees relating to the Site or its general content except where expressly stated.
If you are a business user, subject to the first paragraph of this clause, we will not be liable in connection with your use of the public Site for loss of profit, revenue, sales, business, opportunity, anticipated savings, goodwill or reputation, business interruption, or indirect or consequential loss.
Nothing in these Website Terms limits or replaces liability separately agreed under a Client Agreement with us.
Our use of personal information is explained in our Privacy Notice. Our use of storage and access technologies is explained in our Cookie Policy.
These terms and any non-contractual obligations arising from them are governed by the laws of England and Wales. If you use the Site in the course of business, the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction, except where mandatory law requires otherwise.
Legal · B2B services
The standard business-to-business terms that sit behind a proposal or Statement of Work.
Version dated 22 September 2026
These Terms of Business apply to B2B services provided under Build ALONG The Way using the trading brand VJ Digital Growth Partner (“Agency”, “we”, “us”, “our”). Business address: 4th Floor, 18 St. Cross Street, London, EC1N 8UN.
These Terms are intended only for clients acting wholly or mainly for purposes relating to their trade, business, craft or profession. By entering into an Agreement, the Client confirms that it is contracting in the course of business and not as a consumer.
When the Client accepts a proposal, quotation, order form or Statement of Work issued by us, an agreement is formed between us and the legal entity identified as the Client in that document.
The Agreement consists of:
If documents conflict, the Data Processing Schedule prevails on processor obligations and personal-data processing; the SOW prevails on engagement-specific commercial terms; and these Terms apply otherwise.
We will provide the Services described in the SOW with reasonable care and skill. Services may include digital strategy, search-engine optimisation, paid advertising, social advertising, content, website design or development, conversion optimisation, analytics, tracking, CRM, automation, email marketing, AI-assisted work, consultancy and related digital-growth services.
Only Services and Deliverables expressly included in the SOW are included in our fees. Advice, ideas or possibilities discussed informally do not become contractual Deliverables unless added to the agreed scope.
The SOW should identify the scope, Deliverables, assumptions, exclusions, timing, fees, third-party costs, advertising budget, term and Client responsibilities. Either party may propose a change. We are not required to carry out additional or changed work until scope, timing and charges have been agreed in writing.
Out-of-scope work may be quoted separately, charged at an agreed hourly or day rate, or declined.
The Client is responsible for its own business and will:
“Client Materials” means information, instructions, data, claims, representations, offers, prices, warranties, testimonials, reviews, images, trade marks, copy, product information, service descriptions, legal wording, customer data and other materials supplied, selected, required or approved by the Client.
The Client is responsible for ensuring that Client Materials and the Client’s underlying business, products and services are accurate, lawful, not misleading, appropriately substantiated and do not infringe third-party rights.
Unless the SOW expressly requires us to perform a defined verification or compliance-review service, we are entitled to rely on Client Materials without independently auditing or verifying their factual, scientific, technical, financial, legal or regulatory accuracy.
The Client must not ask us to publish or promote a claim that the Client cannot reasonably substantiate. If we raise a concern, the Client will provide suitable evidence, amend the claim or obtain appropriate professional advice.
Where we submit advertising, copy, designs, websites, promotions, offers, targeting, campaigns or other Deliverables for approval, the Client is responsible for reviewing them promptly.
Approval confirms, to the best of the Client’s knowledge and subject to any responsibility expressly accepted by us in the SOW, that Client-specific facts, prices, claims, offers, product or service descriptions, mandatory disclosures and business information are accurate and authorised for use.
We may rely on approval given by the Client’s authorised contact. We are not responsible for inaccuracies introduced by the Client or another supplier after our approval or handover.
Unless expressly included in the SOW, our Services do not include legal, regulatory, tax, accounting, financial, medical or other regulated professional advice, and we do not act as the Client’s compliance officer.
The Client is responsible for identifying laws, sector rules, professional restrictions, licensing requirements and mandatory disclosures that apply to its business, products, services and promotions, including any special rules that apply to regulated sectors.
