Each month we'll share the profile of a digital professional so that you can find out how they work in the interactive industry and what motivates them. If you would like to be profiled, please contact us.
Name: Mike Boyd
Role: Director & CEO
Organisation: VroomVroomVroom.com.au
Blog: mikeboyd.com.au
How did you get into digital marketing?
I started a successful party hire company while I was at Uni and didn't have a marketing budget to get the word out there. Back then, the very early adopters of social networks were exactly my target market (18th & 21st birthday parties) so I set about learning everything I could about SEO, Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Stumbleupon, web design etc. I never did spend a cent on advertising or marketing that business, instead I invested all of my energy into digital marketing efforts and it ultimately paid off handsomely.
What does your current role involve day-to-day?
Travel. I'm on and off planes most weeks, criss-crossing the country and the globe visiting our international team, building relationships and establishing new partnerships for VroomVroomVroom. A focus a lot of my energy on the commercial side of the business which is filled with business development, contract negotiation and strategic expansion opportunities. The rest of my time is devoted to making each of our Vroomster's more successful at what they do in their individual roles.
What is the best thing about your current job?
Is it the fun and relaxed environment? Or the amazing team? Or traveling the world closing business deals? It's all great!
What has been your biggest challenging with digital marketing in 2013?
A big part of our business is search engine optimisation (SEO) and the changing landscape of Google is always an interesting challenge. We genuinely have the best car rental rates available on our website and we book over 1,000 rentals everyday, however if we can't get new people discovering us from organic search results all the time, we need to work harder on our repeat customers, word of mouth and other marketing channels.
What do you see is the biggest opportunity in the industry at the moment?
In the travel industry, it's all about deals. Fortunately, we've got a lot of those so we're ahead of the curve. The biggest shift I believe needs to take place is the timing, relevance and delivery of the deal. With car hire for instance, it doesn't work to send out an eDM blast once a week with a great deal and hope to get an amazing click-through and conversion rate. Travellers don't need to rent a car when they receive your email in the middle of their work day, they need a car after they've just booked flights and then their hotel or accommodation and then it's time to think about car rental.
This is why we're now rolling out a number of great partnerships with the leading accommodation and travel sites around the world.
How do you stay up to date with the digital marketing industry?
Interactive Minds of course!
These days I'm fortunate enough to have a great marketing team who keep me up to date on the latest trends and developments in digital marketing. They are all keen participants at industry events, on social channels and marketing/SEO blogs.
Who or what do you use for inspiration?
I'm a self-help tragic and have an ability to chew through books pretty quickly. At the moment I'm digging Robin Sharma, Keith Ferrazi and Gary V.
What is your favourite work related phone app?
Tripit Pro - with the amount of travel I do, I'd be lost (literally) without it.
Trello - To Do, Tasks, Projects, Priorities. It's very simple and collaborative.
Twitter - I was an early adopter and haven't grown tired of it yet. It's my most active and favourite social profile. @MikeBoyd
What has been your work highlight for 2013?
This year we have set new all time records for:
the highest number of car rental bookings made in one day (globally)
the highest number of car rental bookings made in one day (Australia)
the highest annual group turnover revenue.
If you weren’t in this industry, what would you be doing?
I'm an entrepreneur through and through. I love building businesses, I love working with technology and I love traveling. It's hard to imagine spending my time doing anything else...