An interview about Online Marketing and Online Content Services with Indian Woman Leader

Dr. Roopa Nishi Viswanathan
Chief Content Officer, Chillibreeze Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

www.chillibreeze.com
Nishi is a medical doctor who has chosen to make her mark in the field of content. Someone who has an instinctive feel for what will sell and how to sell it, Nishi is an invaluable part of the Chillibreeze team. This interview aims to highlight some of the marketing efforts at Chillibreeze as well as highlight facets of this entrepreneur’s unique perspective on marketing online.

IR: Marketing online, marketing content and content services is very different from selling soap or mobile connections. Can you tell us the key differentiators – what sets online marketing of content services apart?

Nishi: Yeah, marketing content services is slightly different from selling soap or mobile connections, but I would not say it is a whole lot different. The basic principles are still the same. I think of a website as a store. If you get the customer to come in, you have the potential to sell. If you get him to walk through more aisles, chances are you might sell more stuff. Simplistic but true.

IR: How are online customers for content different? How do you tie in marketing efforts to the sales effort that is ongoing, so that the two complement each other?

Nishi: Our customers are mostly web savvy individuals who see potential in content outsourcing. Most of them spend a lot of time browsing our website before they fill our enquiry form. They are the kind of people who like to do their research before they buy anything. Like read reviews etc. But the problem with content outsourcing is that there is not too much info online about various vendors or reviews of content companies.

Today, if I want to buy a camcorder, I can go to CNET.com and read reviews, but if I want to buy content, I have hundreds of vendors to choose from, yet very less unbiased data available to me.

Chillibreeze understands this gap and caters to the intelligent consumer by providing a lot of information on its website. We have hundreds of sample articles and dozens of detailed service pages. We also have a full-fledged content outsourcing tutorial.

IR: Discuss your early efforts at marketing within CB? How did you plan the marketing? What pages to write, how to write these pages, other off-site efforts?

Nishi: Our early efforts at marketing were limited to writing content. We focused on adding more and more web pages. We did not go overboard with SEO but at the same time, we had the basic principles of SEO in mind. Quality content was key to bringing in traffic. We made sure each service had a dedicated service page.

There were absolutely no off-line efforts. I do not know if that was a good thing, but that is how it was.

Ralph is a visionary and has a great eye for trends. He knows what the next wave will be. He knew content would soon be king. And sure enough, today, it is. I learnt a lot from Ralph. Perhaps my lack of experience in marketing in the real world, gave me an edge in the virtual one. It meant fewer mental blocks and an ability to think outside the box.

IR: Have you seen any trends or changes in customer profiles over the years?

Nishi: We still work with quite a few SMEs but we have bigger corporations filling our enquiry form too. Our business development team handles such enquiries. We are also getting customers from word of mouth publicity, which is a great thing.

IR: With average visits to the site ranging from 1- 4 minutes, you have just that much time to convince the visitor to stay, read about your services and decide on you as the vendor of choice. Any tips? Some do’s and don’ts?

Nishi: I think 1-4 minutes is enough for the human brain to process information and analyze its usefulness. But 1-4 minutes might not be enough to make a sale. The good thing with our website is that we have several links that appeal to our clientele. From any page on our website, clients can choose to click on links to specific services, the outsourcing tutorial link or one of our must-reads. This is in addition to our pretty standard main menu. We also make sure our copy is top notch and error-free.

Simple and straightforward content has always been our policy for all our websites. Our focus is always on content as opposed to flashy graphics. Perhaps, this strategy helps potential customers focus on content too. The fact that we do not look like a clone of million other websites helps too.

IR: You are a medico - what made you think of taking up anything other than medicine?

Nishi: Back in 2004, I had just returned from the US with a Masters in Nutrition. At this point in my life, I was yearning for something that would offer me a lot of creative stimulation. Plus, I was pregnant and did not want to commit to a traditional full time job. I was not sure if a regular research or clinical position would be the right fit for me.

I found an ad posted on Monster.com by Ralph and Joanna Budelman who were looking for someone to manage a new website and take care of the writers’ network. I knew I was making a big career shift and it was a hard decision. But the idea of starting a company and building it from scratch appealed to me immensely and I took the plunge. We were joined by Vilasini Kumar who is currently our COO.

IR: How did you come by content outsourcing?

Nishi: As I said, Ralph is a visionary. He was the one who came up with this idea for a new company. Chillibreeze.com was a pioneer in the field of content outsourcing. Today, there are dozens of similar companies. But back in 2003-2004, the concept was new. Most people did not understand the business model, much less believe it would succeed, but we are living proof that it did.

IR: As someone who has taken the plunge – and become an entrepreneur, what would you advice other women in a similar quandary?

Nishi: I would say, if you have a great idea, go for it. But, here’s one thing to remember. Make sure you surround yourself with the right people. I think that is Ralph’s biggest asset. He knows to hire the best. Three years ago, he met Vilasini and just decided she would be good for Chillibreeze. If you know Vilasini, you would agree with us that she is not just good, she is the best! The bottom line is this- having a great idea by itself will not ensure success unless it is accompanied by flawless implementation.

IR: Any checklist / homework you would ask women to do before they decide to startup a business.

Nishi: Research. Research. Research. I think research is the key to coming up with a good business plan. Research your market. Research your competitors. Research your target audience. Research your alternatives. Create a list of your risks and benefits. And weigh everything carefully. However, avoid falling into the trap of basing all your decisions on numerical data. Sometimes, figures can be misleading. As Ralph says, “Don’t ask me for figures. After 40 years of work experience, the figures are in my head”. At Chillibreeze, we take decisions that make business sense, not ones that make mathematical sense.

A healthy balance of effective ideas, background research and a great team will ensure better chances of success.