Yogesh Khanchandani, Co-founder and Chief Business Strategy Officer at PivotRoots

Yogesh Khanchandani is the Co-Founder & Chief Business Strategy Officer at PivotRoots, a digital marketing agency. With over seventeen years of experience in the media industry across India, UAE, and Saudi Arabia, Yogesh Khanchandani has helped grow three different agencies. He has been instrumental in creating media ecosystems for numerous marquee brands where owned and paid digital channels, offline media, e-commerce, and retail work together, resulting in award-winning brand initiatives supported by best in class technology. As the Co-founder and Chief Business Strategy Officer at PivotRoots, Yogesh plays a vital role in business development, converting new clients and strategy consultation across existing clients.
What's your industry?
Digital Marketing
How did you end up sitting where you are today?
With a background in business and a family involved in gold jewellery manufacturing, I joined the family business after completing my graduation in 2005. However, I soon realized that it was not my true passion and felt the need to carve out my own path.
Despite having a family business background, I decided to explore various opportunities to find my true calling. After a few months of searching, a close friend helped me secure a job at Pinstorm, India's first full-service digital marketing agency.
This marked the beginning of my journey in digital advertising, which was a relatively new and specialized field at the time. With a "fresh from college" hiring strategy, I was able to gain valuable experience and expertise.
Over the years, I successfully founded and grew two digital agencies from scratch. Today, I am fully committed to my work with PivotRoots.
What kind of work does your daily role involve?
In my capacity as the Co-Founder and Chief Business Strategy Officer at PivotRoots, I am responsible for driving the company's strategic direction and ensuring the delivery of top-notch digital strategies to our clients. This entails close collaboration with various teams within PivotRoots to guarantee innovative, effective, and client-focused solutions.
On a typical day, I meet with the team to discuss client requirements and work closely with the design and technology teams to create tailored digital strategies. I also spend a considerable amount of time analyzing data and trends to identify opportunities for growth and improvement.
As a co-founder, I am involved in managing the company's finances, recruiting and developing talented individuals, and ensuring that we meet our commitments to our clients.
My role at PivotRoots is both dynamic and fast-paced, and it requires a high level of collaboration, strategic thinking, and attention to detail. I am deeply passionate about utilizing data and technology to drive business growth and deliver exceptional results for our clients. It is a great honor to be part of the talented team at PivotRoots.
What gets you excited about your industry?
The field of digital marketing is constantly evolving and presenting new and exciting challenges. What I find particularly exhilarating is the opportunity to utilize cutting-edge technology and data-driven insights to create innovative and effective solutions for clients.
Digital marketing also offers a high degree of creative freedom, allowing professionals to think outside the box and develop unique strategies that can have a significant impact on a brand's growth and business success.
Additionally, the advancement of cloud solutions, machine learning, and artificial intelligence in data is a game-changer in digital marketing. This enables marketers to measure campaign effectiveness and continuously optimize strategies for better results.
In essence, what excites me about digital marketing is the limitless potential for innovation, creativity, and impact, as well as the ability to harness the power of technology and data to drive growth and deliver outstanding outcomes for clients.
What's the best advice anyone ever gave you on your journey in business?
I received some excellent advice early on in my business journey, which was to take charge of my public relations right from the outset. This has been instrumental in building a robust reputation and raising awareness of my brand. I also discovered the importance of staying top-of-mind by keeping in regular contact with my professional network.
Furthermore, I learned that I can only be productive for around 10 hours each day, so I must use my time wisely to maximize efficiency. Finally, I recognized that continuous self-learning is vital, regardless of how high up the corporate ladder I climb. It is crucial to stay ahead of the curve and constantly acquire new skills and knowledge to remain competitive in the marketplace. I am convinced that these pieces of advice could benefit others, particularly those embarking on a business career or seeking to advance to the next level.
What's been the hardest part about the path you've taken and how would you advise someone facing a similar situation to overcome it?
When experienced professionals transition to entrepreneurship, they often feel confident in their ability to scale the business, especially if they have a successful track record in their previous job. They may have strong relationships with clients and vendors, and those around them express support and promise to help. However, the reality may not meet their expectations.
I can recall feeling very confident when I started my own business. On launch day, I met with many people whom I knew, trusted, and believed would do business with me. While their support was genuine, I heard a lot of reasons why they couldn't give me their business. I realized that people often like to give advice and make promises, but may not always deliver. This was a difficult time, and it was easy to feel discouraged. However, I reminded myself that this is precisely why I started my own company. I believed in myself and remained focused on my goals. As I continued on my journey and scaled up my business, I eventually started working with many of those same acquaintances I had met years before.
My advice is straightforward and based on my own experience, which I still follow today: Have faith in yourself and rely solely on your own judgment. Listen to advice from others, but ultimately do what you believe is best. When starting a business, don't presume that your connections will automatically assist you, as they may have their own constraints.
In the current climate especially, many CEOs are looking for ways to cut costs, with marketing budgets usually one of the budgets to be cut. Is that wise?
Reducing marketing budgets may seem like a quick solution for companies looking to cut costs, but it can have severe consequences for their long-term success. Marketing is crucial for businesses to reach their target audience, create brand awareness, and generate leads and sales. In challenging economic times, with high competition and reduced consumer spending, having a robust marketing strategy is more important than ever to stay ahead and keep customers engaged.
Additionally, data-driven marketing strategies can offer valuable insights into customer behavior and preferences, enabling companies to tailor their products and services to meet specific needs and drive sales. By adopting cost-effective and efficient marketing strategies and exploring new digital channels, companies can optimize their marketing spend and achieve higher returns on investment.
In summary, instead of cutting marketing budgets, companies should focus on adopting innovative and data-driven strategies to stay ahead of the competition and drive growth.
For people thinking of starting businesses in 2023, would you say it's still possible to build a big business with little or no marketing budget?
In 2023, building a big business with little or no marketing budget is still possible, although it may be challenging. While there are fewer examples of successful companies achieving this, it's becoming more difficult to stand out in the market without investing in marketing and advertising due to increasing competition.
In the digital age, marketing has become an essential aspect of a successful business strategy. Businesses have access to various channels like social media, online advertising, and search engine optimization to reach potential customers. However, it's crucial to note that competition for attention in these spaces is intense. Therefore, companies that don't invest in marketing and advertising may struggle to attract and retain customers.
Despite this, there are still ways to build a successful business without a significant marketing budget. One approach is to focus on developing a strong brand and fostering a loyal customer base through word-of-mouth and referrals. Companies can achieve this by providing excellent customer service, delivering high-quality products or services, and establishing a robust online presence through content marketing and social media.
Can you share one or two of your favorite free marketing strategies that a business owner in your industry can use.
Consumer-centric marketing strategy is a fundamental and important approach for businesses to adopt. This strategy puts the customer at the center of all marketing efforts and focuses on understanding their needs, preferences, and behaviors to deliver personalized and relevant experiences. By adopting a consumer-centric approach, businesses can improve customer satisfaction, increase customer loyalty, and ultimately drive revenue growth. Additionally, with the increasing importance of digital channels in today's business landscape, a consumer-centric digital strategy is crucial for businesses to effectively engage and retain customers online.