Social Media Portal interview with Chris Vezey about A Bigger Bang!
Social Media Portal profiled interview with Chris Vezey from Sitecore about marketing event A Bigger Bang!
Social Media Portal (SMP): What do you do there at Sitecore?
Chris Vezey (CV): I?m Chris Vezey, Sales Director. My job is to manage the sales team who look after and grow our Solution Partner network and who sell Sitecore to new customers.
SMP: Briefly, tell us about Sitecore (for those that don?t know), what is it and what does the organisation do?CV: Sitecore develops and sells software that helps companies deliver the most relevant experience and content to customers at any moment of interaction and via any communications channel ? the web, email, mobile, social and offline.
SMP: When was the company founded and who are your target audience and why?CV: Sitecore was founded in 2001 and our target audience is both organisations that need to interact with their prospects and customers digitally and those agencies that work with those organisations to help them achieve their goals.
SMP: You?re on a panel at Cognifide?s A Bigger Bang! Digital Marketing: "How to do more with less?" event in association with Rackspace and in partnership Sitecore, what are you most looking forward to about the event? CV: I?m looking forward to chatting to the attendees about their vision and goals for their digital marketing and understanding their views on the multi-channel nature of the task. And also, of course, to hearing the other speakers!
SMP: More than anything, what would you like attendees to walk away with from the half-day event and your session in particular?CV: Really, that the world of multi-channel marketing is upon us and that it?s not a question of ?if? organisations evolve to implement and support it but ?when.? And, given that, that there are some key things to think about that will make their prospects? and customers? experiences as valuable as possible. Exactly what those things are will be revealed in my presentation. You HAVE to come :)
SMP: How well do you think brands are using technology to manage activity / campaigns and where can / are they going wrong? CV: Many brands have yet to fully embrace multi-channel marketing. It?s not just about having the right technology (although that makes it far easier to implement and optimise), it?s also about structuring the organisation so that the prospect/customer is at the heart.
Focusing on mobile or email campaigns or web is missing the point. You need to focus on the prospect/customer and ensure that they receive a consistent and relevant experience throughout the customer lifecycle. What you need at the start of your buying journey is different to what you need later or when you?ve bought.
SMP: What are the low moments of what you have been doing so far?CV: I guess moments like when I?m talking to a marketer about how they can improve the visitor?s experience by nurturing them through their buying journey across channels and they respond by saying ?but we just want a website.?
SMP: What are the high moments of what you have been doing so far?CV: See the answer to the question above. It?s the opposite of that experience!
SMP: What do you see as the biggest challenges and opportunities for agencies and brands in the current digital / technology age we?re experiencing?CV: The biggest opportunity for agencies is to not remain as the partner who designs and builds websites but to become the trusted extension to an organisation?s marketing department which understands the organisation?s customers? personas, buying journey and can adjust and refine the organisations? digital presence in an agile way to continuously optimise its performance.
The digital marketing architect and the digital marketing technologist are new roles and services that agencies can offer. These services will enable the agency to really get under the skin of their customers? businesses and to become an invaluable extension to their customers? marketing departments.
SMP: What are the next moves for agencies and brands in terms of social media ? and how does Sitecore help them navigate this?CV: Agencies and brands need to manage what they say in the social world. Saying the wrong thing can alienate a customer and can spread like wildfire throughout the social ether. Using a single platform for content management, like the Sitecore Customer Engagement Platform, across all channels ? including the social channel ? can help manage and speed saying the right thing at the right time.
SMP: What?s the next big step for social media and networks and what impact may this have upon agencies and brands?CV: Social is just another channel for organisations to serve their prospects and customers well and to learn about their thoughts/opinions and experiences. It?s critical that this channel is integrated not just technically but organisationally into the facilitating and improving the overall customer conversation.
SMP: Best way to contact you and Sitecore?CV replies with: chv @ sitecore.net
Sitecore are social from its
community,
Facebook,
LinkedIn, Twitter
@SitecoreUK and
YouTube.
You can also reach us at
http://www.sitecore.net.
Now some questions for fun
SMP: What did you have for breakfast / lunch?CV: Porridge and fruit. Every day. I like to be regular
SMP: What?s the last good thing that you did for someone?CV: Smile at them
SMP: How many hours do you work a week?CV: I don?t work. It?s a hobby
SMP: If you weren?t consulting (or your role) what would you be doing?CV: Like I said ? it?s a hobby. I just happen to get paid for it
SMP: When and where did you go on your last holiday?
CV: To the Algarve with my wife and, as she was then, 9 month-old baby daughter
SMP: What?s the first thing you do when you get into the office of a morning?CV: Do my hair
About the A Bigger Bang! eventThe Cognifide and Sitecore A Bigger Bang! event hosted and chaired by Miro Walker, CEO at marketing technology agency
Cognifide is in association with Rackspace and in partnership with Sitecore, is half-day a free to attend event on Monday, 12th November 2012 from 12:00 to 15:00.
Location:
Screening Room & The Crimson Bar
The Soho Hotel
4 Richmond Mews
London
W1D 3DH
Register now to book your place at
http://www.cognifide.com/bigger-bang/.
Keep up-to-date with the A Bigger Bang event via
@cogcaas and hash tag
#CaasBB for the latest and the A Bigger Bang! competition. Follow all things Cognifide on Twitter
@cognifide.
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