We may refuse, pause or remove work that we reasonably believe is unlawful, materially misleading, infringing, unsafe or contrary to a binding platform rule. Doing so does not transfer the Client’s compliance responsibility to us.
We may make recommendations about strategy, budget, creative, positioning, technology, channels or optimisation. The Client remains responsible for commercial decisions and for deciding whether and how to act on recommendations.
Forecasts, models, scenarios and estimates are based on assumptions and available information. They are not promises of future performance.
Our timetable depends on timely Client cooperation and third-party dependencies. If the Client delays access, content, approvals, information, payment or feedback, we may reasonably adjust the timetable and reschedule resources.
We are not responsible for delay to the extent caused by the Client or a person for whom the Client is responsible. If a material delay causes additional work or cost, we may agree a revised timetable and additional charges before resuming.
The Client will provide access using secure and appropriate methods and will not unnecessarily share passwords. Where possible, role-based access should be used. Each party is responsible for protecting credentials it controls and promptly reporting suspected compromise.
We are not responsible for unauthorised access caused by compromised Client credentials, insecure Client practices or changes made by the Client or another supplier, except to the extent directly caused by our breach of the Agreement.
Fees are stated in the SOW and exclude VAT unless expressly stated otherwise. Monthly retainers and recurring managed-service fees are invoiced monthly in advance unless the SOW says otherwise. Project invoicing and deposits will be set out in the SOW.
Unless the SOW states otherwise, invoices are due within 14 days of the invoice date. If the Client genuinely disputes an invoice, it must notify us promptly with reasons and pay the undisputed amount when due.
For overdue undisputed amounts, we may exercise our rights under applicable late-payment law, including statutory interest and debt-recovery costs where available. If the contract specifies a different interest rate, that contractual rate will apply as permitted by law.
If an undisputed invoice remains overdue after reasonable notice, we may suspend some or all Services until payment is received. We may also suspend where continuing work would create a material legal, security, safety or platform-compliance risk.
We are not responsible for delay caused by a lawful suspension. Suspension does not cancel amounts already due.
Unless the SOW expressly says otherwise, Agency fees do not include advertising or media spend, hosting, domains, stock assets, software licences, platform fees, paid data, third-party production or other external costs.
Where practicable, the Client should own and directly fund core advertising and platform accounts. If we incur an approved third-party cost on the Client’s behalf, the Client will reimburse it according to the SOW or invoice terms.
Media spend and pass-through third-party charges are not Agency professional fees and are excluded when calculating any fee-based liability cap.
Our work may depend on third-party platforms and suppliers that we do not control. These may include search engines, advertising networks, social platforms, hosting providers, domain registrars, CRM systems, analytics platforms, AI services, email systems, plugins, APIs and software vendors.
Third parties may change algorithms, policies, prices, interfaces or APIs; reject advertising; suspend or close accounts; remove functionality; change attribution; experience outages or security incidents; or discontinue products.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for third-party acts, omissions, outages, policy decisions or service changes outside our reasonable control, except to the extent a loss was directly caused by our own breach of the Agreement or failure to exercise reasonable care and skill.
Unless a specific result is expressly stated in the SOW as a contractual guarantee, we do not guarantee and are not in breach merely because the Services do not achieve a particular search ranking, traffic level, impression level, click volume, engagement level, lead volume or quality, conversion rate, cost per lead or acquisition, return on advertising spend, sales, revenue, profit, market share, AI-search visibility or other KPI or commercial outcome.
Targets, benchmarks, forecasts, projections and performance models are objectives or good-faith estimates, not guarantees. Past performance and case studies do not guarantee future results.
Search engines and AI-search or generative-answer systems control their own indexing, ranking, citation and presentation systems. We do not guarantee indexing, ranking position, visibility, traffic or continued performance, and we are not responsible solely because an algorithm or platform change affects results.
We are not required to use techniques that we reasonably believe breach material platform rules, create unacceptable legal or reputational risk, or are likely to damage the Client’s digital assets.
Where we manage paid advertising, budgets and our authority to change them will be described in the SOW or agreed in writing. Advertising platforms ultimately control billing, delivery, approval and auction outcomes.
