What was your journey until taking on this role in the company?
I was born with a purely technical background: I am, in fact, a mechanical engineer. I joined a truck crane installation company, Ormet, as a technical manager. I was therefore in charge of design, technical study and certifications until the completion of the projects which were approved by the DMV. Jekko Cranes was born from an opportunity linked to a huge brand of glass facade installation, mainly for skyscrapers and large buildings. The solution we provided, a small crane equipped with suction cups, not only played an important role in the project but was also noticed by other installers who saw its potential. Little by little everyone began to ask us to produce more and so, at the beginning of the 2000s, the idea of mini cranes was born. We are developing in parallel with the glass facade industry for the architectural cladding of skyscrapers, which has the majority of national players in the north-east of Italy. Around 2010, I moved to Jekko Cranes in the role of sales manager, with the aim of creating an international dealer network. Three years ago we reorganized the Marketing department, expanding resources and creating a network abroad and collaborating with external professionals. I believe that Marketing and Sales go hand in hand, which is why we need to work in synergy. Now we have a truly brilliant and capable team that ranges from actual online and offline operations to product marketing, also describing all the technical specifications of our machines. For us, Marketing is an indispensable resource, on which we certainly still have to grow but which is already giving us a lot of satisfaction. My role is, therefore, to coordinate the internal team and supervise the entire on and offline marketing sphere.
What do you think about the use of social media in the B2B market segment?
Jekko Cranes operators are present all over the world and are very often very young. This has allowed us to notice that the use of social media is more widespread in the foreign market: we are able to convert into sales also thanks to the operators who follow us on social media, as happened in Taiwan, where we sold some products thanks to our contents on TikTok. Traveling a lot has allowed me to understand the dynamics of foreign markets more completely and, also for this reason, I have insisted a lot on the presence of Jekko Cranes on the platforms. Creating a presence on social media is, in our opinion, almost an obligation in this historical moment: trying to create interesting content that speaks directly to our target is a non-trivial challenge but one that is certainly worth the investment of time, resources and budget. In general I see that in B2B they are used to tell the brand to a general and broad audience, they almost never turn to other businesses because there isn't that much need yet. Strategies in B2B are different from those of other market segments.
Which social network is more in line with your business model and which is less?
Jekko Cranes has a geographically broad market even though it operates in a particular niche of the B2B sector. This specific situation leads us to be present on all the main social platforms. Facebook is aimed at a more adult audience and is especially popular in the States, where the marketplace function is very popular. Instagram lowers the age range involved but prefers more structured, aesthetically satisfying content. TikTok is perhaps the most distant reality from our brand but I find it very stimulating and interesting: we continue to bring captivating content in line with social trends. LinkedIn is equally carefully looked after, but has a more institutional footprint and is mostly aimed at companies and not the individual user.
The data shows that having a low number of followers damages the brand image, what do you think?
I agree with these data because the number of followers is a data that is still held in great consideration today. If a brand does not reach a minimum threshold of followers it is perceived in a negative way by the "critical mass": one immediately thinks that there is no dedicated strategy behind it, no work to support the presence on social media. At the moment, however, at Jekko Cranes we are not taking targeted actions to grow the fan base: we are still missing all that part of target profiling that will allow us to follow up and expand our user base. Little by little we are becoming more and more structured in Marketing and in the future we will certainly fill this space which is not being followed properly at the moment.
How important are online reviews, are they important?
If we mean the classic reviews on the Google panel, in the niche where Jekko Cranes operates, perhaps they are not yet so important. However, we have noticed that on Facebook, in the comments on the photos, there are often discussions between operators who compare our machines with those of other brands. In this case we only intervene when there is inaccurate information about our products. We happened to have some haters who, despite not having purchased the machines through us, reacted with negative comments and reviews: we managed to find an agreement and end up collaborating after resolving the situation that had arisen. In my private sphere of life I have understood that those who, preferring to give negative opinions verbally or in any case not to highlight them on a social level, write negative reviews are much more motivated than those who leave positive comments. For this reason I avoid giving too much weight to an instrument that is used too much, often even improperly. If I happen to write some reviews, I only leave comments when they are positive.
Have you ever collaborated with professionals regarding the social sphere?
Certainly in the initial phase Jekko Cranes collaborated with external companies: we therefore structured marketing strategies, helping us to take care of the main aspects. We collaborated with an agency from Bergamo that did important brand identity work, providing us with all the foundations that we still use today. We have never had a senior internal resource so we have often relied on entities outside of our brand, continuously learning and updating ourselves also thanks to these partnerships. I believe it is essential to create cooperation between internal and external resources: this allows us to bring together the company's DNA with the technical skills of professionals, growing skills on both fronts. We have an internal coach who works with us and helps us structure communication even between our resources, which is reflected externally. We also try to create cohesion between the various areas of the company, doing teambuilding and carrying out various projects in the field.
What are the future corporate communication projects?
At Jekko Cranes we try to create a stimulating and flexible working environment from every point of view: we are attentive to sustainability, improving the green performance of our products or providing reusable bottles to our workers, our working hours are flexible and there is the possibility of working smart when needed. These are just some examples of internal projects that we want to improve more and more. The brand has always had a very free DNA: you work when you are productive, especially for certain figures who experience very intense periods and then calmer periods. When we have the opportunity, we try to meet everyone's needs. We have activated Welfare and obsessively take care of the balance between private life and work: those who are well work and live better.