From Brand Manager to CRM: 5 Breakthrough Marketing Insights from my Marketing Career

When I embarked on my marketing career, I felt like a rookie.

And I surely was.

My love from marketing grew from reading case studies on how brands were transformed to enable growth!

Over the last 10 years, I have worked for market leaders, struggling startups, powerful multinationals and up & coming companies.

From brand management to leading entire marketing portfolios, the journey has been anything but linear. Yet, every twist and turn, every calculated risk and surprising revelation, has added a layer of invaluable experience.

Lesson 1: Flexibility Is More Than Just a Buzzword

As a brand manager, I lived and breathed the idea of brand consistency. Whether it was ad copy, logos, or campaign themes, uniformity was the order of the day.

However, a particular project taught me the value of flexibility. We were struggling with a product that had seen better days. Management was leaning towards discontinuing it. But luckily, we got a chance to work on it for another year.

That year of collaboration, market research, product development & brand strategy creation led to a 42% growth! We realized that our target demographic had evolved. We pivoted, reshaped our branding to align with our new audience, and voila!

The numbers climbed.

Being flexible wasn’t about abandoning your brand’s DNA. It was about adapting to continue resonating with your audience.

Lesson 2: Leverage Data, But Don’t Let It Dictate You

When I moved into the role of a digital marketing manager, numbers were my new best friends.

Click-through rates, impressions, ROIs — you name it.

But amid this data frenzy, a startup I worked with was focusing too much on short-term metrics and losing sight of long-term brand building.

So, I presented a radical idea: a campaign that didn’t have immediate ROI as a KPI. Instead, we focused on storytelling, building a narrative around the brand. We geographically targeted our consumers to increase their exposure to our story. Each month, through surveys, we’d track how much we’d progressed.

Six months later, the audience wasn’t just clicking; they were engaging. Our brand recall went up to 64% from a mere 30%.

We were not just asking them to complete a transaction. We were telling them why we do what we do.

And yes, the revenue followed, growing the company nearly five times in size. Numbers can guide you, but they shouldn’t define you.

Lesson 3: No Two Consumers Are Alike

Leading portfolios and becoming the head of marketing for two startups was a juggling act, to say the least.

While it was challenging, it revealed something remarkable. No two consumers are alike, even if they belong to the same market segment.

I remember launching a home healthcare service that we thought had universal appeal. But sales didn’t take off until we customized our marketing strategies to target very specific pain points in different consumer groups.

It was a lightbulb moment. Understanding individual needs could serve as a roadmap to mass success.

Lesson 4: Technology is an Enabler, Not a Solution

As I moved into consumer data and insights, and eventually into marketing CRM and martech, I realized that technology is an incredible tool but not a silver bullet.

I remember having access to fancy segmenting & distribution tools. However, without the right people to use those tools, we kept losing market share.

Yes, getting the tech was the right thing to do. However, we needed to have people who knew how to use that tech.

Lesson 5: Get As Close to the Consumer As Possible

This might sound like Marketing 101, but it’s an often overlooked truth.

In today’s world of automation, the need to understand your consumer has never been more vital.

When I analyzed consumer data and insights, I wasn’t just looking at numbers. I was looking at stories and motivations.

The same product can be purchased by different people for different reasons. Some might be looking at the price. Others may want something that’d boost their image. Or sometimes it’s just about fitting in.

Which group is larger? And how do you get to them?

Get as close as possible to the consumer. Every campaign, every strategy, and every success should not just be a win for the brand, but for the consumer as well.

The Journey Continues in my Marketing Career

Marketing career is a mosaic of challenges.

Each role I’ve taken on has been an addition in a career full of learning.

And the most significant lesson of all?

The consumer is not just a data point.

So, as I continue to tackle new projects, I carry these lessons with me. After all, marketing isn’t just about selling a product.

It’s about understanding the very people who make it all worthwhile.