The Client remains responsible for the lawfulness and substantiation of its products, services, claims, offers, landing-page information and fulfilment. We do not guarantee ad approval, account availability, spend delivery, lead quality or commercial return.
Where we provide website or development services, functionality and supported environments will be those stated in the SOW or reasonably implied by the agreed scope. Ongoing hosting, maintenance, support, accessibility auditing, legal compliance review and security monitoring are not included unless expressly stated.
Third-party themes, plugins, libraries, fonts, APIs and software remain subject to their own licence terms, updates and availability. We are not responsible for later incompatibility or failure caused by a third-party change outside our reasonable control.
The Client remains responsible for its own statutory website information, business claims, policies and sector-specific notices unless we have expressly agreed to prepare or maintain a particular item.
The Client retains ownership of intellectual property it provides to us. The Client grants us a non-exclusive, worldwide licence during the Agreement to use, copy, adapt, host, transmit and process Client Materials to the extent reasonably necessary to provide the Services.
The Client warrants that it has the rights, licences, permissions and lawful basis necessary for us to use the Client Materials as instructed.
We retain ownership of our pre-existing and general methodologies, know-how, templates, processes, frameworks, prompts, software, libraries, reusable code, tools, systems and other materials developed independently of the Client (“Agency Materials”).
Unless the SOW states otherwise, once all undisputed fees relating to a final bespoke Deliverable have been paid in full, we assign to the Client the intellectual-property rights that we own in that final bespoke Deliverable, excluding Agency Materials and third-party materials.
To the extent Agency Materials are embedded in a fully paid Deliverable and are necessary for normal use of it, we grant the Client a perpetual, non-exclusive licence to use those embedded Agency Materials for the Client’s own business purposes. Third-party materials remain subject to their own licence terms.
Editable source files, working files, internal drafts, proprietary tools, reusable components and development resources are included only if expressly stated in the SOW.
Unless the engagement is expressly confidential, we may identify the Client as a client and show publicly launched, non-confidential work in our portfolio. We will obtain written approval before publishing confidential commercial information, non-public performance figures or a substantive case study attributed to the Client.
The Client may ask us not to use its name or brand publicly and we will reasonably respect that request.
We may use appropriate AI tools to assist with research, analysis, ideation, drafting, coding, optimisation and production support. AI-assisted output may require human review and may not be unique.
We will take reasonable steps appropriate to the engagement to protect Client confidential information and personal data. We will not knowingly submit Client confidential information or Client-controlled personal data to a general-purpose AI service in a way that would breach our contractual or legal obligations or permit inappropriate secondary use.
Specific Client restrictions on AI use must be agreed in the SOW before the relevant work begins.
Each party must keep the other party’s confidential information confidential and use it only for the Agreement. This does not apply to information that is lawfully public, already lawfully known without a duty of confidence, independently developed, lawfully obtained from a third party, or required to be disclosed by law or a competent authority.
A party may share confidential information with personnel, contractors and professional advisers who genuinely need it for the Agreement and are subject to appropriate confidentiality duties.
Each party will comply with applicable data-protection law in relation to its own activities. Where each party independently determines the purposes and means of processing, each acts as an independent controller for that processing.
Where we process personal data on the Client’s behalf as processor, Schedule 1 to these Terms applies unless the parties sign a different compliant data-processing agreement.
The Client is responsible for ensuring that personal data supplied to us has been collected and disclosed lawfully, that the Client has an appropriate lawful basis for the processing it instructs, and that required privacy information has been provided.
We may use employees, freelancers, specialist contractors and service providers to help deliver the Services. We remain responsible for our contractual obligations when using subcontractors. Where a subcontractor processes Client personal data as a sub-processor, the Data Processing Schedule applies.
Unless the SOW expressly grants exclusivity, our relationship is non-exclusive and we may provide services to other organisations, including businesses operating in the same broad sector. We will not use the Client’s confidential information for another client and will manage material conflicts appropriately.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Client will indemnify us against third-party claims and associated losses, liabilities, damages, costs and reasonable professional fees arising directly from:
This indemnity does not apply to the extent the claim or loss was caused by our own breach of the Agreement, negligence, unauthorised alteration or unlawful act. We will take reasonable steps to mitigate indemnified losses and will not settle a material third-party claim in a way that admits wrongdoing by the Client without consulting the Client, where reasonably practicable.
