Marketing has come so far with the new advancements in technologies such as AI and automation. The job of marketing has become more convenient as well as cumbersome at the same time, as marketing leaders have to perform several tasks to reach out to their potential customers. Despite these differences of modern and traditional marketing practices, many leaders have smoothly carried out all the marketing functions and achieved the desirable results. With intent to recognize their significant contributions, Insights Success has compiled its list of The 10 Influential Marketing Leaders, 2019.
This list is incomplete without the inspiring work of Andrea Saravia, the Global Marketing Director of Ufinet. Andrea has been a marketing and branding specialist for 24 years now and possess an MBA specialized in business leading and marketing from ESIC, Madrid, Spain. She has been Ufinet’s Marketing Director for 5 years now, and has tackled many challenges ever since, such as positioning Ufinet’s brand in a difficult and ever-changing market as is the telecommunications sector.
Started Young
Andrea started her career in 1995 as an Executive Key Account Manager in an advertising agency. Since that moment she knew she was made for marketing. Being able to get to know many company’s profiles and businesses at their core and to embrace the knowledge that every sector had to offer, allowed her to grow in a very integral way, opening her path to achieve results no matter what the segment she worked with. She has operated in many sectors including advertising, PR, law, interior design, magazines, nutrition, and telecommunications, which she has loved most.
Andrea started working very young, at the age of 18. She did not have any experience before. The job in the advertising agency was very stressful and she had an important overload of work. She did not know at the time how to manage her emotions, the pressure and her time. It took her many years to know herself and find the best way to get things done without losing control. Later, she learned not only to get through every single obstacle that came her way, but even crave them as they make her life much more interesting and challenging.
Source of Inspiration
There are various factors that inspire Andrea the most. She firmly believes in a phrase which states, “do what you love, love what you do”. Being able to do this has given her the opportunity to tackle all the challenges that come her way and grow as a professional leader.
Another subject for Andrea has always been learning new things every day. In her opinion, people would be surprised knowing all the hidden treasures they can find by just opening their mind. Having a work-life balance is a key matter, enjoying both professional and personal life with family and friends. Few other additional moves that have inspired her to raise includes giving the extra mile -always; working smart, not hard; taking risks even though you may fail; and finally challenging yourself to dream.
Repositioning as a Big Player
In 2014 a private investor bought Ufinet from Gas Natural Fenosa Telecom. The most challenging task was to reposition the company as Ufinet, a big player in the telecommunication’s market, participating in various trade shows in several countries, creating the firm’s online image from scratch, such as the company’s website, a Linked-In profile and other social channels (inexistent at the time), and moreover interiorizing the business’s great assets, vision, mission and values within the company’s personnel. That was key to create awareness about the company’s ethics, its top-notch services as well as creating an excellent post-sales package to get the firm’s clients not only to choose Ufinet for its strengths and advantages, but also for falling in love with a strategy of taking care of their own business growth.
Being Authentic with Customers
According to Andrea, Ufinet has one of the best strategies in the telecommunications market, being a neutral carrier of carriers. This means that the company does not reach the end customer and therefore, it does not compete with its clients, which is one of the main issues it uses to tackle competition. Nevertheless, its competitors are also its clients, which make the task much trickier and more difficult. So, the best way to market its company remains to be honest and authentic with its consumers. Another key factor is the closeness Ufinet has with its customers. Every client has its own Key Account Manager, who is available almost 24/7 for them. This provides the company with an additional hands-on approach, as it gets to know and fully understand their most important needs and obstacles.
When asked about the future goals Andrea states, “I love my job. And I can say that Ufinet is one of the best companies I have ever worked in. The values under which this company breathes are amazing. So, I aim to keep working here as a CMO. I believe that my expertise, my passion and my creativity will keep this company growing and “rock-n-rolling” for many years to come.”
An Essential Advice to be Incorporated
Andrea advises emerging entrepreneurs to strive for success and quality every time. She says, “You will fail sometimes, of course, but the key here is to learn about each error and fiasco to make a better job next time. If you don’t push yourself after every failure, you will never acquire the wisdom to succeed in the future. Just do it, make things happen and never ever stop until you achieve what you desire most.”