Suanak Ghosh
CMO At Turtlemint
Marketing in Transition: Adapting AI and Shaping the Future With Suanak Ghosh
In the ever-shifting world of marketing, change is not just a constant—it's a catalyst for innovation. As industries continue to evolve and consumer behaviors become increasingly dynamic, marketers find themselves at a crossroads. The solution? Embracing the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to navigate this transition and forge a path into the future.
Join Agam Mathur, ex-director of sales at Pepper Content, and Suanak Ghosh, CMO At Turtlemint as they discuss all this and more.
Stay tuned for an inspiring and enlightening exploration of insights from a marketer's journey, as Saunak Ghosh shares his unique perspective on the interplay between past experiences, current challenges, and the future horizons of marketing.
Here are some excerpts.
1. Tell us about your journey so far.
I'm truly grateful for this opportunity to share my journey with you all. My foray into the world of marketing began around 18 years ago after specializing in brand management at MICA.
Starting my career at the esteemed publishing group, The Hindu, in Chennai, I quickly recognized the burgeoning digital revolution and its potential. Despite the prestige associated with a well-established brand, I took a leap into the startup landscape during the first wave of e-commerce in India, particularly within the online travel sector.
It was an exhilarating four-year journey, marked by the 2008 startup cycle and our subsequent acquisition by Travelocity, a prominent global online travel agency.
With a newfound appetite for digital and marketing, I embarked on a journey within the media space. Working with Network 18 and later at Star TV, I handled a portfolio of diverse brands, including a pivotal role in the launch of Hotstar. After a complete cycle in the media world, I returned to the startup ecosystem, joining One Assist, where we built a category from scratch—providing daily assistance and protection for devices, gadgets, and wallets.
Currently, I am proudly associated with Turtlemint, a leading insurtech platform in India that empowers agents to offer customers a range of financial products.
In summary, my career path has been a dynamic and transformative one, fueled by an unwavering passion for marketing and a commitment to embracing emerging trends across various industries.
2. What is your opinion about the current marketing space and how it is going to shape the future?
In the realm of marketing, I've come to embrace the ever-shifting nature of strategies and approaches.
One lesson that has resonated strongly throughout my journey is that nothing remains constant. While timeless case studies from college days offer valuable insights, attempting to replicate those successes verbatim is often impractical in today's dynamic environment.
With competition evolving and strategies swiftly changing, the key is adaptability.
The landscape demands a keen responsiveness to emerging trends. A prime example from my past is when, during my time at STAR about a decade ago, we grappled with reimagining content distribution. The birth of platforms like Hotstar was the culmination of multiple iterations, navigating challenges such as content ownership and the paradigm shift toward on-demand consumption. This experience underscored the importance of aligning strategies with evolving audience behaviors.
Another prime illustration of adapting to change lies within the InsurTech domain, particularly at TurtleMint. While digital disruption touches every industry, insurance remains unique. Despite the digital surge, approximately 85% of insurance in India is acquired through intermediaries like agents, bankers, and bundled products. As the industry pivots, our approach at TurtleMint revolves around empowering agents – the on-ground representatives. We've crafted a B2B2C model, arming agents with a platform to explore products, enhance their knowledge, and better engage with clients.
Our journey is defined by experimentation and learning from failures. By embracing this iterative mindset, we aim to stay ahead of the curve in an ever-evolving market.
In this dynamic landscape, success is no longer about a one-size-fits-all approach but rather a synthesis of adaptable strategies, data-driven insights, and a relentless pursuit of understanding the evolving customer journey. As marketers, we must remain agile and open to embracing change as a catalyst for growth.
3. What will be the future impact of AI on the overall marketing ecosystem?
Considering the vast scope of AI's impact on the marketing ecosystem, I'll share my perspective on the matter. Beyond the common definition of artificial intelligence, I believe a more fitting term is "amorphous intelligence," akin to a constantly evolving and adaptive entity like Jarvis.
In terms of practical application, AI should be at the core of business strategies, solving genuine customer problems rather than being a mere buzzword.
