WHY CXO MUST PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN DIGITAL MARKETING?
LET’S START
Hello reader, in this blog, I am going to write about an excellent session, which was conducted by Aji Issac Mathew. This is the second session of Digital Success Summit held on 8 August 2019.
I have heard about him, some years back at a different event through a speaker at ICCR, Kolkata.
The Speaker during the networking break mentioned about Aji Issac Mathew that he is a wizard in Digital Marketing and has founded Techshu Company which is now merged with Indusnet Technology.
But when I reached home, I could not recall his name. So I sent a friend request to this speaker on Facebook, and later asked him about Aji Issac, and sent a friend request to Aji, who gratefully accepted it. It is how I am connected to him on Facebook. I use Facebook to connect with Icon, speaker, CEO, CXO, & CMO.
It is Okay, not to know Digital, but it is not Okay, not to learn Digital.
AJI ON STAGE
He said that Digital means different things to different people, but one thing everyone must understand that it is a big elephant, and one can’t ignore it.
STATS TO PONDER OVER
✅ The total population in the world: 7.6 Billion (760 Crore) – 34%
✅ Mobile User in the world: 5.12 Billion (512 Crore) – 87 %
✅ Internet User in the world: 4.38 Billion (438 Crore) – 41 %
✅ Active Social Media User in the world: 3.48 Billion (348 Crore) – 23 %
✅ Active Mobile Social Media User in the world: 3.2 Billion (322 Crore) – 21 %
REAL-TIME GOOGLE USER STATS
✅ Total Population on Google right now Globally – 292 Million (29 Crore)
✅ Total Population on Google right now in West Bengal – 23 Million (2.3 Crore)
✅ Total Population on Google right now in Kolkata – 12 Million (1.2 Crore)
REAL-TIME FACEBOOK USER STATS
✅ Total Population on Facebook right now Globally – 322 Million (32 Crore)
✅ Total Population on Facebook right now in West Bengal – 23 Million (2.3 Crore)
✅ Total Population on Facebook right now in Kolkata – 12 Million (1.2 Crore)
H.N.I – High Networth Investor – There are 14 Million (1.4 crores) International Traveller in India and 0.5 Million (5 Lakh) are in Kolkata.
He said that previously different department of an organisation like HR, Marketing, Finance, Operation worked separately, but now it is integrated as one.
He encouraged the audience not to be afraid of Digital.
Digital is not magical; it is logical, as CXO get involved.
A CXO must be involved with an Ad Agency. Only a Business owner or CXO can understand their business well and not the agency.
Digital is a BIG blessing for SMEs GOD’s silent gift.
BEHAVIOURIAL CHANGE BECAUSE OF DIGITAL
He said that nowadays when we go to a doctor, there is a change in the way the doctor speaks to a patient. A doctor may say something like “as you must have read in Google, that you have so & so disease and you must have read on Google that, it has so & so symptoms.”
When a young guy goes shopping to a local store to buy a mobile, he would immediately compare prices of mobile on Amazon, and say that it is available at such prices. People look at online to bargain with a shopkeeper in the offline world.
This behavioral shift has occurred because of information available in the online world.
Pokemon Games had gone viral, and more than 50 Million (5 Crore) download happened in only 19 days.
No Fintech startup has come out of anybody who knew fintech
Khosla
Anything, which has the potential either positive or negative, can go viral in a short time.
He said that if you search the best hotel in Goa to stay, most of the recommendation available on Tripadvisor are relevant from USA/ UK traveler’s point of view.
He said that the company must humanely respond to reviews, as a dissatisfied customer has many ways to drop a poor review, while a satisfied customer may not be willing to do it.
One gentleman among the audience said that, when he was the director of ICFAI Business School in Kolkata, was advised by someone in the admission department to make use of Pagalguy.com portal, which was very popular for MBA aspirants in the year 2007-2008.
He asked all his students to post a question, like which is the best school for an MBA in Kolkata, and some students would reply on the same thread that ICFAI B-school is the best. He admitted to having practiced an unethical method of review.
