Pretty sure most of you expected an AI love letter – AI will revolutionize marketing, AI will map your customer journey, AI will make my coffee and do my laundry. Well, allow me to bedazzle your disappointment with a plot twist.
I’m here to address the elephant in the room. For years, I’ve heard it on repeat — “you’re too aggressive,” “tone it down,” “marketing is just a cost,” “sales is the real breadwinner.” Every time I brush it off with a smile (sometimes), make a mental note (always), and then graciously prove them wrong – not with noisy aggression, but with campaigns that pump revenue and strategies that industry mates can copy-paste like summer vacation assignments.
Let me make this clear – Marketing isn’t your pretty little accessory, it’s your engine. Without that, you’re yet another company without a brand that’s screaming into the void to be noticed. It’s a pity that marketing is still treated like the glitter department – something and someone to make things look good, sprinkle some social posts, and throw in a webinar when there’s leftover budget.
Meanwhile, you may have a great portfolio of products but if your audience doesn’t understand why they need it, congratulations, you’ve just contributed to more paper weight people don’t already want. It’s our marketing brain (pretty little accessory) that translates all technical jargon into consumable human language. It’s our strategic yet simplified take on positioning that earns attention, brand equity, and gets people to even show up for those 90-mins demos.
How do you think Chinese car brands went from being dismissed to dominating markets? It wasn’t just engineering or because they built better engines overnight; it was relentless storytelling and sharp positioning. Think about the number of times and places where you have seen Chinese car brands at the centre of all branding. Think about how many BYD cars you must’ve spotted in a day!
And for those wondering if this makes me “too aggressive” – here’s my take: if clarity, confidence and a refusal to dumb down my profession makes me aggressive, then I’ll gladly own that title.
Label me aggressive and marketing as a cost, but when numbers roll in and customers trust your brand enough to entertain your sales team for 30 slides long deck, just remember who made the noise first. Ignore that and you’re not only cutting your costs, you’re cutting down your own relevance.
About the Contributor – Riddhi is an experienced marketing professional with 10+ years in the fast-evolving technology space, specializing in cybersecurity. Adept at fostering strong vendor relationships in the dynamic security sector while driving impactful global marketing strategies. Expertise spans Strategic Marketing, Event Management, Channel Development, Customer Engagement, and Digital Marketing. A results-driven leader, she has successfully led end-to-end marketing operations, from crafting and executing holistic marketing plans to budget management and precise ROI measurement. Passionate about delivering tangible outcomes that drive business growth, Riddhi takes pride in translating strategy into measurable success.
This contribution is under the International Women’s Day initiative #SheIsInfinite.
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