Karima Jamal: Constant Learner Harmonious With The Changing Beats Of The Consumer Market
Karima Jamal
Chief Marketing Officer
A constant learner who is passionate about keeping herself harmonious with the changing beats in the consumer market, Karima is an excellent marketing professional with impeccable leadership skills. “With the digital marketing landscape shifting on a regular basis, the need to learn continuously is a primary driver,”she says with a lot of conviction. In an endeavor to explore the anecdote of Karima and her more than a decade old journey in the company, CEOInsights engages in an exclusive interview with her.
How has the journey been so far? Having a demonstrated history of working in the retail industry, what drives you today?
I started my career at the ripe old age of 19 when I got into T-Shirt sales for uniforms and events. I cut my teeth at Poppat Jamals, where I initially was in charge of procurement and then marketing. At that point, I was experienced in sales but decided I needed to improve my marketing skillset. This pushed me to qualify myself by taking several courses in digital marketing. I also started to build my client list. I would consciously look for clients from different verticals to make sure I was versatile and able to cater to different client requirements and industries.
I strongly live by the words “The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.” It’s a bit of a tongue twister but especially applies to the world of digital marketing. With the digital marketing land scape shifting regularly, the need to learn continuously is a primary driver.
How would you define Poppat Jamals as an organization? Also, what is unique about the company that keeps it ahead of the rest?
Although the common thought is that Poppat Jamals is just a pure
retail entity, I would say Poppat Jamals in 2021 is very much an Omni Channel enterprise. They have been able to move with the times by constantly leveraging technology and constantly innovating processes to suit customers’ ever changing needs .
Poppat Jamals moat concerning its competition is simple the service. In today’s day of online selling, where most customers are denied returns or after sales service, they ensure that service is embedded in every aspect of the customer experience. From small things like store timings being assigned on a location basis, store ambiance to free home delivery, the customers’ convenience is paramount and this, in turn, creates very strong customer loyalty. It is this culture of service that has made them South India’s premier home products store.
Being an experienced marketing professional, what unique strategies have you deployed in the company?
I have been a marketing professional for more than ten years, and that means I have tried every single trick in the book. From BTL to National newspaper advertisements, I have done it all. With the landscape constantly changing, I now propose a 70:30 budget split to my clients where 70 percent of the spend goes online and the remaining offline. It wasn’t too long ago where this number was exactly the opposite.
As a marketing professional working with Small and Medium Enterprises, I think the most important aspect of your job is to understand the client’s business, their USP, and what their customers are looking for from them. Sometimes, It also becomes your responsibility to make the client understand their USP and customer expectations. In the past, I have worked on creating customer profiles for my clients and then targeting different profiles with different marketing strategies. A simple example is targeting younger customers on social media and older customers through SMS campaigns. Although this might seem like a simple enough thing to do, to properly segment the customers, we have used AI and Machine learning through a third party platform.
As a marketing professional working with Small and Medium Enterprises, I think the most important aspect of your job is to understand the client’s business, their USP, and what their customers are looking for from them
Poppat Jamals moat concerning its competition is simple the service. In today’s day of online selling, where most customers are denied returns or after sales service, they ensure that service is embedded in every aspect of the customer experience. From small things like store timings being assigned on a location basis, store ambiance to free home delivery, the customers’ convenience is paramount and this, in turn, creates very strong customer loyalty. It is this culture of service that has made them South India’s premier home products store.
Being an experienced marketing professional, what unique strategies have you deployed in the company?
I have been a marketing professional for more than ten years, and that means I have tried every single trick in the book. From BTL to National newspaper advertisements, I have done it all. With the landscape constantly changing, I now propose a 70:30 budget split to my clients where 70 percent of the spend goes online and the remaining offline. It wasn’t too long ago where this number was exactly the opposite.
As a marketing professional working with Small and Medium Enterprises, I think the most important aspect of your job is to understand the client’s business, their USP, and what their customers are looking for from them. Sometimes, It also becomes your responsibility to make the client understand their USP and customer expectations. In the past, I have worked on creating customer profiles for my clients and then targeting different profiles with different marketing strategies. A simple example is targeting younger customers on social media and older customers through SMS campaigns. Although this might seem like a simple enough thing to do, to properly segment the customers, we have used AI and Machine learning through a third party platform.
