Hello Eric, please tell us about your professional journey from working in ad agencies to becoming the Senior Marketing Manager at Veriday
I have always loved marketing and strategy, and with that every position I have taken, I worked to get the most out of it by focusing on results for my own growth and business performance. I have had the pleasure of working with leading brands across many industries, of course, not every position is a perfect fit. Right now, my focus is on growing a powerful marketing program and team at Veriday.
Digital Agent is the marketing platform that is used by leading financial and insurance firms to connect with their clients on a personal level. They can empower their field agents to establish a powerful digital marketing presence to generate more leads and engage with their clients.
How has the marketing landscape changed as a result of the ongoing pandemic? What challenges has your company faced and overcame?
Really it boils down to unpredictability and agility, which are not anything new. We have been in a period of long economic growth since the 2008 recession. Life is unpredictable, and marketers can’t make rigid 3-5 year plans; they need to be agile enough to adapt strategies and tactics from one quarter to the next.
What is more interesting to be are all of the behaviors that have appeared/changed during the pandemic, from online shopping, escapism, redefining career goals. These have been fascinating to adapt to and explore.
Our challenge was the same as similar companies; clients want to protect themselves during times of uncertainty. But by making investments while others aren’t, we are able to increase our market share, and once things stabilized, Veriday is the digital transformation company of choice.
1. I am blessed (and maybe cursed; mostly blessed LOL) to have stakeholders that are full of ideas. From there evaluating against our key revenue paths, target audiences, business goals, brand strategy, and resourcing.
That allows the immature ideas to be placed on the backburner to explore further, and the ones that pass the evaluation get planned. It is rare to find ONE final idea because we have several target verticals with several solutions we offer. That’s we aim to experiment and learn.
2. During the COVID-19 pandemic, email marketing has emerged as one of the most powerful tools to boost up revenue and communicate with the target audience. What are your thoughts on this?
I would say it has had a resurgence; email has always been one of the most powerful marketing channels. It’s a direct line of communication with your audience that your own (unlike social media). Like any marketing channel, you need to be intentional and have a plan before jumping in. Without a strategy, instead of standing out from the noise, marketers can become part of it.
According to you, what is the secret ingredient to Marketing that every business should incorporate in their brand strategy?
For me, my secret ingredient is “Client Experience”. That can sound like fluff, but by being singularly focused on the experience of your client, it will direct every strategy and tactic from the Awareness to Renewal. A business can try to define their brand, but it is validated or redefined by the customer.
Have a vision and be a lifelong learner. If you are a leader of any kind, you need a vision as your goal that keeps you hungry, and that other people will want to follow that vision as well. Secondly, there is so much knowledge, information, and experiences out there. If you are unwilling to humble yourself and be a student, you will stagnate.
Uzma Abdulla is an Editorial & Content Coordinator for The Media Bulletin. Experienced with a demonstrated history of working in the marketing space. Skilled in strong program and project management. Master of Arts (M.A.) in Archaeology and Pursuing Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling. She likes to be on her toes when it comes to facilitating events and collaborating with people.
