As the world continues to embrace the digital era, marketing has become a crucial tool in the success of businesses. It takes a skilled and experienced marketing leader to navigate the ever-changing landscape and help companies achieve their goals. This is where Roshni Wijayasinha, the CEO of Prosh Marketing, comes in. With years of experience under her belt, Roshni has proven herself to be a true master in the marketing industry.
Roshni’s passion for mentoring and sharing knowledge extends to her work at Prosh Marketing, where she provides equal opportunities to all and fosters a positive and inclusive work environment. With a commitment to staying up-to-date with the latest industry trends, Roshni is a member of the Forbes Communication Council sharing her insights and experiences with peers in the industry.
Let’s delve into the insights Roshni gave us on modernizing marketing efforts with digital marketing and developing innovative platforms!
From Marketing Novice to Leader
Roshni’s marketing journey is a story of determination, leadership and success. It all began with her first marketing leadership role at Kobo, where she played a significant role in the company’s rapid growth. However, Roshni wanted to expand her role and lead an entire marketing team, which led her to take on as the Head of Marketing at Juice Mobile.
She was responsible for expanding the company into the US and launching the world’s first mobile programmatic platform, cementing her reputation as an innovative marketer.
Roshni then moved on to Thinking Capital, where she built the marketing function from scratch. She rebranded the company, built a digital marketing lead generation engine and created a team and marketing infrastructure. Her success continued when she helped Benecaid modernize its marketing efforts and develop Honeybee, a revolutionary platform for brokers to sell health insurance online.
Inspired by her success and motivated to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams, Roshni launched her own business, Prosh Marketing, as an independent consultancy. Today, her business has grown into a Fractional CMO model, with supporting consultants and clients worldwide. Roshni’s success story is a testament to her dedication, leadership skills and innovative approach to marketing.
Talking about the challenges Roshni faced, she expressed, “The key challenges I faced throughout my career were managing growth with limited budgets, managing work-life balance as my work required a lot of travel and the pressure of startups that need to grow aggressively. But I thrive off the pressure!”
Marketing Impact: Roshni’s Journey
Roshni has always found the world of marketing to be fascinating. In her experience, it’s a field that offers an incredible amount of creative freedom while also requiring a deep understanding of business functions. She loves being able to explore new ideas and concepts while staying sharp and engaged in her work.
For Roshni, the best part of marketing is how it connects to every aspect of a company’s operations, from finance to operations to sales. This has allowed her to build lasting relationships with a diverse group of people, something that she finds incredibly rewarding on both a personal and professional level. What’s more, marketing has also given her the chance to travel and experience new cultures, something that she finds both exciting and invigorating.
Overcoming Adversity
Roshni says, “The under-representation of women in the technology industry when I was first starting out made it difficult for me to find role models and mentors who shared similar experiences.”
In support of the same, she adds, “This lack of representation is slowly changing, but it can definitely create challenges for women in advancing their careers and achieving their professional goals in the technology sector.”
Regardless, Roshni’s commitment to equal opportunity and diversity extends beyond her own business endeavours. As the founder of Prosh Marketing, she recognizes the value of diverse perspectives and offers opportunities to newcomers, students and interns from all backgrounds. Roshni firmly believes that everyone deserves an equal chance to succeed, and she works to create a welcoming environment for all aspirants in her company.
In addition to her work at Prosh Marketing, Roshni is also an angel investor with The Firehood. Her focus is on empowering and supporting women in the technology industry, with the goal of increasing their participation, leadership and prosperity. Roshni is acutely aware of the gender gap in the tech industry and she works tirelessly to address this issue and promote equal opportunities for all.
Empowering Mentorship
Roshni is a firm believer in sharing knowledge and giving back to the community. She is involved in numerous mentorship programs, including VentureLab, Futurpreneur, Treefrog, Scotiabank – The Women Initiative, Brampton Venture Zone, Schulich Startups, Essential Impact and eQuo.
Additionally, she teaches at the Schulich School of Business, York University, where she shares her expertise with the next generation of marketing professionals. Her passion for mentoring extends to her work at Prosh Marketing, where she strives to create a safe space for young marketers and interns to learn and grow.
For her clients, Roshni aims to build a sustainable business model by providing part-time marketing leadership, ensuring that their needs are met while fostering a positive and inclusive work environment. As a member of the Forbes Communication Council since 2020, Roshni is committed to staying up-to-date with the latest industry trends and sharing her insights and peers.
Marketing Evolution
Earlier, marketing was seen as more of an art than a science and there were limited tools available to measure adequate efforts. Roshni and her team had to rely on their instincts and creativity, without much opportunity for iteration. However, with the advent of new technologies, we can now A/B test various aspects of a campaign and apply a “fail fast, learn quick” approach.
The focus of marketing has also shifted from being primarily launch-focused to emphasizing the benefits and values of a product or service rather than just its features and specs.
Overall, these developments have transformed the field of marketing, making it more data-driven, adaptable and responsive to customer needs. By embracing new technologies and approaches, Roshni and her team continue to innovate and provide the best possible service to their clients.
Tech Impact: Prosh Marketing
Roshni believes that technology has brought about a significant impact on the marketing industry, including her own company, Prosh Marketing. With the aid of technology, her team is now able to track the results of their campaigns more effectively and demonstrate ROI more clearly. This has allowed them to refine their marketing strategies and ensure that they are delivering the best possible results to their clients.
Moreover, technology has also played a vital role in helping them become more efficient. They have access to a variety of tools that enable them to manage scheduling, project management, content generation, and other important tasks more effectively.
The most significant benefit of technology for Prosh Marketing has been its ability to enable them to deliver their services remotely. This has allowed them to expand their business into new markets, including the U.S. and other international markets.
It has also made it easier for them to reach prospective clients through search engines. Overall, Roshni sees technology as an important tool that has helped Prosh Marketing grow and succeed in the competitive field of marketing.
Prosh Marketing Values and Culture
Shedding the spotlight on the value and work culture that defines Prosh Marketing, Roshni shares, “We strive to create a unique culture that is accepting and open to our diverse employees. The values that we hold dear to us at Prosh Marketing are Kindness, Excellence, Collaboration, Integrity, Curiosity and Optimism.”
She adds, “At Prosh Marketing, our long-term goals include expanding our team to better serve the needs of startups and further expanding our reach within the United States, where there are many startups and growing businesses whom we could help.”
“To achieve these goals, we are continuously working on developing new partnerships and expanding our service offerings. We assess our growth trajectory every four months and make revisions to our plans as needed. This enables us to stay agile and adapt to changing market conditions and client needs, expresses Roshni.”
Success Mantras
One of the mantras Roshni continues to follow to this day is something my General Manager at Sony shared with her, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” This quote from Theodore Roosevelt reminds her that while others might have different situations, resources, and abilities, we can only do the best we can and work with what we’re given. This is especially helpful for startups to keep in mind as they usually have limited resources but have the opportunity to punch about their weight if they just lean into their situation and find creative ways to grow.
Another quote she truly believes in is, “Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” This reinforces the importance of finding a job or career that aligns with one’s passions and interests.
Last but not least, “Listen to your customers.” While one may have a deep understanding of their business and product, it’s essential to seek feedback from your customers in order to understand their needs and perspectives truly. By actively listening to customers, one can build stronger relationships and create products and services that better meet their needs.