What is the success mantra that constantly helps you to arrive at positive outcomes?
I think the one thing that has kept me in good stead through the years as a marketing professional is a good attitude. If there was one mantra, it would be “Life is 10 percent of what happens to you and 90 percent of how you react to it”. This is very important, especially given what the world has gone through over the last two years.
PostCovid,or during the ongoing Covid crisis, the one thing I have learned is that a key trait for anyone to possess now is adapt ability. I owe much of my success to my ability to adapt to a situation or client as the case may be, and adaptability comes from a place of empathy.
Having spent more than 11 years in Poppat Jamal, what are your plans for the company, and how do you plan to take it to greater heights?
Poppat Jamals is an old company with a startup mindset. We find tremendous scope in the new India and think that we are ideally positioned to take advantage of that. We are especially bullish in the online selling space. There is a huge opportunity for companies providing good value and service, and we feel that we fit right smack in the middle of that list.
Moving forward, at Poppat Jamals, we are looking to expand our private label offering significantly. We are also looking to expand our online team to improve sales and push revenue on market places.
In the light of your exceptional marketing experience, what advice would you give to the budding leaders in the industry?
Be always rooted in empathy. A truly successful leader can put him/herself in both his clients’ and sub ordinates’ shoes and understand both perspectives. The trick as a leader is to be a bridge between these perspectives. Empathy has been and will continue to be a very important part of my life and career. There are times when you might not understand a client or her/his ever-changing demands. It is very easy at that point to put your foot down and not budge, but understanding the client is very important. It is very easy to say that the client doesn’t understand design, etc., but it’s imperative to communicate with the client. It would help if you became the flag bearer of their brand, and then, almost magically, your thoughts will align.
Karima Jamal, Chief Marketing Officer, Poppat Jamals
Karima kick started her career as early as 19 years of age. A constant learner passionate about keeping herself harmonious with the changing beats in the consumer market, she is an excellent marketing professional with impeccable leadership skills.
I think the one thing that has kept me in good stead through the years as a marketing professional is a good attitude. If there was one mantra, it would be “Life is 10 percent of what happens to you and 90 percent of how you react to it”. This is very important, especially given what the world has gone through over the last two years.
PostCovid,or during the ongoing Covid crisis, the one thing I have learned is that a key trait for anyone to possess now is adapt ability. I owe much of my success to my ability to adapt to a situation or client as the case may be, and adaptability comes from a place of empathy.
Having spent more than 11 years in Poppat Jamal, what are your plans for the company, and how do you plan to take it to greater heights?
Poppat Jamals is an old company with a startup mindset. We find tremendous scope in the new India and think that we are ideally positioned to take advantage of that. We are especially bullish in the online selling space. There is a huge opportunity for companies providing good value and service, and we feel that we fit right smack in the middle of that list.
Moving forward, at Poppat Jamals, we are looking to expand our private label offering significantly. We are also looking to expand our online team to improve sales and push revenue on market places.
In the light of your exceptional marketing experience, what advice would you give to the budding leaders in the industry?
Be always rooted in empathy. A truly successful leader can put him/herself in both his clients’ and sub ordinates’ shoes and understand both perspectives. The trick as a leader is to be a bridge between these perspectives. Empathy has been and will continue to be a very important part of my life and career. There are times when you might not understand a client or her/his ever-changing demands. It is very easy at that point to put your foot down and not budge, but understanding the client is very important. It is very easy to say that the client doesn’t understand design, etc., but it’s imperative to communicate with the client. It would help if you became the flag bearer of their brand, and then, almost magically, your thoughts will align.
Karima Jamal, Chief Marketing Officer, Poppat Jamals
Karima kick started her career as early as 19 years of age. A constant learner passionate about keeping herself harmonious with the changing beats in the consumer market, she is an excellent marketing professional with impeccable leadership skills.