Technology, a change for a more competitive company. Interview with Santiago Campuzano

Do not reduce the productivity of your company, technology is a tool that you should always have incorporated in its constant improvements.

HelloMrLead spoke with Santiago Campuzano, Regional Director of Iberia at Citrix, about; the digital transformation of organizations, the importance of adapting to different environments and the changes of the health crisis in the technology sector.

What are the most significant changes brought about by the pandemic?

The first thing we have to take into account is the technological situation of each of the companies. It is not the same for a company that has already tackled a flexible transformation, as it is for companies that still think that everyone has to work from the office.

Depending on the culture and technological progress, the situation of some companies has been totally different from others. What is certain, however, is that this phenomenon has forced everyone to take a series of actions.

It must be said that there is an advantage over companies that were already advanced in the digital transformation and with a culture that already accepted being able to work from home, the others have simply had to keep up.

A maxim for us is that we work as we live, and there is no denying that technology is part of people’s use of life, so we have to adapt more and more.

How has the insecurity experienced by many companies affected you?

 Critically: The only way to be totally secure in a company is to be isolated from the world, and that has many productive limitations; of efficiency and in the way of relating to the rest of the market.

When we are not isolated, there are very important security gaps. You have to understand that the main gaps are produced internally because they receive attacks and do not know how to distinguish them, and others due to bad practices; involuntary or in bad faith.

The easier you have remote access, the more points of risk there are. At Citrix, our vision is to have mobile and secure workspaces that allow us to work from any place or device. A model that protects the information knowing the reaction and recovery time to a secure environment.

We not only care about the proactive part of preventing something from happening, but also the reactive part to be available with a secure environment as soon as possible.

Do you think telework is here to stay?

 I have been looking for phrases that help us to culturize: One is that “we work as we live,” but we have another concept which is the “sociotechnological revolution.”

Digitalization matters, but cultural transformation matters much more. Technology is available, but people have to adapt and this implies that organizations have to adapt as well.

So those who have more influence are the managers of the companies, because even with the best platform if you have a manager who wants to see everyone sitting at his place from 9 to 6 pm, it is hardly useful to implement teleworking.

In the pandemic we have lived a situation that was not teleworking, it was the slavery of remote work. Children were at home, people were not prepared and many homes do not have a specific space to be able to work.

For the first time in history, the population pyramid reflects different socio-demographic groups by age; and you have several generations within the same job that has to be attractive to everyone.

We have to be able to merge cultures to take advantage of the maximum talent of the people within the organization, otherwise it is very difficult for any digital transformation project to succeed.

What role does digital transformation play in technology companies and commercial departments?

 For many years, technology has been a part of the operating environment and there is one thing we have to redirect, technology is not an end, it is a means to make companies more competitive and efficient.

So by implementing it in the present allows you to maintain your competitive position and in the future to gain market share, you prepare for the next impacts that will exist within your industry.

Digital transformation is a reality and people have to be able to adapt, thanks to the leadership of executives and company managers.

What is the positive impact and learning that companies can get from technology?

First of all, we are a human engine with a great responsibility because we have helped people to be able to work from home. This means safe people without having to leave and go to the office.

On the other hand, we are making it easier for companies to maintain their productivity, so we have two factors, one from the social point of view and the other from the economic point of view.

In short, technology companies increasingly have a global impact within the economy and society.

There has also been a change and everyone has a humanistic message and a concern for people that they didn’t have before. I think that is one of the parts of Citrix’s success, especially in Spain: how we have understood that people have to work.

Did the pandemic provide opportunities for this sector?

I think the real transformation exercise has already started. Here we have a social doubt as to what the impact and speed of vaccination will be, but what is certain is that the world is not standing still.

Technology has to have more weight and there is going to be a lot of redefinition of roles at the economic level. Undoubtedly, it is a year of opportunities and everything has its technological application to gain in efficiency and productivity.

Do you want to incorporate technology and adapt all sectors of your company to it? Contact us and let HelloMrLead guide you in your transformation process, click here.

 

Mailing, an effective tool for your customers to buy again

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Mailing, also known as email marketing, is a tool that will help us boost your income and today we tell you why.

Many organizations have been forced to innovate and employ all kinds of techniques to reach a minimum of sales. Thus arrives the mailing, whose objective is, in addition to maintaining contact with potential customers, to minimize losses.

A few days ago HelloMrLead asked Jose Argudo, Marketing Director with experience in the sector and author of the book Most effective sales texts, what was your opinion of mailing in attracting customers and why companies should devote a part of their investment.

