Niroshan Rajadurai - The Second in Our Series of Marketing Expert Interviews
Niroshan Rajadurai, Executive Vice President of EMEA and ANZ at Vector Software, is the second interviewee in our marketing expert series. From his 3 biggest marketing challenges to his favourite hobby, we wanted to learn everything about our latest marketing expert.
- What do you like to do in your spare time (hobbies)?
I enjoy playing cricket, reading business and technology literature and playing the Trumpet.
- What music do you like?
My favourite type of music is Jazz, this is influenced by my interest in brass instruments.
- What other career would you like to have chosen if you weren't in marketing?
It is an interesting question. Marketing is something that became essential as part of my day to day role. My original background was in Electrical & Electronics Engineer and Computer Science. The industry I work in today uses these skill sets. What I discovered early on when I worked as an engineer is that selling and marketing are essential skills both externally to a business and internally to your management. I think irrespective of any career path, marketing is a critical skill, and with the innovation taking place in digital marketing right now, my back ground and modern marketing are merging together. As a child, aeroplanes and robotics/AI always interested me. If I wasn't doing what I was doing today, I would be more involved in the technology in robotics/AI and it's modern day applications.
We then asked for Niroshan 's insights, opinions and expertise into marketing, to help us understand how marketing has developed and changed over the years, especially with reference to Vector Software. We asked him:
- What do you think have been the biggest changes to B2B marketing in the past 3 years?
There has been an evolution in digital marketing and business intelligence services from that digital marketing data. Most CIOs no longer see "digital marketing" as a separate operation within the marketing team, it's now an integral part and channel for pushing messaging. The use of marketing analytics tools also help identify in real time the ROI on campaigns. An upcoming challenge is the growing trend of AdBlocking which continues to challenge how digital marketing techniques will evolve over time.
- What do you think will be the biggest change in the way you approach your campaigns in the next 3 years?
Self enablement for the end customer. We continue to notice the speed at which decisions are made continues to get shorter and shorter in our industry. Our goal is to drive our value through thought leadership, and have our website be a way of disseminating that thought leadership into a focused solution that the customer can quickly and easily identify, evaluate and procure. Part of self enablement could also extend into areas of live chat (seen now on some websites), but could extend to the application of digital intelligence and automation, with further integration into intelligent assistants (e.g. Siri/Cortana/Alexis, etc). Imagine, "Alexis, can you tell me what the current trends in DevOps are for mobile application development."
- What are your 3 biggest marketing challenges?
The first one is staying fresh and innovative. It is important to be on top of the research and new trends in the industry. There is a large volume of data that we consume as an organisation to stay on top of industry trends.
The second one is finding new and meaningful ways to engage with clients and customers.
The third one is to stand out from the crowd. Why are we different to our competitors, and the rest of the buzz around major topics.
- Describe the future of the trade media - will it thrive or do you think there are problems ahead?
To simplify society, there are two different generations in play at the moment, one is more comfortable with printed news and the other, is happy to get content through digital sources with succinct delivery.
The challenge with a periodically trade media, for instance, is that there is a lag between news occurring and it being published… This leads to a staleness in the news, which becomes old news (as it has been covered in others channels) once it reaches the reader. So, the challenge is to find a way to add value to printed news. The information needs to be solution-based, unique and perhaps driving thought leadership.
- What do you think is the most effective and least effective marketing activity you, or your company, undertakes (in terms of ROI)?
The most effective marketing activity is problem-solving based webinars.
The least effective marketing activity is trade show (except for a few countries). It is difficult to get people there, as they have no time to come.
- What is the most over-hyped marketing tactic?
Traditional paid advertising. When it comes to generating leads and filling the ales funnel, traditional outbound marketing tactics -- where marketers push their message out far and wide in the hopes that it'll resonate, it isn't as effective as it used to be.
- What was the best campaign you've run?
Problem-solving based webinars. This resulted in a 20 time increase in the number of people participating and follow on engaging with us.
- What is the worst campaign you've run/tell us about a time when a campaign went wrong?
We found that 'widget' or 'feature' based webinars provided no context to our customers and prospects. They were poorly attended and very often attendees misunderstood what the goal of the technology that was to be presented was supposed to be.
- If there is one thing you could change about the electronics press, what would it be?
To go to the next level, more value needs to be added to the content. The electronics press should create communities to encourage idea and thought exchange. An interesting trend we have noticed is that PodCasts are growing in popularity.
- If there was one thing you could change about how agencies work with you, what would it be?
I have a good relationship with Napier. When I first asked Dave to create content for us, which can be challenging as we are an engineering company, he was patient and provided guidance. This resulted in an evolution for us. So, there is nothing that I don’t like. Agencies need to continue to add value, to challenge us in the way we approach marketing. I am very happy with Napier.
