Atri Chatterjee is the Chief Marketing Officer at Act-On, a cloud-based marketing automation platform that helps businesses acquire new customers, build loyalty and expand relationships. Act-On was the platinum sponsor at the recent Navigating Marketing Automation workshop hosted by ChiefDigitalOfficer.net in Boston.
Question 1: How do you define ‘digital strategy’?
“I define ‘digital strategy’ as the over-arching approach a company takes to marketing online. It starts with defining one’s objectives and determining metrics for measuring success, then creating programs across multiple digital channels to achieve those objectives, and measuring results as you execute those programs. For example, one aspect of our strategy is to create an awareness of the benefits of marketing automation for young marketers working in small and mid-sized companies. To achieve this, we develop educational content on marketing automation and distribute that content over various social channels. In this case, social media is a very important component of our digital strategy because it is used heavily by young millennial marketers. According to the Content Marketing Institute, social media sites and blogs reach 8 out of 10 of all U.S. Internet users and account for 23% of time spent online. Companies that are not using social for creating awareness risk becoming irrelevant.”
Question 2: As the CMO at a fast-moving company in the digital sector, what keeps you up at night?
“Two things keep me up at night:
- Staying nimble and alert. We live in a rapidly evolving business environment where today’s leader can quickly become tomorrow’s laggard. I take Andy Grove’s (ex-CEO of Intel) advice of ‘only the paranoid survive’ very seriously and am constantly looking for ways to improve our performance.
- Building an ‘A’ team that will take initiative and solve problems. I am only as good as my team, so finding and hiring the right talent is always on top of my mind.”
Question 3: What kind of mobile device(s) do you have, and what are your three favorite apps?
“iPhone and Android. My three favorite apps are Shazaam, MyFitnessPal and Act-On Mobile.”
Question 4: Why should people care about Act-On?
“We solve an important problem for businesses. We enable them to market and sell more effectively, and directly improve their bottom line. And even more importantly, we focus on small and mid-sized businesses, enabling them to compete effectively with companies many times their size.
Our approach is fundamentally different from other companies providing software for business. Our solution is simple yet powerful, and designed to get a user productive in a matter of days; our business terms are flexible, enabling a customer to sign up for a month-to-month contract and see real value without a large investment; and our commitment to customer success is unparalleled, ensuring each and every customer gets the help needed to be successful without any additional cost.
We are the fastest-growing company in marketing automation and have been recognized by independent experts as a leader in the market and continue to innovate at a rapid pace.”
Question 5: What advice do you have for aspiring digital professionals?
“I have three pieces of advice:
- Keep learning. This is a rapidly evolving field with many new and exciting things to learn every day.
- Practice what you learn. Don’t be satisfied with reading about new techniques or digital channels — put these techniques to use. If you are fresh out of school, get an internship that will give you practical experience.
- Find your passion. The science of marketing can be applied to almost any industry from investment banking on Wall Street to non-profit projects to environmental agencies. You, as a digital marketer, can make an outsized impact in your field.”
For more information about Atri Chatterjee, visit the Act-On website, follow him on Twitter, or check him out on LinkedIn.