So we could know a point of view that left us with great tools through questions that today we want to share:

Photography by marketing director, Jose Argudo.

What role should mailing have in an organization? Does this strategy serve all types of companies?

Mailing is primarily a communication tool, so it can be used both to maintain contact with customers and to sell, with equal effectiveness.

In the pandemic we could see how many businesses used mailing to communicate with their customers (and suppliers), reassure them and explain what they were doing to cope. That has been very useful for these companies.

On the other hand, many have continued to use it as a sales tool, with great success. In my opinion, seen from this perspective, yes, it is very useful for all kinds of companies.

 

Are more and more companies aware of the potential mailing has for their brand? And what would you say to someone who hasn’t yet implemented it? Why should I start?

Mailing has been one of the most effective tools for marketing companies for many years. What is possible is that some companies have seen in the pandemic as an excuse to start using it. Perhaps the changing situation has forced them to act.

I would say to a company that if you already have customers, a very effective way to get sales is to send mailings to those customers. You can make a lot of money working that list, but the funny thing is that many companies don’t.

 

What is the most common mistake made when using mailing?

There are several but one of them is that some companies prefer to buy a database of contacts (of dubious quality) instead of working with their own list of customers, which offers much lower profitability.

The other most common error is not understanding the medium and sending mailings that are simply images, as if they were a flyer printed on paper and that usually does not work.

 

We have less and less time to check our email. Do you think all this affects customer engagement?

Do we really have less time to check the email? Perhaps younger people don’t check the email as much, I don’t know. But the first thing that happens when you start working is that they create an email.

If anything, I would say that today the mail is consulted more than ever.

We consult the email:

  • To see if we have job notifications
  • To view notifications and purchase trends
  • See notifications from some social networks / forums / daily summaries
  • Track our favorite sites and their offers
  • Emails sent by friends and colleagues

 

Continuing with the context of the previous question: mailing vs. social networks. Do you think the technique will have to adapt and change in the future?

Unfortunately there is no debate here. Social networks with their algorithm changes have achieved that there is practically no return of use (except in exceptional cases) if there is no large economic outlay.

On the other hand, there are many email marketing tools that offer free accounts. That is, what you publish on a social network, surely if you do not pay you will only see 5% – 10% of your followers. If you send an email, I won’t tell you that 100% will see it, but 75% – 90% will.

If you want something to reach your contacts, social networks are not reliable. And in my day to day use both, you have to use all the tools at our fingertips.

 

Since we’ve touched on inbound, aside from social media, are there certain channels you think are appropriate for lead generation? Do you think corporate blogs add value or only serve to improve SEO? What do you think of podcasts?

This depends on each company, but I have always considered that you have to use all the tools at our disposal.

Blogs are still very profitable if they are used well, of course. Perhaps what I have noticed is that more and more effort is needed. But this will be the case on all fronts.

Many new companies are emerging, as many are being digitized. Competition is certainly going to go higher, not lower.

You comment on podcasts, and yes, it is true that they are a useful marketing tool, but as in the rest of the cases, they are going to become more widespread and therefore it will be more difficult to stand out there.

My recommendation for companies is that they select well the medium that they believe will be useful and that they dedicate efforts there, and that they do not diversify too much (if they have no means).

A small business almost without resources can not have a podcast, a YouTube channel, Instagram, blog, etc, the best. 

 

How could we take advantage of medium and similar platforms?

I am not a big fan of such networks. I’ve always thought that the effort spent on these platforms would be much better spent on the company’s own blog.

It is a personal opinion, perhaps not shared. 

Newsletter as part of the mailing. Is it ethical to send it without the person subscribing? Is the importance of Lead Nurturing and lead conversion going down via this channel?

Well, I won’t talk about ethics, but my personal opinion and the experience of 10 years, tells me that sending cold newsletters is much, much, less effective, and in some cases problematic, causing serious economic losses to the company that performs this action.

Blocked domains and blacklisted, reduced campaign effectiveness. Such actions can cause many problems in the short and long term.

As for the importance of lead nurturing, we see just the opposite, more and more companies are emerging that are doing this job very well. Through the blog, for example.

On the other hand, I don’t think the importance of lead nurturing is being lost. There may be companies that want immediate results, but those that work for the medium and long term, work well.

 

Do you want to implement mailing in your company?

Contact us and let the expert team of Hello Mr Lead accompany you throughout the process, tap here and make your customers come back.