The only thing they could do in the future would be to act more enterprising. They could take control of broader industry challenges and problems and harmonise all of the key players in addressing the challenge, just like a project manager would.
- Can you explain how you define and measure success for your campaigns?
We define success through people’s attendance and engagement with our content. Ultimately we can trace revenue back to campaigns we do, so from a business perspective this is the ultimate ROI. We use tools like Act-On and Sales Force to measure these KPIs.
- How important will social media be for your campaigns in the next 3-5 years?
It's hard to tell. Social media in the traditional sense is over saturated in content. However data contained in Social Media could enable better content delivery to be targeted at individuals. Trends change so quickly, 3-5 years is a very long time away. Decision Engines are growing in popularity and generation one technology in this area is showing promise. Social Media may help drive better decision engines for content delivery to the end prospect/user.
- If there was one wish you could make to improve your company's marketing activities, what would it be?
To continue to be strategic by finding new ways and methods to improve strategic thinking within our customers and prospects.
- If you could get more budget, what activity would you spend it on?
I would spend it on intelligent social media. We would use it to understand what a person needs and find ways to engage with them.
Have you read our first marketing expert interview with David Wright from Microchip? Click here to read the full interview.
Napier's Video Editing Capabilities
We understand that video is the future of content marketing. With an overwhelming 92% of marketers watching videos online, and 59% of senior executives preferring to watch a video than read text, Video content is a must for B2B Businesses.
Our infographic featured below, highlights the potential true value and return on investment from developing this video content. At Napier, we offer full video editing capabilities, to help our clients use successful video content as a useful and realistic campaign medium; or as a way to engage and interact with their audience.
Please take a few minutes to check out our latest Video projects from the Napier YouTube channel. From there you can see great video examples from our designated project playlist.
Check Out Napier’s Latest Video Projects
If we can help you with your video content, Get in Touch and speak to a member of our video team.
What Does HubSpot’s Annual State of Inbound Report 2017 tell Marketers?
As an agency who work closely with HubSpot, we waited patiently for their annual State of Inbound Report for 2017. Each year HubSpot tracks shifts in buying behaviour, marketing challenges and sales strategies, to learn how Inbound Marketing has developed over the past year, and what predictions there is for the future.
70% of marketers surveyed revealed their top marketing priority to be converting leads into customers. This is an unsurprising result, with only a slight decline of 4% compared to last year’s report, suggesting this is still the biggest challenge marketers face when it comes to Inbound marketing.
Last year, we were interested to see that marketer’s biggest priorities for their inbound marketing projects were SEO and blogging. The latest report reinforces this, with 61% of respondents prioritising SEO and 53% prioritising blog creation.
The report highlights the ongoing transformations in inbound marketing, revealing paid advertising to be the highest over rated marketing tactic, and reinforces the co-dependent relationship between marketing and sales, with 44% providing a positive reaction in regards to whether sales and marketing is aligned.
The 2017 report shows that closing more deals has risen in priority for marketers since last year, and 44% of respondents believe improving the efficiency of the sales and marketing funnel is a main priority. Globally a massive 71% primarily conduct inbound marketing, presenting how importance inbound marketing has become for marketers across the globe.
Here at Napier, we were pleased to discover that HubSpot’s findings were closely affiliated with Napier’s focus on increasing the speed of the sales tunnel, to help leads turn into customers faster, and our belief in the importance of increasing SEO.
This report is now obsolete. To search for a more up-to-date report, click here.
Smart Systems Integration 2018 Call for Papers is Now Open
The Smart Systems Integration 2018 has launched its call for papers, meaning experts from science and industry can now submit their manuscripts and apply for one of the coveted speakers’ slots.
The conference will take place in Dresden, Germany from the 11-12 April 2018, and will be accompanied by an exhibition, creating a key platform for the Smart Systems Integration industry to meet and discuss current issues.
A variety of topics will be addressed, including all aspects of smart systems, from the international research on new materials and technologies, innovative smart systems and their manufacturing technologies and issues of integration, to applications in the industry.
The conference will also present application- oriented topics such as, smart mobility, smart health, smart energy, smart production and smart society, with a special focus on software aspects in connection with smart systems.
Awards will be presented to the Best Paper and the Best Poster submissions, and will be rewarded with 500 Euros each, as well as being invited to be a speaker for the event in 2019.
To find out more information about this conference and submission requirements, please click here.
Marketing Law Update
The ICO have recently revealed their draft guidance of the new General Data Protection Regulation which will replace the Data Protection Act 1998. This new regulation will be applied from May 2018, with the aim to set a new higher standard for consent, as it draws upon the Data Protection Act standard of consent in a number of areas, as well containing significantly more detail on European guidance and good practice.