Nothing in the Agreement excludes or limits either party’s liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.
Subject to clause 29 and to the fullest extent permitted by law, we will not be liable merely because a forecast, target, recommendation, campaign or strategy does not achieve the Client’s expected commercial result, where we have provided the Services with the standard required by the Agreement.
Subject to clause 29, we will not be liable to the extent a loss results from:
These exclusions do not protect us to the extent the relevant loss was directly caused by our own breach of the Agreement or failure to exercise reasonable care and skill, subject to the other limitations in the Agreement.
Subject to clause 29, and to the fullest extent permitted by law, we will not be liable under or in connection with the Agreement, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), misrepresentation, breach of statutory duty, restitution or otherwise, for loss of profit, revenue, sales, business, contracts, opportunity, anticipated savings, goodwill or reputation, or for indirect or consequential loss or damage, whether or not foreseeable.
For clarity, this clause does not exclude the Client’s obligation to pay fees and approved charges properly due under the Agreement.
Subject to clause 29, our total aggregate liability arising out of or in connection with a particular SOW, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), misrepresentation, breach of statutory duty, restitution or otherwise, will not exceed 100% of the Agency professional fees paid or payable under that SOW during the 12 months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim.
If the SOW has been in force for less than 12 months when the event occurs, the cap is the Agency professional fees paid or payable under that SOW during that shorter period. For a fixed-price project lasting less than 12 months, the cap is the total Agency professional fees paid or payable for that project.
VAT, advertising or media spend, software or licence charges, hosting, production costs and other pass-through third-party expenditure are not Agency professional fees for the purpose of this cap. Multiple claims arising from the same or substantially the same event or series of connected events are treated as one claim for application of the cap.
Neither party guarantees that internet-based systems or third-party services will be entirely secure or uninterrupted. We will comply with the security obligations we have accepted under the Agreement and any applicable Data Processing Schedule.
Subject to clause 29, we are not responsible for a cyber incident, unauthorised access, malware, data loss or service interruption caused by systems outside our control, compromised Client credentials, Client security failures, unauthorised Client or third-party changes, or a third-party provider outside our reasonable control, except to the extent directly caused by our own breach.
The Client is responsible for maintaining backups where the SOW assigns that responsibility to the Client. Our liability for a data or security incident caused by our breach remains subject to clause 32 unless applicable law prevents that limitation.
Each party must take reasonable steps to minimise loss arising from a breach or incident. We are not liable for loss that could reasonably have been avoided or reduced by the Client taking reasonable mitigating action.
The parties acknowledge that the fees have been agreed taking account of the allocation of commercial risk in the Agreement and that the limitations and exclusions are intended to allocate risk between businesses. The Client is responsible for maintaining insurance appropriate to its own business, activities and exposures.
Each limitation and exclusion is intended to operate separately. If a particular provision is unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue to apply to the fullest extent permitted by law.
The term of each engagement is stated in the SOW. If the SOW contains an initial or minimum term, the Client remains responsible for charges committed for that term unless the SOW provides otherwise or a right to terminate for breach applies.
Unless the SOW states a different arrangement, an ongoing monthly engagement may be terminated for convenience after any minimum term by giving 30 days’ written notice.
Either party may terminate an SOW immediately by written notice if the other party commits a material breach that cannot reasonably be remedied, or commits a remediable material breach and fails to remedy it within 14 days after written notice. Termination rights relating to insolvency apply subject to applicable insolvency law.
On termination, amounts already due remain payable and the Client will pay for properly completed work and non-cancellable third-party commitments incurred in accordance with the Agreement up to the effective termination date.
Subject to payment of undisputed amounts due, we will provide a reasonable handover of final Client-owned Deliverables and access or credentials that we control and are required to transfer. Extensive migration, reconstruction, export or transition assistance outside the agreed scope may be charged at an agreed rate.
