Committed in providing best in class IT services, Tata Consultancy Services is delivering real results to global businesses, with unmatched levels of certainty. In an interview with Insights Success, Raja Banerji, Global Head Industry Marketing of TCS briefly mentions some of the strategies that are being adopted in order to ensure marketing’s foothold in the internal and external ecosystem. Here are his perspectives.
Explain your background in detail and tell us your prime goals?
My 27 years of diverse experience includes the spectrum of insurance and employee benefits, healthcare, risk management, group and corporate business, and government. Our primary goal is to support the leadership focus on TCS’ brand elevation as a Growth and Transformation partner for our customers. The objective is to catalyze marketing initiatives through the AAA strategy (Articulation, Awareness and Amplification) and drive up the value of contextual knowledge to enhance the customer experience while generating tangible business value. Creating and executing a comprehensive Service Design strategy includes integration of value messaging, thought leadership, digital, events, analyst and advisor relations, academic collaboration with premier institutes, account based marketing, public relations and media.
Tell us about the company and the services it provides.
Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, consulting and business solutions organization that has been partnering with many of the world’s largest businesses in their transformation journeys for the last fifty years. A part of the Tata group, India’s largest multinational conglomerate, TCS has over 400,000 of the world’s best-trained consultants in 46 countries.
How did you decide to pursue the career you are working on today? What was the pivotal moment or inspiration?
During my career, I have managed a wide-range of business functions; the marketing role came across in 2010. This role further grew earlier this year when I was offered the opportunity to oversee the marketing function for 13 TCS Industry Solutions units. My inspiration was to apply a keen sense of business knowhow to the marketing vision set forth by leadership.
What is the most important characteristic that every Marketing Professional should possess? What are the most pressing challenges that Marketing Professionals are facing today to be innovative? and Why?
As our customers adopt Agile, Automation, Cloud, AI, and other rapidly changing technologies, we have to continuously adapt and evolve at the same pace. It is important to constantly transform yourself to be relevant in the exciting future ahead of us. It is vital to be aware of the incredible work that we do, articulate the great stories and amplify the message that is being created for our customers and other key stakeholders.
One of the key challenge facing marketers today is the ability to transition from the tactical to strategic story-telling, contextual content curation, and the ability to remain agile based on a constantly changing business environment. Another challenging aspect is identifying the optimal way to measure and quantify marketing’s impact to the overall organization.
What are the key values, which helped you to overcome the roadblocks/challenges in your career as a Marketing Professional? Tell us something about your memorable incident under your leadership.
Alignment to the TCS vision and mission is at the core of all marketing initiatives. During the course of the last decade, there has been a tectonic shift in the way marketers communicate, advertise and promote themselves to their target audiences. The strategy we successfully implemented was to align messaging with executive guidance, partner with subject matter experts, and identify, procure and leverage assets to address our customer’s business needs.
The adoption of the “MVP” marketing model – Messaging, Validation, and Positioning – with tangible outcomes has been good to see. When detractors of marketing’s value turn into advocates, that is indeed gratifying.
What would you advise to the budding entrepreneurs and marketing individuals entering into the market?
Belief and confidence in marketing as a strategic function, alignment with organizational vision, persistence to achieve desired outcomes, and ability to gauge ROI are some key ingredients for success. A 5C approach – Content- Creativity – Collaboration – Communication – Consistency –hold the keys to a successful marketing operation.
Where do you see yourself in coming years, and how do you see yourself catalyzing that change?
Continue to serve the vision set forth by our Chief Marketing Officer, enhance collaboration with business leadership, our domain experts, and the marketing eco-system to articulate and amplify the best of our stories. Client engagement via Account Based Marketing (ABM), contextualization and customization of the value propositions serves as a key propeller in driving this broad vision. I also plan to sustain momentum on a robust institutionalized operational framework to facilitate best practices sharing across marketing teams.
About the Leader
Raja Banerji has been with the Tata group for 11 years, including eight years with TCS. He has held positions of Sales & General Manager with MetLife, Senior VP with American Healthcare Providers, Managing Director for AON Worksite Solutions, and Senior VP with Marsh and TATA AIG. An alumnus of the Tata Group Executive Leadership program at the Ross School of Business and a board member of the Harlem Educational Activities Funs (HEAF), he holds a Masters in International Relations from India and a Masters in International Business from the Patterson School of Diplomacy & International Commerce at University of Kentucky.
Source :-The 30 Most Influential Business Leaders in Tech 2018