This draft version of this guidance, titled Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Data Protection has allowed a further insight into the stricter rules both advertising and marketing companies will have to face, once this regulation is in place. The ICO has recently seen progress in artificial intelligence and machine learning, proposing that these a key driver of the developments in the field of big data. This has allowed businesses to process, manipulate and extract meaning from large and complex data sets in ways which previously may not have been possible. With technology such as this influencing the future, it is easy to see why the ICO’s new draft guidance presents a higher standard for consent. This new report includes guidelines such as, to embed a privacy impact assessment framework into big data activities to identify and mitigate privacy risks, as well as proposing that if consent is the basis for big data processing, this will need to meet the new standards and be “unambiguous” and a “clear affirmative action”, which would allow the individual to withdraw the consent.
With companies such as Flype already under fire as they face a fine of £70,000, as a result of them breaching the direct marketing provisions of PECR, the importance of these new requirements this draft guideline brings forward is more cruical than ever, as organizations will have to ensure they use techniques that is compliant with the law. As these organizations begin to prep for these new guidelines, it will be interesting to see how marketing and advertising companies alike, will react and adjust to ensure they stay within the confines of this stricter consent.
PSDpuzzler Tests the Experts
Often it seems you are no longer rewarded for the knowledge you attain and learn within our industry. It has become, rightly so, an expectation of our experts or clients to be confident in their knowledge of the industry or their products. This was why I was pleasantly surprised to learn Power System Designs, have produced a crossword puzzle called PSDpuzzler, available in print, and more importantly online.
This fun and unusual idea allows access to both experts and clients to put their knowledge to the test. It provides a twist of fun, with the online version providing a timer, hints and the ability to pause and save the puzzle. You can also use the solve button to reveal the answers, which shows you how many of your answers are correct and providing a red outline around the ones that are wrong.
PSDpuzzler introduces an element of competitiveness, pushing people to strive to be the best. It can even create friendly competitions between others, as they attempt to get the most right. With the crossword updating monthly it keeps up to date with the newest updates within our industry, as well as testing your knowledge on key terminology and products. It’s nice to see that even though PSD doesn’t offer a physical award, experts and clients alike can feel good about themselves when they succeed in completing the crossword.
The use of this unique idea is sure to boost Power System Designs reputation, presenting them as a serious leading technology company, but who are also not scared of being different from others. This provides an element of competiveness and entertainment on their website, making them distinctive from others.
This is a clever, and entertaining move from Power System Designs. They have provided an amusing, and clever crossword, unique from other websites, and I hope many will take this chance and put their knowledge to the test.
My life as Napier's latest Intern
When trying to find a summer placement, the first thing you have to ask yourself is what can you learn from it? You want to be inspired, to learn how the real working world operates outside of university. A summer placement, especially at a marketing agency, allows you to begin to apply the skills you have been taught in class, to real life situations. This was one of the many reasons I chose to apply to Napier.
More about me
I am a second year student at Bournemouth University, beginning my third and final year in September. I am currently studying Communication and Media, which promotes itself as a diverse and broad course. My course allows me to learn knowledge about all aspects within the media, including advertising, PR and marketing. This was the main reason I chose to study my course, due to it allowing me to learn all the different skills sets needed within each section of the media. I believe this leaves doors open, allowing me to study in depth the main areas that interest me. My marketing units stood out from my other studies, and sparked my interest into discovering how marketing works in a real life agency. I was interested in how campaign strategies are proposed, and what skills are used in ensuring it is a success. This is why I made the decision to do a marketing placement over summer, so I can explore my interest and passion for marketing further.
Napier is one of the leading integrated B2B technology agencies, so it was obviously a very exciting opportunity. Napier provides exposure to all aspects of the Media and I am excited to learn what skills are needed within marketing and PR to succeed in this industry.
Getting the most out of my placement
Throughout my eight-week placement, I want to learn how Napier operates as a company, by understanding the importance of how a team works together. For example, I would like to learn and recognise the importance of the team briefing each other on their key projects, and look forward to understanding what each individual members of the team contribute to Napier.
Throughout my time here I aim to improve my skills within both PR and marketing by learning how campaigns are handled throughout the company, and the importance of the team maintaining a respectable and close relationship with their clients. I also want to learn how Napier provides the best customer service they can to their clients, and what they do to make sure their clients are satisfied with the work they deliver. I am looking forward to learning how Napier solves problems for their clients, and how they brainstorm their ideas for different campaign strategies.
Throughout my time here at Napier I will put 100% into any task given to me, to ensure I get the best experience in all aspects of the media, and hopefully expand and improve my skills within marketing and PR. I would also like to feel more confident within my abilities, and acquire skills that I can use in the future after I have graduated.