An Interview With – Jagbir Singh, Director Digital Marketing, Kreative Mines

An MCA-OCP Certified professional, Jagbir Singh started off as an IT Tech at Forest Research Institute, Dehradun; however, found the routine of a Govt. job too boring for a young and enthusiastic him. He came to Delhi and got a break with V-Angelz Technologies where he entered the then booming Digital Marketing field for popularizing Mobile, Insurance & VOIP portals through SEO. His first websites www.mobilerainbow.co.uk and www.3mobileshop.co.uk ruled Google for the target keywords. He enjoyed sitting late night to learn more and more about Digital Marketing and got his calling at Smile Group where he started as a one-man army and built a highly competent Digital Marketing Team that won clients like Eureka Forbes, Homeshop18, DishTV, NDTV, Dominos, Skoda, General Motors amongst many others. They built and marketed www.zoomtra.com  – their in-house travel portal that garnered traffic and gave tough competition in the travel industry. After spending more than 6 years at Quasar – A WPP company, Jagbir joined a Delhi-based Digital Start-up – Kreative Mines to serve a clientele like Religare Health Insurance, OYO Rooms, Business World, ABP, TheMobileIndian and winning many more accounts to build their digital presence and deliver good ROI. Besides working as Digital Marketing Head at Kreative Mines, he is actively engaged in delivering seminars on Digital Marketing at institutes like LPU, PTU, Graphic Era, etc.

How did you get into Digital Marketing? What interested you in learning Digital Marketing?

Jagbir: Back in 2004, I got into Digital Marketing at the time when this field was just booming. Indian companies at that time were not too aware of leveraging Digital ROI and we worked/learned/evolved digitally working on the projects from the US & UK. The dynamic nature of Digital Marketing and the constantly changing rules, tricks and strategies is what hooks me to Digital Marketing. The hot and challenging environments of Indian Start-ups and the steady yet demanding targets of Old Players enthuse the Digital Marketer in me and challenge me to find out ways to get my clients reach the next level via indomitable Digital presence.

According to you, what are the advantages of conventional marketing over Digital Marketing? Do you think that Digital Marketing is a threat to the future of conventional marketing?

Jagbir: Conventional Marketing gives you a hefty reach. However, the world today is net-savvy. With the evolution of mobile, more and more users are searching online for even the very basic needs like booking a hotel, online shopping, finding a recipe, getting ideas for a science project, watching tv shows/cricket matches/movies online; thereby reaching your audience where it is, is important. On the other hand, from a company’s perspective, Digital Marketing is data driven and you have complete control over spends that you do. You can pause/re-structure/restart your online campaigns based on data findings that show what’s working/bombing your digital marketing efforts. Data is what sets the pace while analysis and strategizing drive ROI. Customer behavior can be computed through analytics and retargeted/optimized accordingly. So as a Digital Marketer, I would prefer Digital Marketing any day over the conventional marketing which works more on market research and ROI is distant yet inefficiently computable. However, conventional marketing comes with its own pros and integrated marketing is the key to overall marketing success. Having said that, there’s no denying in the fact that Digital Marketing will eat out conventional marketing spends in the coming age as the neighborhood commerce gets rapidly eaten by e-commerce.

Share about your 3 favorite Digital Marketing case studies. What did you like most about them?

Jagbir: There are many Digital Marketing case studies which prove why Digital is the future however just to name one, I personally like OYO Rooms: The way this start-up changed the budget hotels marketplace in India via Digital Marketing is instrumental.

According to you, what are the top 3 mistakes committed by organizations today in leveraging Digital Marketing?

Jagbir: 

• Technical Optimization: Organizations spend a lot on paid, yet miss out on improving the technical architecture of the websites which can get them long term organic traffic.
• Adopting Change: Digital Marketing is ever evolving and constantly changing. Most of the organizations find it difficult to accept change and move on to stay relevant.
• Erroneous Hiring: Digital Marketing is not learned in books, it is something that is learned on the job with experience. Hiring people with nice degrees and great passion is one thing, but hiring experts is what makes your goals accomplished.

Between Agency and In-house, which approach would you recommend for maximum value of Digital Marketing? Why?

Jagbir: It all depends on how much you can spend to hire the right talent. When you are on a budget, go for an agency as it brings with it the expertise from the senior executives to execution from juniors. In-house is better in terms of communicating the Brand Philosophy which they live day-in day-out. For a start-up – an agency is a good choice however in the long run, it’s better to develop an in-house team.

Which are your 3 favorite Digital Marketing Tools?

Jagbir: There’s a plethora of Digital Marketing tools that are used in the daily course of action. However, any campaign still starts with the very basic – Keyword Planner, Webmaster & Google Analytics.

Why do you think it’s important for entrepreneurs, marketing professionals and students to learn Digital Marketing today?

Jagbir: 

• For Entrepreneurs: To expand their reach to innumerable countries not just cities, knowledge of Digital Marketing is crucial to make informed decisions on marketing spends/mixes.
• For Professionals: Digital is the future of marketing. Be ahead and relevant to the marketing industry. Read a lot and whenever possible – be a part of digital marketing webinars/conferences.
• For Students: If you love internet surfing, this is the field you should be in. Challenging, ever evolving & highly rewarding. Learning Digital Marketing will give you a good launch-pad to get started.

What are the top 3-5 skills you look for when hiring a candidate for Digital Marketing profile?

Jagbir: 

• Hands-on Experience – time spent in the industry vis a vis Digital Marketing Acumen Articulation, Analytical Skills & Creativity
• Social Presence of the Candidate himself

What is your advice for newbies, who are looking at building a career in Digital Marketing industry?

Jagbir: 

Join it before it’s flooded and as you begin, know which area you want to be an expert in.

How do you stay updated on the latest trends in Digital Marketing? Which are the Digital Marketing resources (i.e. blogs/websites/apps) you visit regularly?

Jagbir: As far as marketing resources are concerned Search Engine Land is definitely a go-to website for all Digital Marketers. For adopting these trends, you need to think through by analyzing what’s working for your product and website.

Share the names of 3 people you respect when it comes to Digital Marketing.

Jagbir: The trinity at Quasar – Manish Vij, Harish Bahl, C P Singh!

How do you see Digital Media evolving in future? What are the top 3 trends do you foresee for 2016?

Jagbir: 

1. Mobile Marketing
2. Content Remarketing
3. Leveraging Digital Customer Experience

Would you like to share few words about the work we are doing at Digital Vidya?

Jagbir: 

It is a good initiative by Digital Vidya to educate the young brigade as well as the old contingent on the opportunities Digital Marketing brings to explore and arise.

Are you inspired by the opportunity of Digital Marketing? Start your journey by attending our upcoming orientation session on Digital Marketing for Career & Business Growth. It’s online and Free :).