If you have a doubt, you don’t have that doubt.
Aji said that Brands should live, what they practice, and if they are not doing so, then they are likely to face the music from the consumer.
Stop storytelling; start story living.
WHAT DIGITAL HAS AIDED
☑️ Search discovery & recommendation
☑️ Global SME as a competitor
☑️ Virality & speed adopter
☑️ Two-way interaction with the customer.
Marketing is defined as meeting needs profitably.
He advised CXO to look for marketing skill in new recruits because Digital can be learned easily. It is always about marketing than Digital.
I always smile when agencies claim they are doing Digital. Honestly, maybe that was good in 2010, but in 2017 they should claim they just do marketing.
Stephen Berube – CMO, Loreal
DIGITAL HAS IMPACTED 4P’S OF MARKETING
♨️ Product
He asked the audience,” when was the last time they had bought music CD? “
Since now no one is buying Music CD, then the singer would not be making much money, but that is not the case. Singers are making more money now from Youtube videos and doing music events.
SeeSound, a company which has built a device by analysing different kinds of sounds.
This device can help deaf people understand by analysing sounds and sending a text message on to their mobile.
? Price
Zoom car subscription model has changed the industry, where you don’t need to buy a car, you can own it for months for a fee, which includes petrol, driver and other charges.
Letsshave.com is another company which provides shaving kit at subscription model to its customer.
? Place
Amazon Global Store is a platform where you can sell to international clients, where you only have to take care of products, rest everything like logistics, finance & marketing will be taken care of by Amazon.
? Promotion
He said that for a client who is in Saree business, he helped them do some creative promotion. He has uploaded a series of videos on Youtube helping woman wear sarees. One such video, which is titled how to wear saree and look slim, has reached a million views on Youtube without going viral.
Do not make global content for a local customer.
He said that with Digital, we could give a different experience to users; for example, KFC has a separate website for consumer, job seekers, and partners.
He said that while we are doing Facebook Ads, we must not look at CPL – Cost per Lead but CPQL– cost per Qualified Lead.
Marketing is money out, sales are money in, and that’s why people love sales and not marketing.
He said that even our Ads could be creative and give better ROI when Digital is used.
Dominos started a campaign to fill potholes and repair roads, and they put their Dominos’ logo on the road, as shown in the above image. They tweeted this image with a message ” Bad Roads are bad for Pizzas, and the bad road should not happen to good pizzas” and suddenly people started talking about it and it went viral.
This campaign gave Dominos’ higher value than an advertisement.
BRAND RECALL
In 2003 alone, data created were equivalent to data generated from the dawn of civilization till 2003. And every year, data doubles. With 5G, there is an expectation that data would double every 12 hours.
People do not remember things, and attention span has reduced considerably.
Is your brand discoverable?
74% customer buys from a brand which helps them in educating the customer.
Optimise the funnel, before reach, reach & reach.
He said that giving a discount at first purchase is a good option and there should be a follow-up campaign to make the customer buy other products, not having an excellent follow-up campaign and enough budget is responsible for the failure of the campaign.
You have everything in digital, except privacy.
In some companies, the top executive is given 1 week off to live like Millennial to understand their psyche & behavior, and they would do everything like a Millennial will do, Like how a 20-year-old guy would book ticket, travel, stay in a shared room, travel by shared cab.
This practice is introduced to understand the buying behaviour of Millennials.
When you’re a 45-year-old, then it is good to have a mentor who is younger than you.
Social media is a cancer of DM.
LAST WORD
This blog has been tough for me to write. Aji showered many one-liner wisdom on us.
It was genuinely Digital raining in this session. It is difficult for me to explain such a complex concept through writing in Blog format. It is better and advisable to attend such events and learn.
Aji Issac is one of the Legend in Digital Marketing in India. He gives corporate training to Companies like Ambuja Cement, HP, IIFT, Ambuja Neotia.
Over to you, I have taken the pain of taking notes to writing this blog. If you feel it is worthy, then please share it on Social Media and drop a comment below, I will respond to your queries.
