An Inspiring Story For Inspiring People
Thirty-seven years ago, Aldo Noriega, at only 23 years old and with just 31 grams of gold (roughly USD 200 at that time) started Aldo & Co., today one of the most important luxury jewelry store chains in Peru. Aldo, my father, has always taught me that with a good strategy, hard work, tons of creativity, and a vision of quality and excellence, success will always be waiting for us. This story has always been my main source of motivation to always look for innovation and arm myself with the best knowledge and skills.
Now, let me introduce myself, my name is Flavia Noriega and I’m from Lima, Peru. I have been lucky enough to be born in a multicultural country, which has allowed me to interact with different types of people and grow up in a diverse environment. My background, plus the example of my father, awakened in me an interest in Business and Marketing since I was a little kid.
Marketing is my passion since I can remember. I did my first business when I was 8 years old, I sold bracelets and necklaces on the beach. I remember walking along the beach selling the products I made by myself the day before. I loved being in contact with clients and negotiating with them. Moreover, I also did pricing strategies without even being aware of them: “buy 2 bracelets and get 1 for free”. Then, when I turned 15, I created my brownie company which was named “La Pecosita”, they were chewy and fudgy with a crispy crust on top. They were the best brownies you’ll ever taste. I started my selling them at school, with friends and my parent's friends.
Little by little, through word of mouth, I became better known and managed to receive an order of 1,000 brownies for the end-of-year event from a well-known insurance company in Peru. With the sales of the first month, I managed to buy my first professional camera in the first month. Then, “La Pecosita” expanded and decided to create a dessert company with two more friends, which was named “La Deliciosa”. Below you can see the Facebook page we created at that moment.
On school vacations and Christmas campaigns, my father took me to work with him. I rotated through all areas of the company, and I had the opportunity to discover what I liked and what I didn’t. It wasn’t a surprise that the one I enjoyed most was the Marketing department rotation. I was amazed at how they combined creative strategies with data. I enjoyed participating and watching how they created a 360-marketing campaign from scratch: the product, the communication strategy, and the price, among others. Everything was not easy, I did not understand the data analysis, since every strategy had to bring returns and be quantifiable, and measurable to see if it is getting positive results. At that time, it was something I did not understand, but I told myself that it would be something I would love to learn when I grow up.
That is where I learned about perseverance, leadership, and the importance of creating a good product but also a good shopping experience. I discovered that to offer a good product and sell it with the right marketing strategies, I first had to understand the consumer, and his needs, and then offer him a product and experience that exceeds his expectations. Lastly, a good strategy had to be supported by numbers.
In addition, I remember my business professor at school telling me: “Flavia, you will be a great Marketer, you should study Marketing”. And so I did, when I finished school, I studied Marketing and I went to the best university in Peru in business education. And now maybe you are wondering, why are you doing a master’s in Marketing if your undergrad is in Marketing too?
I firmly believe that to accomplish my professional goals I need to bridge certain gaps in my profile. The world is constantly changing and is important to keep updated. The way the world and the markets are evolving today requires businesses to improve their services and products with imaginative plans and methods, and in that context, marketing has become a crucial pillar to face challenges, especially in the retail industry, where the sanitary crisis of the past year has forced companies to reformulate their businesses models and the way they reach customers. Moreover, customers themselves are constantly changing in their expectations and demand faster and safer services.
In the following weeks, you will find out in this blog content about Digital Marketing, New Marketing Trends, and my professional life and career. I hope you like it as much as I enjoy making my first blog!
