14:31 With Ashley Williams
I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Ashley Williams, Senior Vice President, Client Services, at Technekes. 14:31 was the time allotted, and also a reference to Technekes’ headquarters address — 1431 West Morehead Street, Charlotte, NC.
How long have you been with Technekes and what brought you here? How timely! I got a LinkedIn notification that this week marks my thirteenth anniversary with Technekes. I feel so blessed! I’ve known Preston Fay, Technekes’ founder, even longer, though. Preston called on me when I headed up communications at Novartis. I admired Preston’s unique perspective on data-driven marketing. Years later, we even competed against each other. I was delighted when we re-connected a few years after Technekes was formed and was asked to join Technekes to help Preston and Jack Ross grow the business. I think I was employee #8. That must have been almost 100 employees ago.
What is your primary responsibility at Technekes? I help companies create demand by examining their business, understanding their goals, and developing highly-customized data-driven marketing and sales strategies and tactics that drive revenue. Helping clients make money is my favorite thing to do. I have the pleasure of introducing Technekes to new clients as well as adding value to existing ones.
What does Technekes do? We help clients (and by extension, their sales reps and channel partners) create demand for their products and services. And, we to make it easy for our clients despite the sophistication and complexity of marrying people, process and technology.
What is one thing you’d want prospective clients to know about Technekes? The one thing I try to impress upon prospective clients is that we’ve walked in their shoes. We understand what it takes to execute ROI-driven programs in the corporate world.
Before joining Technekes, I had the opportunity to work for a leading manufacturer in communications, product management, database marketing and sales management. Our team’s depth and breadth of experience enables us to anticipate client needs and look at business challenges from all angles — marketing, sales, data, technology and the customer experience.
While that is second nature to us, new clients are often taken aback by that. They are surprised we can deliver work across so many disciplines and stakeholder groups with ease. Not all agencies have marketing strategy, cutting edge technology, inbound and outbound sales support, and a full creative services group. We integrate and collaborate well internally at Technekes with such varied disciplines. That’s why it’s easy for us to collaborate at the same level with clients and all of their varied departments in their organizations.
What is one thing you’d want current clients to know about Technekes? I want current clients to know how grateful we are for the opportunity to serve them. Not only do they share their business with us, but they share their lives, and each of us is enriched by that.
What is the biggest problem facing marketers today? In a word: silos. Knowledge silos. Data silos. Technology silos. Sales versus Marketing silos. But for Technekes, that presents an opportunity because we help clients break down silos by delivering work that benefits a myriad of stakeholder groups — using data, CRM, marketing automation tools, and outreach whether it’s phone, digital or direct to interact with their customers and prospects to drive awareness and sales.
Where do you see Technekes five years from now? All of our executives are lifelong learners. I see us continually enhancing the ways we serve current and future clients. Weeds never grow under us.
If we had a billboard outside our headquarters’ building, what would you want it to say? Technekes creates demand. (And of course, I’d want one additional smaller billboard that would add: “with ROI and peace-of-mind”!)
