Modern Marketing Engine podcast hosted by Bernie Borges
Bernie Borges - Host of the Modern Marketing Engine Podcast
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The Three Pillars of Marketing at Sykes, a Global Brand
Subscribe to Modern Marketing Engine on your app of choice. The Unique DNA Of This Global Brand Sykes is a leading provider of customer engagement services with a rich, 40 year history serving global and emerging brands. One demonstration of how Sykes is uniquely different than many long-lived brands is the story of how Ian Barkin came to be part of the company. Ian was previously co-founder and CSO of Symphony Ventures, a professional services firm focused on designing, delivering, and managing modern business processes. The company was so successful that it got the attention of Sykes leadership and was acquired by the company. When that happened, Ian was offered a spot in the C-suite of Sykes as Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer and he says now that he couldn’t be more delighted with this role. Ian says the exposure he had to the culture at Sykes while acquisition talks were underway impressed him. Particularly, he appreciated that Sykes leadership often referred to team members as “family,” a practice he and his co-founders at Symphony had intentionally used as they developed their 200-person team. When he was offered a role on the Sykes executive team after the acquisition was complete, Ian felt it was a great opportunity and an amazing fit from a cultural perspective. You don't see that kind of open attitude at the global level very often. Pillar 1: Internal Marketing That Fuels The Global Brand When we speak of “internal marketing” we’re talking about the communication of the company values and mission to those already employed with the company. Ian doesn’t feel the Sykes approach of using the #OneSykes messaging was anything novel, but the way they implemented it was quite unique. The strategy is “to teach us about ourselves, to get us all aligned.” This means enabling everyone on the team to know about the rich set of services the company offers, to cultivate a very real sense of unity among team members, and to encourage a sense of integration and collaboration between services. In the end, Ian wants everyone within the Sykes employee family to feel a sense of pride about being a part of the team and about delivering amazing solutions to their customers. To market these values and distinctives internally, Ian has been traveling to company offices around the globe, meeting with managers and teams and amplifying the “We Are One Sykes” message. He’s had rich experiences as he’s connected with teams around the globe and witnessed their enthusiasm and determination regarding the company’s approach to serving its customers. Pillar 2: Branding In The Marketplace For Education And Reputation Building The interesting part of what the Sykes team is doing in this regard centers around the company’s traditional set of services — which primarily provided call center services. Many in the industries they serve view them as “the call center people," which is now only a subset of their overall portfolio of solutions they offer to the global marketplace they serve. With a desire to expand awareness among customers and prospective-customers about the company’s robust solution portfolio, the Sykes team devised a somewhat tongue-in-cheek campaign they refer to as #NotJustAllTalk — a play on words that communicates how the company offers much more than call center support services while at the same time proving that they deliver on what they promise. This marketing approach is contributing to an expansion of opportunity within their customer base and elevation of the brand’s reputation in the marketplace. One such example of creative communication is the Sykes OneTAKE video podcast, hosted by Ian. The purpose of this show is to feature a business leader on topics that span innovation, sustainability, entrepreneurship, sales, marketing, customer service and more. Bernie was recently featured on OneTAKE where he spoke with Ian about the evolving role of modern selling to engage effe
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