What was your journey until taking on this role in the company?
I graduated in a scientific field and joined Trevi Benne in 1997 at the age of 23. The company was family-run, in a typical Venetian style. The staff at that time was around 15 employees divided between administration, technical, commercial and production offices. The market was only Italian, with no exports abroad. I didn't have much technical experience and training in that field but I had a great passion for foreign languages and I was practically the only one who had mastery of the English language. I covered the role of salesman, spare parts service, logistics, manuals and trade fair organisation. I didn't have a "mentor" or a reference person to learn from, I made myself. Then we grew dramatically. We have started to include new figures in key roles to guarantee quality and speed in the service, increasing our presence on the market in a dominant and competitive way. Until 2006, the year in which my role changed radically, which coincided with the failure to book the exhibition space for our main trade fair "SAIE". From that moment, together with the Owners, we understood that it was necessary to carve out space and time for a figure dedicated to communication, the management and organization of events, the management of large Dealers and the website. What today is called Marketing. Today Trevi Benne has over 90 employees and a turnover of more than 40,000,000 euros. It has become part of a large group of companies in the sector and is among the top five global manufacturers in terms of number of equipment produced for earthmoving machinery.
What do you think about the use of social media in the B2B market segment?
I've always been very skeptical to be honest. I didn't believe it at first. I don't know if it was perhaps due to my being a bit of a "boomer" or because I believed that contact, meeting, discussing in person was the only way to make people appreciate the product or service to be sold. I had to change my mind. Social media reaches everywhere with crazy speed. They are incisive, immediate, direct. They convey the message, take it everywhere, also supporting investments in trade fairs or trips abroad. They are truly an essential tool for doing business. In the B2B market there are numerous niches, like the one in which Trevi Benne operates, where social media is not yet used but I am convinced that sooner or later this will change and we will have an increase in the use of media.
Which social network is more in line with your business model and which is less?
At Trevi Benne we are very active on Instagram even if we arrived a little late. We started in 2019 and the results to date are really excellent. Every week, on Friday, we post a video created specifically for this purpose. The topics of interest are always different to broaden the information we are going to tell. Obviously many are dedicated to equipment and work on construction sites but also topics such as safety, training, attendance at the fair and in-depth information. We try to never be too technical and to maintain an editorial line that is understandable even to those who are not in the sector. Many are truly playful in nature and, from this choice, the company benefits in terms of appeal and brand. My goal as Marketing Manager is to get the customer to say: "I want the Trevi Benne product". Excellent results also on Facebook, LinkedIn and Youtube while we have never invested on Twitter yet.
The data shows that having a low number of followers damages the brand image, what do you think?
I don't know if the term "lede" is the most correct and appropriate to describe a small number of followers of a company. It is certainly a fairly real reflection of the actions carried out, the contents covered, the investments made by a brand. Or the absolute lack of any action described above. A simple example: we have all preferred a restaurant, where we have never been, which has a parking lot full of cars rather than one that is practically empty. It's the instinctive perception we have. The one that moves our curiosity and that instinctively gives us the measure of how "valid" or not a company, a product or a service can be. So yes, maybe it doesn't damage the image but it certainly "punishes" it if the followers are few. This is why at Trevi Benne we create dedicated, interesting and stimulating content for our audience.
How important are online reviews, are they important?
Reviews matter a lot but they must be put into context. They matter to the extent that they are 100% positive or 100% negative. That then takes you to the next immediate action: choose or discard. Like the number of followers, reviews must also be read and interpreted. I never dwell on the totally enthusiastic ones or the totally catastrophic ones, I delve deeper and evaluate. Reviews, therefore, are important but obviously depend a lot on the product you sell or need to buy. Online reviews are difficult to find in Trevi Benne's market segment. The reviews, in this case, are the presence at the fairs, the number of markets in which one is present, the number of exclusive dealers, the activities in which one is involved, the certifications, the after-sales service, customer satisfaction and the consequent, and never banal, word of mouth.
Have you ever collaborated with professionals regarding the social sphere?
Yes, creating a synergy between the internal team and external professionals allows us to create more complete content that is consistent with the strategies. Furthermore, the Marketing department is currently made up only of me. Since 2019, Trevi Benne has had an annual contract for the management of our two main social networks, Facebook and Instagram. It involves the creation and editing of videos, with a weekly release, and dissemination on social media. I take care of the contents and the choice of subjects and the editorial plan, the professionals then take care of the graphics and video part. Our trusted professional accompanies us on practically all trips, working with us in the field and experiencing the company reality from much closer. We also collaborate with a company that deals with graphics that has followed us for the last twelve years, including fairs and comic book creations. We have never collaborated with real agencies.
What are the future corporate communication projects?
Let's say that globally the construction sector is declining by around 20%, so productivity and budgets must also be reduced. This is the reason that will push Trevi Benne to work hard and concentrate energy on the production department. Furthermore, we will undertake targeted actions at dealers, with mini fairs and open houses.