For instance, in the insurance sector, AI can significantly enhance underwriting by gathering and analyzing customer data to offer more tailored products. Personalization and customization emerge as AI's strengths, mirroring the trend seen in platforms like Netflix, where users choose what content to consume based on their preferences. This approach can revolutionize customer experiences in my domain.
The transformative potential of AI is evident as it drives changes from multiple angles across various industries. While my focus is on insurance, AI-driven lessons can stem from diverse sectors like marine engineering, fostering an open mindset to explore and integrate innovative practices. As AI continues to evolve and adapt, it's crucial to remain receptive to unconventional sources of inspiration that could reshape the marketing landscape. The journey ahead is a blend of harnessing AI's personalization capabilities and drawing insights from a spectrum of disciplines.
4. What according to you is the ideal marketing stack?
The ideal content marketing stack for us revolves around personalization and customization. To put it simply, content is about delivering the right information to the right people at the right time in a format that resonates with them. It's versatile, ranging from a concise GIF to an elaborate blog post or an engaging video. In our context, where we empower agents in a B2B2C model, content plays a pivotal role.
We've transitioned from basic product explainers to a comprehensive learning and development platform called TurtleMint Academy. This encompasses various content formats like videos, flashcards, and quizzes, enhancing agents' knowledge and sales capabilities, all accessible through a mobile platform, TurtleMint Pro.
Additionally, we leverage content to engage consumers. By creating unique and relevant pieces of content, we empower agents to share with their clients. This approach not only facilitates knowledge dissemination but also serves as a soft push strategy, delivering valuable insights that address consumers' specific needs. With a large network of agents sharing such content, we're able to reach a substantial audience with tailored information.
While AI-generated content is gaining traction, we emphasize the importance of verified, timely, and authoritative content for a meaningful impact. The dynamic nature of AI and its evolving potential further add to our exploration of innovative content strategies that align with our goals.
5. So what is the ideal content for you and how do you devise your content strategy?
Certainly, finding the ideal content and crafting a strategy around it is a fundamental aspect of our approach. In our deep dive into content, I've highlighted how its form is crucial—it can take various shapes and some may resonate more effectively than others.
To begin with, understanding the audience we're catering to is paramount. Whether it's our customers, advisors, or a specific target group, each requires tailored content. It's essential to gauge what works best for them and measure these metrics meticulously. Setting benchmarks and evaluating performance becomes a critical part of the process. For instance, when engaging consumers, our strategy revolves around empowerment through informed choices. This principle is at the core of our brand campaign, which features a technology-powered bot and a physical advisor, symbolized by MS Dhoni, demonstrating the essence of helping individuals make the right decisions.
Translating this overarching concept into relatable narratives, we address the nuances that customers seek, such as choosing the right product, understanding trends, and building confidence in their decisions.
The content we create revolves around simplifying options, highlighting the value of personalized advice, and guiding consumers toward making well-informed choices.
Similarly, for advisors, our content focuses on making them integral to this story. We recognize that content manifests in diverse formats, with what works for one not necessarily working for another. This calls for a flexible approach, staying receptive to new avenues that align with our goals and resonate effectively with our diverse audience.
6. What are the current pain points that you face in your marketing efforts?
Certainly, there are some current challenges we're navigating in our marketing efforts. One significant concern, especially in the digital realm, is the attribution of ROI. Determining which channels are yielding the best results and understanding how each contributes to our complex purchase cycle is crucial.
As we operate in a space with multiple stakeholders entering the funnel at different stages, finding the right tools and methodologies for accurate attribution becomes essential. It's about identifying the channel that provides that final nudge to conversion and mapping the customer journey effectively.
Additionally, we're actively building our brand, which is still in its early stages. Over the past two years, we've worked on honing our positioning and messaging. However, the challenge lies in continuing to establish our brand's identity and recognition among consumers. Customization remains a central aspect, ensuring that our brand resonates individually with advisors, customers, and partners in our tri-way ecosystem. For instance, platforms like Instagram demand tailored content to cater to the specific needs of our various stakeholders.
Our focus on constant adaptation and evolution helps us address these challenges and refine our marketing strategies accordingly.