Marketing agency Smartbutlers moved to the Paratiisi section of Werstas in ElectroCity last autumn. We met with the head of Smartbutlers, Meri Anckar, on site at Paratiisi. How has the company enjoyed their time at Werstas, and why were they interested in the Werstas coworking environment specifically?
“When we were looking for new office space, an important criterion was a vibrant area and comfortable workspaces. We also needed representative facilities that include a kitchen and the opportunity to use meeting rooms for client meetings. We have enjoyed our time here, and the good service and cleanliness are a plus,” says Meri Anckar.
Werstas met our criteria perfectly, and we found an office space for four people at Werstas in ElectroCity. The Werstas facilities are also suitable for smaller companies, and the services in the Science Park area, such as lunch restaurants, are right next door.
“Even though the work is independent, there is still a community around us here. We usually come to the office at least on Mondays as a whole group to kick off the new week. We are also often with our clients,” Meri Anckar continues.
Smartbutlers was founded in 2013. The company has always had its own office space, and before Werstas, its office was located a bit further from the city center. The Science Park was already a familiar area for the Smartbutlers team, and the new location of the office is perfect, as commuting is now easy to do on foot as well.
“We have always worked in a hybrid model, meaning we are at the office, our home offices, or with clients depending on the nature of the work. It’s nice to meet as a group at the office, and during the brainstorming phase of new projects, in-person meetings are definitely the most productive way for us to move forward. We also often hold client meetings on-site, and it’s nice to invite clients to the representative meeting rooms at Werstas,” Anckar continues.
“It’s nice to invite clients to the representative meeting rooms at Werstas.”
Smartbutlers is a small and efficient expert agency with four employees. The company offers business design services.
“‘Liiketoiminnan muotoilu’ is a rather stiff translation for what we do. The English equivalent, business design, reflects our service better. We help client companies design their business for the requirements of growth through our brand development, productization, and software development services. We assist, for example, in the commercialization of new product or service ideas or opening sales to new market areas,” says Meri Anckar.
“Our strength is combining strategic and operational work.”
The company’s operating model is outsourcing. Work is done on a project basis or as a continuous service. In practice, Smartbutlers’ employees, or ‘butlers’, act in client companies in marketing manager or software developer roles.
“Our clients are often manufacturing companies where business digitalization is often a prerequisite for renewal. In practice, that can mean software for product management or sales processes, for example. Our strength is combining strategic and operational work; we don’t just tell what should be done, but we can also take responsibility for the implementation, for example through software development,” Anckar continues.
Where does the name Smartbutlers come from?
“The name reflects our way of working: we always act in the interest of the client and are able to adapt when the situation requires and solve challenges as they arise, as a good butler should know how to do. We want to be our clients’ trusted partner. ‘Smart’ comes from being data-driven: we combine emotion and data in an intelligent way,” Anckar concludes.