Personal data will be returned or deleted in accordance with the Data Processing Schedule where applicable. Provisions intended by their nature to survive termination, including confidentiality, intellectual property, payment, data protection, indemnity, liability and dispute provisions, will survive.
Neither party is liable for delay or failure caused by circumstances beyond its reasonable control, which may include major internet or cloud outages, natural disasters, war, terrorism, civil disturbance, government action, widespread cyber incidents, industrial disputes or failure of critical infrastructure. This does not excuse payment obligations that had already fallen due.
The Client may not assign or transfer the Agreement without our prior written consent, not to be unreasonably withheld. We may assign the Agreement as part of a genuine sale, merger, investment or restructuring of our business, provided this does not materially reduce the Client’s contractual protections.
The parties are independent contractors. Nothing in the Agreement creates a partnership, employment relationship, fiduciary relationship, joint venture or general agency relationship. Neither party may bind the other except to the extent expressly authorised in writing.
The Agreement contains the entire agreement between the parties concerning its subject matter and supersedes previous discussions, proposals and representations relating to that engagement, except for documents expressly incorporated into the Agreement.
Each party acknowledges that it has not relied on a statement that is not set out in the Agreement when entering into it. Nothing in this clause excludes liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.
A variation to the Agreement is effective only if agreed in writing by authorised representatives of both parties. Email is sufficient where it clearly records the agreed change.
A failure or delay in enforcing a right does not waive that right. If a provision is held invalid or unenforceable, it will be modified to the minimum extent necessary where possible, and the remaining provisions continue in effect.
Unless the Agreement expressly states otherwise, a person who is not a party to the Agreement has no right to enforce any term of it under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.
Formal notices under the Agreement must be sent to the addresses or email contacts stated in the SOW or another address formally notified by a party. Email may be used unless the SOW expressly requires another method.
Before starting court proceedings, each party should, where reasonably practicable, refer a material dispute to a senior representative and attempt in good faith to resolve it. This does not prevent either party seeking urgent injunctive relief or taking steps necessary to preserve a legal right.
The Agreement and any non-contractual obligations arising from it are governed by the laws of England and Wales. The courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction.
Applies where the Agency acts as processor for Client personal data
This Schedule forms part of the Agreement where Build ALONG The Way, using the trading brand VJ Digital Growth Partner (“Processor” or “Agency”), processes personal data on behalf of the Client (“Controller”). Data-protection terms have the meanings given by applicable UK data-protection law.
Where the Agency independently determines the purposes and essential means of a processing activity, it acts as controller for that activity and this Schedule does not convert that activity into processor processing.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Subject matter | Processing required to provide the digital-growth, marketing, website, analytics, CRM, advertising, automation or related services described in the SOW. |
| Duration | For the duration of the relevant Services plus a limited period reasonably required for secure return, deletion, backup expiry, dispute handling or legal compliance. |
| Nature | Access, collection, organisation, analysis, storage, alteration, segmentation, transmission, retrieval, deletion and other processing necessary to deliver the Services. |
| Purpose | Providing the Services on the Client’s documented instructions. |
| Data subjects | Depending on scope: Client customers, prospects, leads, subscribers, website visitors, Client personnel and other individuals identified by the Client. |
| Personal data | Depending on scope: names, contact details, CRM data, enquiry data, website interaction data, marketing preferences, campaign data, identifiers, customer-status or transaction-related information and other data identified in the SOW. |
| Sensitive data | Not intended unless specifically identified and agreed in writing in advance. The Client must not provide special-category, criminal-offence, children’s or similarly sensitive information without prior written agreement. |
The Agency will process Client personal data only on the Client’s documented instructions, including instructions in the Agreement, SOW, approved change requests and written operational directions, unless UK law requires otherwise.
If applicable law requires processing outside the Client’s instructions, we will inform the Client before processing unless the law prohibits us from doing so. We will tell the Client if, in our reasonable view, an instruction infringes applicable data-protection law.
We will ensure that people authorised to process Client personal data are subject to appropriate confidentiality obligations.
