Few things hurt a business more than complacency, or not building a strategy centred around meeting customer needs, according to Lexer’s new VP of marketing, Aparna Gray.
The marketing leader joined the Australian-headquartered customer data platform (CDP) vendor this month in the newly created role. Gray was previously with Dotdigital as head of marketing for APAC and boasts of two decades of experience in marketing, PR and communications across the local market, UK, China and the US. Previous companies include ChannelAdvisor, SLI Systems, Weber Shandwick, Burson-Marsteller China (now Burson Cohn & Wolfe) and Bite Communications.
“Homegrown startups that compete on the global stage in their sector are rare, and Lexer is one that specialises and leads the field in data and tech within the retail space,” she said. As a case in point, Gray noted she’s already accepted awards on behalf of the Lexer team for Best Customer Analytics at the NORA Awards, and Technology Partner of the Year - APAC at the Dotdigital Dotties Awards.
Credit: Aparna Gray
“It's testament to the fantastic work the team is doing within the Australian retail industry and the wider ecommerce partner network,” she said.
Having previously worked in online retail, high-tech and SaaS industries, Gray said the biggest learning she brought to Lexer as a senior marketer is the commitment to “relevancy”.
“If you can ensure you put your customer first and build products and services that meet those needs, you will always have a compelling offering,” Gray commented. “This mantra is what ties together the companies I've worked for in the past. Few things hurt a business more than complacency, or not building a business strategy centred around meeting customer needs.”
As to top-line priorities and first areas of focus, Gray flagged uncertain macro-economic conditions as a having significant influence on Lexer’s plans and customers.
“Marketing a SaaS product in a highly competitive industry can be difficult in boom markets, but can become more challenging in times of economic uncertainty. Using the same tactics that made sense during the ‘boom time’ may no longer be a valid option,” she said. “I have a strong belief marketers relying on spray-and-pray tactics need to adopt sustainable, reliable strategies for generating new pipelines specific to their ‘Ideal Customer Profile’. One of my areas of focus is going to ensure we are focusing our energy and resources to target the accounts likely to become Lexer’s most valuable clients.”
By way of example, Gray pointed to the team focusing on a number of omnichannel products. “Helping to roll them out and assist with their adoption through cross-functional marketing strategies is going to be key,” she said.
Whatever the challenges ahead, Gray said she’s looking forward to build global growth from Australia. Lexer’s clients include The Iconic, Kathmandu, Cotton On, Billabong, Sur La Table and Good American.
“It’s terrific to be working with a successful business with direct access to the founders, and building out the marketing team with local talent to service the global business,” Gray added.
Lexer CEO, David Chinn, noted Gray’s experience and marketing prowess in many global markets and highlighted her industry award nominations. Gray was nominated as a Yotpo Amazing Women in e-Commerce Honoree in 2021 and 2022, and received the nomination for Industry Person of the Year at VIP Awards in 2021.
“Coupled with her infectious energy and creative spirit, she leads a team of stellar marketers working to foster business growth, treating all departments as customers of her marketing team. I look forward to working closely with her to help supercharge brand awareness for Lexer globally,” Chinn said.
In the third and final episode of our 3-part CMO50 video series exploring modern marketing and why it’s become a matter of trust, we’re delighted to be joined by Telstra’s former CMO and now digital services and sales executive, Jeremy Nicholas, and Adobe VP Marketing Asia-Pacific and Japan, Duncan Egan.
Flash back to the classic film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Television-obsessed Mike insists on becoming the first person to be ‘sent by Wonkavision’, dematerialising on one end, pixel by pixel, and materialising in another space. His cinematic dreams are realised thanks to rash decisions as he is shrunken down to fit the digital universe, followed by a trip to the taffy puller to return to normal size.
Why is it there is no shortage of leadership development materials, yet outstanding leadership is so rare? Despite having access to so many leadership principles, tools, systems and processes, why is it so hard to develop and improve as a leader?
As a nation united by sport, brands are beginning to learn money alone won’t talk without aligned values and action. If recent events with major leagues and their players have shown us anything, it’s the next generation of athletes are standing by what they believe in – and they won’t let their values be superseded by money.
Enterprisetalk
Mark
CMO's top 10 martech stories for the week - 9 June
Great e-commerce article!
Vadim Frost
CMO’s State of CX Leadership 2022 report finds the CX striving to align to business outcomes
Are you searching something related to Lottery and Lottery App then Agnito Technologies can be a help for you Agnito comes out as a true ...
jackson13
The Lottery Office CEO details journey into next-gen cross-channel campaign orchestration
Thorough testing and quality assurance are required for a bug-free Lottery Platform. I'm looking forward to dependability.
Ella Hall
The Lottery Office CEO details journey into next-gen cross-channel campaign orchestration
Great Sharing thoughts.It is really helps to define marketing strategies. After all good digital marketing plan leads to brand awareness...
Paul F
Driving digital marketing effectiveness