I started my career in 1989, yup thats a long time ago and was a different time all together. We did not have Computers, Mobiles and Wifi. Our weapon of choice was a Typewriter and the only way to find Information was to search for it in an Encyclopedia. Marketing and Sales were very different as well. The only marketing that we knew of was Television, Billboards, Newspapers and Radio (Akaashwani).

The Attention span of the people was high, people would read the newspaper in one go and retain information. It took probably 2 touch points to create a brand recall. My first Brush with Marketing happened when we Launched Nepal in 1993. Kashmir as a go to summer destination had shut down, due to terrorism, Mussorie, Shimla and Nainital were the go to spots but the connectivity wasn’t the greatest and road conditions were bad and Manali as a Destination, was still to become a Hotspot and had around 3 Hotels which could be called good. 

For us to launch Nepal, there were basically 2 choices and both were expensive, Newspapers and Billboards. The Marketing agency we hired spent a week or so coming up with what could work and once approved it was sent for final publishing. 

It was here that I first saw the power of what a good marketing campaign could do. Over the next 6 months we had a queue of people, all wanted to Travel to Nepal with us. We were spending a lot of Money on Marketing and getting results beyond what I had thought possible. 

The next 10 years of my career saw me, a Subject matter expert on India, Nepal and later Bhutan, travelling internationally to promote these destinations and drive in Sales. Computers were becoming a thing now and Mobiles were also making their presence felt, albeit with little data capabilities. Internet was usually a dial up connection, and it was here that I got my first taste of what different types of Marketing were becoming available and what they could be used for.

Email Marketing was my starting point, I was using it more at that time to solve my own problem. I knew that there had to be a more efficent way to communicate and share updates with people whom I had met during various Sales Trips and Trade Fairs. This is where Email Marketing helped me, I have always been an advocate of One to many apporach. With Email Marketing you wrote 1 message used placeholders and when it was sent to hundreds of people, it was personalised. “This was awesome for work efficency”.

Mailchimp was the new kid on the block and came with a generous free plan, which gave me the opportunity to use it and I started seeing instant results from people I was mailing to. (Spam was not a thing then)

Over the next decade, more and more tools made their presence felt and I tested and used these to truly grow in my role. Facebook and Linkedin had matured as platforms and I realized that these were excellent to warm up the audiences before i Physically went to meet them and brought them into my specially curated “Education Series” Email sequences. 

These Email Sequences had content which came from my years of travelling across the Sub-Continent and was Top rated content, When I started sharing this as “Education Series” It established me as an Authority figure and thus when I met with people at a later stage, conversions happened quickly as they were already a warm audience and familair with me. 

This success made me very visible and I saw others in my own Organisation asking me to help them out with what I was doing for my department. The more I helped others the more I learned and grew personally. 

In 2015 I moved to Dubai to establish Taiwan Tourism Bureau in the middle east market, It was here that I leveraged Marketing to the max, Leveraging power of content, Social Channels and Marketing tools available I was able to create an outreach with both end travellers and Travel trade which made the Destination one of the fastest trending Destinations in the Middle East. 

This growth and Taiwan trending as a Destination got attention from all sorts of Industries and I started getting requests to help various Brands with their marketing, which led to me starting my own Company called Bigfoot Marketing. Before I knew it I was helping people in different Industries Including Digital Agencies grow via the power of marketing. 

Since I started my career as a Sales Person, my approach to marketing differs, when I craft a marketing strategy, I think about how would this help my clients generate Sales and test the strategy accordingly. Usually marketers are not sales people so they think differently and that is why a lot of times I am called by the Marketing Agencies to train their Teams to improve their marketing strategies.

From being a German Speaking International Sales Professional to a Marketer who guides Marketing agencies, I love working with Businesses of all shapes and sizes and help them build a Marketing startegy that guarantees growth. 

I am so sure of my success that I tie my growth with my clients growth, so the more I grow them, the more I also grow.