"Thinking strategically, learning to adapt and taking chances are the key to success in the marketing industry," says Vishnupreetham. After working with various companies in the creative industry, Vishnupreetham ventured on her own and started Digital Crest in 2010. Through Digital Crest,  Vishnupreetham facilitates brands and organizations to connect with their target audience in relevant, meaningful and impactful ways.

To know more about her and the company, read this exclusive interview with Women Entrepreneur.

Give us a brief overview of Digital Crest.

Digital Crest started in 2010 as an organization focused on content, design and digital media planning and buying. We give a lot of importance to data and that is our core digital marketing strategy. Although we work with leading giants, our focus is mainly on small and mid-sized companies from different avenues such as healthcare, home appliances, real estate, education etc. We understand the importance of lead generation and ROI, hence we ensure that our clients, through our services attain maximum conversion and experience a `sustainable growth'.

Besides offering digital marketing services to companies we also conduct training sessions. We go to colleges and train young minds to spread the knowledge that we have learned over the years.

Take us through your early education and prior industry experience.

Well, professionally, I have had experience working for both offline and online companies. I started off as a soft skills trainer and then joined a greeting cards company, ITC Expressions as a copywriter. Post that, I worked with Bharat Matrimony and went on to head the content team there. I was fortunate to have gained exposure and learned the ins and outs of creating successful visual campaigns.

All in all, I believe my experience, both online and offline, helped me understand a `customers' mindset and that encouraged me to continue pursuing a profession that works toward customer acquisition, engagement and retention.

What led to the foundation of Digital Crest and how has your entrepreneurial journey been so far?

We started Digital Crest with the idea to bridge the gap in customer communication. We realized that every business should have tailor-made language used for communications.  Every business needs to have its own way of `speaking', that's what will help them communicate effectively with their target audience.

Honestly, the initial days were difficult but that's how it always is. We kept at it and now we are in a much more comfortable position. We started with helping businesses with `tailored' communication and slowly moved into social media space, then branched out to help companies become a `brand' and finally included media planning and buying as our services. The journey is an ever-evolving process, 'we learn as we grow'.

“The journey is an ever-evolving process, `we learn as we grow'”

From the standpoint of an experienced professional, how would you say the digital marketing industry has evolved over the past few years?

Remarkably. Even before the pandemic, every company was making its presence felt digital, but now it has become the `need' for businesses. Companies are now exploring different mediums of communication to stay connected with their customers. This, in turn, has largely increased our importance so we try to meet the customer's demands. Digital is now a necessity and we want to ensure that we are able to give that to our customers so their business remains a success.  The market is now flooded with Instagram reels, influencers, hyper-local SEO and it's now important, more than ever, for businesses to leverage these mediums so they can communicate with their customers effectively.

Throw some light on the approach you take while working with a new brand.

Understanding customers is key. Every time a new company is onboarded, we try to approach it with a fresh mindset. We first understand the brand, its pain points, vision and do comprehensive research and analysis. Once that is done, we draw a roadmap for them and create tailor-made, data-driven solutions so they can attract the `right' customers.

What steps do you take to keep yourself well aligned with the evolutions and changes occurring in your field of work and the tech world in general?

I read to keep myself abreast with changes around. As a company, we also attend webinars and workshops by industry leaders. It is necessary to learn and always be up to date especially in a dynamic industry like ours.

Given the demanding nature of your role as a business leader and entrepreneur, how do you strike a balance between work and personal life?

It's tough, it's not easy. Sometimes a product launch can take a lot of time. but as we grow, we realize our strengths and learn to prioritize.

What would your words of advice be for women aspiring to be a foray into the field of digital marketing?

Connect with the right kind of people, partake in webinars and read a lot. One needs to be willing to go the extra mile, especially in the marketing industry. Think strategically, learn to adapt, take chances and discover new opportunities.

Vishnupreetham Mahalingam, Co-Founder & Partner, Digital Crest

I believe my experience, both online and offline, helped me understand a `customers' mindset.