Dr. Natalia on adding authenticity in her role as a Personal Branding Strategist and an 'Edutainer'

Why Sales Should Be Your #1 KPI in Digital Marketing & How To Get It Right

In this special episode, Ambreen and I answer some questions we get from business owners on making sales through digital marketing. We take you through what digital marketing is and how it can sometimes be challenging to get it right in the UAE, while also talking about the right mindset and approach one should have when doing digital marketing. We go through KPI's and expectations from agencies or people you work with, and what the foundation of all marketing should be to help you get successful sales.

Things we discuss:

• Why digital marketing is such a buzz word
• Challenges of doing digital marketing in the UAE
• The right mindset and approach to digital marketing for small businesses
• Difference between social media and digital advertising
• What determines a successful campaign & setting the right KPI's
• Understanding what to invest & results to expect from digital marketing
• Why it's a terrible idea to chase likes & followers & the business of fake engagement
• Understanding and working with algorithms for digital success
• Digital marketing for B2B businesses
• How to pick the right agency to work with
• The future of digital marketing and avoiding overwhelm of new platforms

Notable moments:

(29:52) If what you're offering is not valuable to the audience, then in most cases, it's not going to work. And that doesn't just go for digital marketing, it goes for any form of marketing

(31:06) Your sales cycle and your customer journey - this is the businesses responsibility, to start thinking about these things. What is my customer journey, what is my sales process? If your sales team is not equipped properly and is not trained well and does not know how to handle the buzz that the digital marketing campaign creates for you, then you're not going to get a result

(39:24) Your audience targeting is the most important thing you should keep in mind, because who your ad campaign reaches out to and who starts interacting with your ads.. the algorithm is watching that

(44:20) Consumers are also spoilt for choice over here in Dubai because of the fact that we're a small audience and the locality, the area is also small. The audience has a lot of options on where to go in a small vicinity, so they're picky - they can easily move from one place to the other, which makes it difficult for businesses

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If you enjoyed this episode of Successful Marketing for Small Businesses in Dubai, check out the show notes on: https://www.abovedigital.com/podcast/

Follow Namita Ramani:

https://www.instagram.com/namitaramani/

https://www.facebook.com/ramani.namita/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/namitaramani/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UConc_r4xXBwflx4XN9b5zNg/

Above Digital: https://www.abovedigital.com/

Namita Ramani on What it Takes to Run a Thriving Business Online [ELEVATED ENTREPRENEUR PODCAST]

A week ago, I had the wonderful opportunity to be featured on Dhiren Bhatia's Elevated Entrepreneur Podcast - an exceptional series that invites successful entrepreneurs and industry leaders to share their insights and experiences on what it takes to run a profitable business. In this episode, Dhiren and I had an in-depth discussion on everything from how you can market your business using different online platforms, to what kind of digital marketing campaigns should you be focusing on and how you can quality drive traffic to your website effectively.

Notable Moments:

22:50 - So you know a lot of clients come to us and I asked them so who is the target market? It is everyone. Everyone cannot be your target market. It has to be a particular kind of person who is your target market.

33:59 - You should know the goal of your campaign, what exactly do you want to achieve by running a digital marketing campaign? Like if you have a store, do you want people to come to the store? Then it's a different kind of campaign. Do you want to get phone calls? That's a different kind of campaign. Do you want to receive leads as email addresses and phone numbers like full leads like proper persons interested in your product or service? That's a lead generation campaign. In eCommerce, we usually run sales based campaign because it's an online eCommerce system right? You can run a campaign driving traffic to the website and making actually as the conversion-based campaign. So for different businesses, different kinds of campaigns, so one know your goal. No digital campaign should be without a revenue KPI.

Reim ElHouni Founder of Ti22 Films on Her Love for Film & Reaching New Heights in the Media Industry

In this episode, Reim El Houni, talks about the challenges she faced in the filmmaking, tv and digital industry and how she has to constantly be on top because of the evolutionary nature of these mediums. She talks about perseverance as she shares her journey which began 20 years ago as a production runner to winning the bronze medal in The New York Festival’s World’s Best Television & Films in 2018.

Things we discuss:

• How things are changing and video content is now a MUST for everyone
• Pitching an online show, Dubai on Demand, back in 2014 when brands didn't see the value of being online
• Focusing on the social media landscape and working with influencers to help them grow
• Redefining the meaning of ‘influencers’ and helping content creators grow with a solid social media strategy
• How Linkedin and Instagram is one of the strongest social media channels in this region
• Learning to push back and maintaining boundaries
• Making mistakes and learning along the way
• Why maintaining business relationships are so important
• Understanding the market and implementing the right idea at the right time
• How small business owners end up spending more in the long run by choosing a cheaper option for video content
• How important it is to love the industry you’re working in so you can give it your best
• Trying to maintain normalcy in life with such a demanding career

Notable moments:

15:00 - Well, I’ve made so many mistakes. The fortunate part was that I had already been in the industry for 10 years before I started my company so I had a good gauge of the market, what others were charging. So I think that's usually a good starting point. However, even with that knowledge, it was very important for me, in the beginning, to just get clients.

34:00 - When the brands started to realize:

1- We had just started and had no track record and views yet and

2- When they realized it was all online and all on YouTube. And back in 2014 most of the brands we met with were not interested on YouTube.  It's so fascinating to me now that 5 years out and everyone is on YouTube. I’ve always been a little early, you know.

