Interview with Rohit Onkar Digital Marketing Professional

“We need to stop interrupting what people are interested in and be what people are interested in.”

I have a chat with Digital Marketing Professional Rohit Onkar who is experienced digital marketing professional and business leader.

He shared his valuable experiences and her career journey in digital marketing.

Below, you can see the full Q&A and learn more about a digital marketing roles.

1. An introduction about yourself

An experienced digital marketing professional and business leader, I believe in succeeding through optimal utilization of my personal and technical skills, thereby adding value to the work I do.

I also believe that through honesty and integrity one can achieve any level in his personal as well as professional life.

A creative yet analytical thought process has enabled me to drive growth, enhance profitability and achieve corporate goals.

2. How did you become a digital marketer? Could you tell us about your career journey, starting with your education?

I hold a BE degree from K.J. Somaiya College of Engineering. I became a digital marketer because I wasn’t eligible for any company that came for campus placements during my year of graduation.

The founder of Convonix (now Performics India) graduated from the same college and I managed to clear the entire interview process for Convonix and was hired by them.

Convonix is the place which gave my digital marketing career a solid foundation.

I spent 4 years with them before moving to NPCI where I got an opportunity to launch Rupay Debit Cards.

In terms of exposure I could not have asked for a better agency to brand side transition.

For the last 5 years, I have been leading the ad tech and MarTech practice at Loylty Rewardz, helping businesses with their growth strategy

3. What leads up to finding “the perfect” story for a brand?

First and foremost it’s important to understand the personality of the brand before you position it to convey the “perfect story”.

I have seen, in my career, numerous brand managers trying to position the brand based on their own perception, without any concrete data backing that positioning.

The very first thing you need to learn if you want to become a successful brand/digital marketer is that “You are Never the Consumer”, which essentially means that what “you” like is not necessarily what the “brand” should be.

If you cannot do this, you will never have the “perfect brand story”

4. What has been the biggest challenge for you as a digital marketer, and how did you overcome it?

Because I had the privilege to get started with digital marketing when it was in its nascent stage, I have had the opportunity to work with Entrepreneurs and CEOs on critical projects directly.

While that’s been a steep learning curve, to challenge their years of successful ways of doing things and getting them to understand digital transformation has been a daunting task.

What I have learnt along the way is if you speak their language of growth, innovation, transformation and profitability, they quickly join your fan club 🙂

5. According to you, what are the top five skills that a digital marketer should possess?

1. Understanding the difference between branding and performance
2. Persuasive Copywriting
3. Ability to ‘hear’ data talk to you
4. Attribution
5. Role of Digital Marketing to influence LTV

6. Who and/or what influences your work and why?

Digital marketing is one of the few functions which allows you to challenge your biases, makes you humble and makes you win battles because the elephant in the room is only data and no one else

7. Would you like to suggest any online courses for those who want to improve their marketing skills?

Not really a fan of digital marketing courses. If you want to learn it the right way, get an internship.

Please note that I myself lead the digital marketing teaching module at Somaiya institute of Management and Research and by no means am I suggesting against doing a digital marketing course.

But If I have to choose between an institute and an internship, I would pick an internship, 11 out of 10 times

8. Are there any hobbies or interests that helped you develop your marketing skills?

I am a strong believer in God. The gift of faith to take risks is an important skill. I am an avid investor as well.

Discipline and Patience is something which this interest has given me.

9. What are your favorite tools to use as a digital marketer, how are they helpful?

1. Smartlook – To understand user experience
2. SimillarWeb – For competitor analysis
3. hellotars – To build chatbots

10. Is there a digital marketer who you admire or think they are killing right now?

Vikas is an industry colleague whose work I have always admired. What he has managed to achieve in the digital agency ecosystem is commendable and he continues to grow!

Follow Rohit Onkar to stay updated with his amazing work on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Quora, Instagram.