Taking account of the nature, scope, context and purposes of processing, available technology, implementation cost and risks to individuals, we will maintain appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect Client personal data.
Measures may include, where relevant to the processing and systems used, access controls, least-privilege access, multi-factor authentication, secure password management, encryption in transit, encryption at rest where appropriate, endpoint security, patching, backups, logging, secure deletion, confidentiality requirements, incident response and supplier-security controls.
The Client acknowledges that appropriate measures depend on the actual processing and that no system can be guaranteed absolutely secure.
The Client gives general written authorisation for us to use suitable sub-processors where reasonably necessary to provide the Services. We will require each sub-processor that processes Client personal data to be bound by data-protection obligations offering an equivalent level of protection as required by applicable law.
We remain responsible to the Client for our obligations relating to sub-processor processing as required by law. A current list of material sub-processors will be available on request.
Where required, we will give reasonable notice before appointing a new material sub-processor that will process Client personal data. The Client may object on reasonable and documented data-protection grounds. The parties will work in good faith to identify a practical solution; if none is reasonably available, either party may terminate the affected processing service without penalty for the unperformed future portion of that service.
We will not make a restricted transfer of Client personal data outside the United Kingdom unless an appropriate legal transfer mechanism applies. This may include UK adequacy regulations, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, the UK Addendum to approved contractual clauses or another lawful safeguard.
The Client authorises restricted transfers carried out through approved sub-processors where the applicable safeguard is in place and the transfer is necessary for the Services.
Taking account of the nature of the processing, we will provide reasonable assistance through appropriate technical and organisational measures to help the Client respond to requests by individuals exercising their data-protection rights.
If we receive a request that relates solely to Client-controlled personal data, we will normally refer it to the Client and will not respond substantively unless instructed by the Client or legally required to do so.
We will notify the Client without undue delay after becoming aware of a personal-data breach affecting Client personal data processed by us as processor. As information becomes available, we will provide reasonable details necessary to assist the Client with its legal assessment and notification obligations.
Notification of an incident is not an admission of fault or liability.
Taking account of the nature of processing and information available to us, we will provide reasonable assistance with the Client’s obligations relating to security, breach assessment and notification, data-protection impact assessments and prior consultation with the ICO where required.
Substantial assistance outside the ordinary scope of the Services may be charged at an agreed reasonable rate unless the assistance is required because of our own breach of this Schedule.
We will maintain records required of us by applicable data-protection law and will make available information reasonably necessary to demonstrate compliance with the processor obligations that apply to us.
We will allow for and contribute to audits and inspections required by applicable law. Unless there is a serious incident, regulator requirement or reasonable evidence of material non-compliance, an audit must be requested on reasonable written notice, occur no more than once in a 12-month period, take place during normal business hours, minimise disruption and protect other clients’ confidential information.
The Client will normally bear its own audit costs and our reasonable costs of supporting an exceptional or extensive audit, unless the audit identifies a material breach by us.
At the end of the relevant Services, at the Client’s choice and subject to applicable law, we will return or delete Client personal data that we process as processor and will delete remaining copies within a reasonable period.
This does not require immediate deletion from encrypted or immutable backups where individual deletion is impracticable, provided the backup data remains protected, is not restored for ordinary business use and is deleted or overwritten through the normal backup lifecycle. We may retain information where UK law requires retention.
The Client is responsible for the lawfulness of its instructions and warrants that it has an appropriate lawful basis for relevant processing; has provided required privacy information; has lawfully collected and disclosed personal data to us; and will not instruct us to process unnecessary sensitive information without prior agreement.
Ordinary compliance assistance reasonably required for the agreed processing is included in the Services. Exceptional assistance, bespoke security questionnaires, audits, migration work or legal-review support beyond the agreed scope may be charged where reasonable and agreed, except to the extent required because of our breach.
Liability arising under this Schedule is subject to the liability provisions in the Client Terms of Business except to the extent applicable law prevents a particular limitation. If this Schedule conflicts with another part of the Agreement on processor obligations, this Schedule prevails for that matter.
