The dynamism of the digital industry has kept me going – Madhura Ranade, Director, Business
Tell us something about your journey from a Digital Marketing Assistant at Cloud Nine Agency to becoming a Director (Client Servicing) at one of the world’s biggest media agency and how did it shape the person you are today?
It has been a great 8 years for me – the dynamism of the digital industry has kept me going. Though 8 years is not a great deal of time, I am still learning and still in the very early stages of my career. Some mistakes and my learnings from them, support of great mentors and my quest to being better every day have shaped me into who I am today.
What was the difference in your learnings when you worked with brands like Google, Amul, ICICI Bank and currently handling Maruti Suzuki?
I have handled these brands are very different stages in my career. My own experience, the brands’ need at the time and the trends in the industry at each of these stages were very different from one another. However, I do feel that I have made most of each of these experiences and the learnings have brought maturity to my professional life.
With 8 years of hands-on experience in handling Agency Business, you would have seen many changes happening around you in the industry. What were three major changes that you saw happening and what stood out for you?
Take a minute to imagine how we shopped and what we did for entertainment 8 years ago. Facebook was just a place where we met friends, Amazon and Flipkart were selling mostly just books, and we shopped in brick and mortar stores.
Nowadays, Facebook is what we use mostly to watch content and help our brands make most of it, we use Kindles for books and buy our clothes, furniture, and even groceries online. We have seen these paradigm shifts in the past decade change the way we function and spend our money. What Bill Gates said about this has never been truer – The changes we will see in the next two years are overestimated and most invested in, but what we will see happening in the next decade is truly underestimated.
What project would you consider to be the most significant contributor to the success of your career? If given an opportunity would you do anything differently this time?
Singling out a project may be difficult, but handling the Maruti Suzuki portfolio at a stage of my career where I was looking for a challenge, has contributed a lot of my growth as a person as well as a professional. The sheer size of the business and the amount of work saw a lot of blood, sweat, and tears go into it, but it has been worth it.
Top 3 trends brands that have dominated the digital marketing in 2018?
Interactive Chatbots – Combining the use of text and visuals, chatbots have given brands a great window into having a one on one conversation with consumers above and beyond grievance redressals, more so with chatbot functionalities also being integrated into social messaging apps like Facebook Messenger. This year, it’s taken the spotlight with brands using advanced bots that are able to capture user data and help address the need to provide information quickly and accurately, thus providing a personalized customer experience.
Voice Search – While mobile usage has seen exponential growth, voice assistants are allowing users to access information without even having to look at their phones. With the Alexas and Google Homes of the world being introduced, it is only warming consumers up for a voice search revolution that brands need to be prepared for by optimizing content for voice.
Influencer Marketing – With the boom in content consumption, content creators have risen to become celebrities in themselves. Consumers are more likely to believe a real person they like and follow, over an advertisement from a brand that simply informs them of the functional benefits of the product. However, brands do need to try more organic brand-influencer integrations or we will see more and more consumers calling brands out on the forced intervention, thus also affecting the credibility of the influencers.
Any advice you would like to give to the people who are faced having trouble in balancing work in a corporate setup?
Work smart. Give yourself daily goals, just like you set steps goals on your smartwatch. Tight prioritization of your daily work, bringing structure to your meetings, and trying to give yourself a certain time to do specific tasks will take you a long way in balancing your workday.
Communicate clearly. If something is not working, communicate clearly – make yourself heard. This is not complaining; it’s communication. Acknowledge the things that go well. Work to minimize or eliminate things that are not working or are hampering your productivity.