Sarah, what do you see as the three most important technology inventions of the last 10 years?
My top three are automation engines, blockchain technology, and artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).
- Automation: Automating repetitive tasks has been a big win for the marketing industry. Without it, delivering personalized content and messages at scale wouldn’t have been made possible — and accessible to all — in the last 10 years.
- Blockchain: The topic of privacy has always haunted enterprises and users alike, but blockchain can give consumers greater control over their data. While the value of blockchain has not fully crept into MarTech, I foresee tokenized digital assets becoming the norm in the future.
- AI and ML: While both of these have been around for well over 10 years, their value — especially in data-driven decision-making for marketers — has been undeniable lately. Analyzing vast amounts of data has opened many doors for digital transformation.
Was the gateB, Inc. team an early adopter of these technologies?
Some more than others — but we’ve made it a strategic goal to stay updated on the latest trends and tools to remain competitive in the digital marketing space. Our clients depend on us to balance innovation, compliance, and ethics when it comes to staying at the forefront of new technology. We take that responsibility very seriously.
How did you establish a spirit of innovation as a team?
It all starts with a clear vision. Ours is to revolutionize enterprise marketing through technology and data.
But I’d say a close second is allocating time for client-centric innovation and idea generation while fostering a culture of experimentation where it’s acceptable to fail fast and learn from mistakes.
What did you pull from the company culture at gateB HQ in Switzerland and apply to the team in the U.S.?
There are really incredible things about our parent company that we try to live out here in North America. A lot of that has to do with the people-first mentality, the dedication to service and quality, and the sharpness, responsiveness, and timeliness of Swiss culture.
We also strive to harness the ability to be a Swiss knife — a team of many trades.
How do you attract employees to join the gateB, Inc. team?
I always think of the four C’s that matter to attracting talent, in no specific order:
- Compensation — This largely comes down to benefits: what are we doing to stay competitive?
- Collaboration — We need to consider everything we need to offer now that most companies are doing some hybrid offering, including flexibility. We also think through the work environment and the energy of the space, from having plants and inspiring art in the workplace to offering extensive remote work with travel.
- Career development — We focus on the path and the trajectory for the employee. At the same time, we want to build in challenges, making sure they’re keeping up with new tech, they’re working across industries with innovation, and not constantly doing the same work over time.
- Culture — This encompasses everything, from purpose to strategy to values. Culture is very, very important at gateB.
Overall, especially with employee retention, we focus on personalization. There are the little things that we know mean a lot to our employees. Like gifts on their birthdays that we’ve all thought about and know fit them. Experiences as benefits or bonuses. Finding something curated to the employee.
We have to keep all of this very competitive and attractive, but the layer that makes us unique is the ability to personalize it. We want to make you feel like you’re a big fish in a small pond when you join our team; you are uniquely valued.
How does the culture translate into value for your clients?
When we focus on our employees, we allow them to focus on our clients. Making our team a priority to us allows them to make the client their priority. The values of transparency, quality, adaptability, innovation, and all the things I mentioned before have a direct impact on the value we provide to our clients.
Enterprises choose us and stay with us not just for our expertise, but also for the cultural fit and additional value that a positive culture brings to the programs we partner on.
What do your clients appreciate the most when working with you and your team?
I could sit here and make us look good with big words, but to be quite honest, I think it all comes down to one thing: trust. Our clients trust that we have their best interest in mind. We’re responsive. We communicate clearly and effectively. And we’re always seeking constructive feedback and ways to enhance our services and processes.
I would like to think that all companies are this way, but we’ve learned over the years that trust, communication, and continuous improvement really set us apart and differentiate gateB in the marketplace.
Being small in a landscape of competitors with hundreds of thousands of employees also allows us to be personal and build long-term relationships. That’s a luxury and gift I wouldn’t trade for anything.