What was your journey until taking on this role in the company?
I started from scientific high school and subsequently graduated in Business Economics in Vicenza. Then I attended the master's degree in Communication and Marketing in Verona. I entered the world of work thanks to Atena S.p.a as a Communication Specialist and then moved to Lago. Here I worked for about three years, first in the Public Relations area and subsequently as Communications Manager. I therefore took care of the entire offline sphere, such as catalogs and events. For personal growth I decide to move to Florital, completely changing market sector and entering the fishing world. For a year I worked as Marketing Coordinator, then I moved to Bassano del Grappa to enter the world of cycling. After a short time I joined Margraf and here I took charge of all communication, especially digital. I manage and coordinate the marketing team, creating strategies aimed at the objectives we set ourselves.
What do you think about the use of social media in the B2B market segment?
I think that marketing in the B2B sector needs to be increasingly valorised. Marketing is part of the brand and is a fundamental tool to rely on. Margraf operates in a B2B niche that also addresses the final consumer, thus becoming B2C. Identifying a difference between B2B and B2C is perhaps no longer as simple as it once was. To make the brand known to the individual user, as well as to other businesses, "mixed" communication is needed, capable of addressing both targets in the most accessible way possible. Lately I have noticed a great growth in the use of social media by companies, where perhaps it is possible to describe difficult products in a brilliant way.
Which social network is more in line with your business model and which is less?
For Margraf, the most distant social network is Facebook, both for the current idea we have of the brand and for the future objectives we have in mind. The two platforms most in line with our brand at the moment are Instagram and LinkedIn. The first for an image and aesthetic aspect and the second for the corporate and sustainability side. They are two very different social networks which, however, allow us to greatly expand our target with targeted strategies and content consistent with the platform. We like to differentiate the topics to be expanded based on the destination of the contents. If, however, I had to identify a social network on which we are not present because it is very far from our identity, I would say TikTok. This comes from the fact that creating content for this platform requires a lot of investment in terms of time, budget and energy.
The data shows that having a low number of followers damages the brand image, what do you think?
Unfortunately it is a metric that is still worth a lot, in the business world as well as in the "real life" of the individual user. It is still perceived as an evaluation criterion: if you don't have high numbers you are almost not taken seriously. I believe that maintaining consistency in brand identity should be more important than the number of followers. Authenticity also plays an essential role in the marketing field and must be kept in mind when describing the company. These two values are the foundation for Margraf's communication.
How important are online reviews, are they important?
At Margraf we have never paid too much attention to this aspect even if lately we are interested in expanding the use, and therefore the management, of this tool. We want to focus not on our Headquarters but on our premises where the end customer can choose his marble. Personally, I used TripAdvisor to review and now I use the Google panel much more and when I travel I turn to Booking.
Have you ever collaborated with professionals regarding the social sphere?
At this time most of Margraf's communication is internalized. However, we rely on external entities for some aspects such as the press office and public relations. We also collaborate with external professionals with regards to corporate and event content, videos and photos. For the website we relied on an agency. We prefer collaborators who are very vertical in their sector, highly trained and capable, rather than a company that deals with all aspects of communication.
What are the future corporate communication projects?
Margraf is very focused on the future at the moment: we have various projects, including international ones, that we are following. After having collaborated on the construction of the new Fountainbleau casino headquarters in Las Vegas, we don't want to stop and are planning several partnerships overseas. In the field of communication, however, we also want to focus on the involvement of designers and architects and on the expansion of our website. We have two big events planned next year: the Salone del Mobile and Marmomac.