40:00 - I think it’s great and terrible at the same time. I'm a big learner and I love going to conferences. I spent years going to the US. For my industry you go to different events even in Europe. I always came back very excited with a lot of ideas and wanted to implement them. As a result, I have implemented very early for this market. So, it’s just about whether or not you can keep the momentum going. I was very fortunate with Dubai on Demand. In 2014, no one was ready for that. I am fortunate to have a second coming with that in the last two years. But there was definitely a phase in the middle where it was very disheartening and I was thinking, “Am I doing the right thing?”

1:04:12 - I am a big believer in not having any regrets. I might make the wrong decisions but atleast I made the decisions.

Roy Koyess on Quitting Johnson & Johnson’s to Establish Healthy Snacks Company, Freakin’ Healthy

In this episode, Roy Koyees, talks about the struggles he faced while launching his healthy snacks company, Freakin Healthy. Roy discusses how healthy snacks often come with an elitist badge and are too expensive for the common person. He talks about how he wants to break this notion and make sure that health is mainstream, affordable and delicious for everyone.


Things we discuss:

• How a corporate job in Johnson & Johnson’s health division helped Roy realize about the importance of clean eating
• Fuelling his entrepreneurial bug with side projects even when he was working full time
• Why it is important to have a safety net and financial security before you start your own business
• Catering to a diverse group with a variety of products instead of sticking to a niche product
• How competition helps you innovate and bring out your best but has also increased the challenge to enter major retailers
• Sticking to a strategy that focuses on building a healthy community around the brand
• How consumer-facing marketing activities helped the brand grow and staying connected with the consumers
• Learning from fellow entrepreneurs and becoming a part of a bigger network
• Dispelling the myth that healthy food is only for the elitist class 
• Creating an affordable and accessible line of premium healthy snacks for everyone

Notable Moments:

28:22 - Do you think it’s become a fad? These expensive healthy snacks. I think diets are one thing. But I think clean eating is another thing. Diets could be fads at some point, like no diet is long term. I think if you eat clean and eat whole, that’s the best way to move forward. It’s more about well being. We’ve been eating a lot of junk. Preservatives. A lot of allergies now, intolerances. So I think people are trying to clean their system.

33:00 - The first year I think I almost did everything. It was very tough and coming from a senior management position in corporate, with everything was at your beck and call, to going to a place where nobody knows you and you’re actually delivering packages. But that, for me, builds the brand in a different way. It builds a character on the brand.

40:00 - We wanted to dispel this myth that healthy food is an elitist category. It's only for those who know. For those who are into yoga. For those who are into superfoods. For those who can afford it. So we wanted to break that. And hence the name. So we also wanted to break that barrier of ‘fluffy’ health food. And resonate with people.

56:54 - I don't really believe in balance. There needs to be a balance in the long term but in the short term, you have to give your 100 percent to something. And you're gonna have to sacrifice something else. It’s just how it works.

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If you enjoyed this episode of Successful Marketing for Small Businesses in Dubai, check out the show notes on https://www.abovedigital.com/podcast/

Follow Namita Ramani:

https://www.instagram.com/namitaramani/

https://www.facebook.com/ramani.namita/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/namitaramani/

https://www.youtube.com/c/namitaramani

Above Digital: https://www.abovedigital.com/

Nina Ubhi on Her Epic Journey Of Building A Beauty Brand With Her Husband

In this episode, Nina talks about how her passion for art and creativity led her into the world of fashion and beauty. Armed with talent and a strong entrepreneurial spirit, Nina launched her own brand, The Mink Lashes, and wants to inspire other women to be fearless with their approach to beauty.

Alongside Nina is her husband, Bobby who is the operational backbone of the brand. Bobby talks about why he decided to switch gears in his successful banking career and support his wife’s dream to build an international beauty empire. 

Things we discuss:

• How Nina got inspired with photoshoots at a very young age
• How she started her journey with Estee Lauder and learned the basics of business
• Learning the signature style of each makeup brand
• How she built her own experience by breaking the norm
• Standing out from her competitors by offering additional services 
• How technology has made it so easy for people to put across their talent 
• Thinking about developing the business in a way that it doesn’t solely depend on her presence 
• How Bobby helped her understand the business operations on a whole new level
• Being encouraged by Bobby to take risks and have faith
• Learning to work together as a pair 
• Being genuine as an influencer 
• The importance of finding the right mentor

Notable Moments: 

20:24 - I’ll be honest. I didn't think to myself that this when I was freelancing, that it is just something on the side for me. I knew that I wanted to be huge. I wanted to make sure that this business is a success. And I wanted to be a lot more business savvy compared to my competitors who were out there.  That was always in my mind. 

27:00 - You can't continue doing business in a way where you are not making the money. Ultimately you’re in for business, not for fun. There is a bottom line that you need to look in as well. 

45:00 - I had a very strong business core DNA into me from a very young age. Because I was working in a bank, I was not able to utilize the experience that I had because I was working for someone else. 

57:00 - I don't think it's often that you’ll find a husband and wife able to work with each other. I have to say, we do that pretty well.

1:27:32 - If I have got collaborations to come through paid or through social media bookings and it's something that I genuinely don't use, and there have been many, I won't do it. Because it isn't just about the money. You have to be genuine.

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If you enjoyed this episode of Successful Marketing for Small Businesses in Dubai, check out the show notes on https://www.abovedigital.com/podcast/

Follow Namita Ramani:

https://www.instagram.com/namitaramani/

https://www.facebook.com/ramani.namita/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/namitaramani/

https://www.youtube.com/c/namitaramani

Above Digital: https://www.abovedigital.com/