Managing partner Prantik Mazumdar drives regional growth at Happy Marketer, an award-winning digital marketing firm. Headquartered in Singapore, Happy Marketer counts among its clients The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Tigerair, Standard Chartered, Millennium Hotels and Resorts and the National University of Singapore. Mazumdar tells us how nurturing connections has propelled his business forward.
What are some of the challenges your company faces and how do you solve them?
Mazumdar: For a young digital start-up, scaling up is the biggest challenge. This not only involves increasing the client base, but also attracting, retaining and inspiring good talent. We manage this challenge by fostering a culture that empowers our people to take ownership, encourages them to experiment, respects failure and most importantly, allows them to have fun doing what they do.
We are glad that this has worked wonders over the last seven years. In recognition of this, we were recently commended by (media and marketing news site) Mumbrella Asia for our unique culture.
How do you network or build new relationships for your business?
Mazumdar: Connecting and conversing is an important part of my life, and I enjoy it thoroughly as it ushers in new opportunities and adds perspective to what we do. I make it a point to attend at least one event every week – be it a business, academic or sports meet-up. I actively complement that by connecting with people on social media platforms, especially LinkedIn and Twitter. What’s important is not just to make new connections, but also to nurture them over time through conversations, both online and offline.
How would you prefer someone to reach out to you?
Mazumdar: I am open to all channels, and I don’t believe in strict professional and personal boundaries. So people can reach me through emails or calls, but I am equally open to the idea of people reaching out to me through WhatsApp, Twitter, LinkedIn or even Facebook Messenger – whatever helps to connect and strike a chord!
What is your most effective tip for improving productivity?
Mazumdar: I try to improve my personal productivity through tools that automate some part of my life. I love Sidekick by HubSpot, which tells me who has opened my emails so I know who to follow up with; I find Buffer useful to share content on social media from the browser toolbar; and our company uses Uber for Business as that saves the hassle of manual claims.
What do you think about a business card management service such as Sansan?
Mazumdar: I think Sansan offers a wonderful productivity solution. It not only helps a business professional digitise his business contact information, but allows an organisation to coordinate and centralise this effort – a practical and powerful business tool indeed!
