1. Tell us about your role at Avius and how you got there?
Luke, Will and I met at Bournemouth University in the UK, on a Software Engineering Management degree course. In our final year we builta satnav/GPS for theme parks prototype and won a Product Design Award. Following on from the prototype Will and Luke built a ride booking system which lead us to set-up Avius and attract our first client in 2006. In 2007 we sold the booking system and used the proceeds to fund the development of Avius Surveys.
Luke and Will run the UK office and focus on the development of our products, I head up the business development side as my skill set is building strong, meaningful relationships. In 2016 I moved to Florida to grow Avius in the US.
Our customer base has grown each year and we now have clients around the world in a variety of industries.
2. Given the changing dynamics of advertising and marketing where do you see Avius fitting in the ecosystem?
Our products enable organisations to listen to and learn from their customers. As well as measuring satisfaction and gathering customer comments, they can collect demographics from Avius Surveys. This means they can check they’re reaching their target audience and measure the satisfaction of each segment.
3. What is your most effective digital marketing strategy for reaching out to consumers across the world?
We help our clients to reach their customers in multiple channels wherever they are in the world. Avius Surveys enables our clients to gather feedback from their customers throughout their consumer journey; onsite, pre or post visit/sale. This allows consumers to make requests, raise issues or leave feedback whenever is convenient to them using physical surveys on devices, online or in-app surveys.
4. What changes are you majorly concentrating on to enhance and plug-in a more actionable customer interaction and communication model?
We’re focusing on our clients’ journey from prospect to loyal customer and monitoring their journey at key points using technology, analytics, CRM and human intervention.
We believe each client’s journey is unique so we work closely with them to understand their business priorities.
With that knowledge we engage with them using a combination of broad-reach methods such as e-mail, in-product and website blogs, in addition to direct interaction through our sales, operation and account management team.
5. What tools would you recommend to CEOs and CMOs as a Sales Hack in 2018?
In regard to tools, we don’t use anything unusual, Salesforce, LinkedIn and our own software of course. However, I believe the really important thing is to listen to both prospects and customers to understand their objectives, pains and requirements. You can log these details in your sales tools, but software can’t build a relationship for you.
6. Since Avius is already based on consumer technology, can you tell us why real time customer preferences make a product more viable?
The real-time alerts and reporting features of Avius Surveys mean companies can react, respond and resolve issues faster. Instant alerts are sent to the relevant team within 30 seconds of receiving negative feedback. This results in quicker response and resolution, and therefore a more satisfied customer. We live in a world where everyone is living in the moment. The sooner a complaint / suggestion can be actioned – the better for all parties.
7. Please tell us about some important and unique capabilities of a Real time reporting based marketing model? Does real time reporting really ease up the burden of sales and marketing based professionals?
Real-time reporting means our clients can spot problems in the moment and react quickly to solve the problems. Marketing teams don’t have to wait for weekly or monthly reports, they can identify issues and make changes to their campaigns almost immediately. So, they’re not wasting time and money on an activity that’s not working. Many of our clients check real-time league tables to check their scores multiple times a day. Once a location drops below a threshold, they can take immediate action.
8. Which startups in the interactive content and consumer technology arena are you keenly following?
I’m fascinated by AI, whether it’s machine learning, marketing automation or analytics tools, I’m really interested to see how Avius can leverage it to provide amazing experiences for our clients. Working with one airport client, we’re working with external flight data, previous ‘on-time’ records help predict passenger flow through the terminals to direct staff as required.
9. What is the best part of working with Avius. Can you share with us some fun pictures of your work environment?
Our fantastic team and customers. We’ve worked hard to build a great team who are experts at what they do, as well as being lovely people who are now part of the Avius family. We also pride ourselves in building solid relationships with our clients so we understand their needs and business to provide amazing customer service to help them grow their businesses.
10. What book are you currently reading?
I’m currently reading The Pigeon Needs a Bath to my 6 year old daughter, as well as The Rules to Break by Richard Templar.
11. One piece of advice you always follow irrespective of circumstances
Always listen to others but also trust your instinct and never been afraid to make a decision, even if it turns out to be wrong, it’s better to make a decision than not at all.