SalesTechStar Interview with Priyank Parikh, Vice President of Sales & Solution Engineering at mgage (acquired by Kaleyra)

Innovations in customer success tools and sales technologies are giving sales and marketing leaders new ways in which to boost customer journeys and interactions; but what does it really take to plan effective multichannel conversational experiences? Priyank Parikh, Vice President of Sales & Solution Engineering at mgage (acquired by Kaleyra) weighs in:

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Hi Priyank, we’d love to hear about your journey through the years…tell us more about your role at mGage?

 I have been with mGage since 2006 through various roles, from engineering, to analyst, project engineer, and sales engineer. Today, I manage US business teams and carrier relations. I am responsible for managing and generating growth in our business in the Americas.

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How have you seen global sales and marketing tech innovations redefine the digital customer interaction and experience over the years? As technologies and online customer interaction trends evolve, what are some predictions you have for the future?

Yes, technology innovations have absolutely transformed the digital customer interaction. Technology has enabled more interactive and conversational user journeys, enabled personalized and relevant communication, and allowed for the exchange of rich content. Perhaps most importantly, technology allows us to track and analyze these interactions so we can understand what is working to engage our target audience and refine our strategies.

In 2020, digital was the primary channel for sales teams to engage prospects. While we all value and miss in-person experiences, we’ve also realized the value of digital for quick and convenient conversations. Based on these trends, I will be betting on conversational commerce and customer service via mobile devices.

In a crowded digital market where seamless multichannel experiences are the need of the hour, how are you seeing global marketing and sales leaders drive impact with new processes and optimization of their martech-salestech stacks?

We are seeing many CPaaS providers investing in multichannel through M&As. mGage itself was recently acquired by Kaleyra in a landmark deal that will provide both mGage and Kaleyra customers with powerful multichannel options. We are working towards educating our customers about embracing a more integrated experience across all their channels and identify opportunities to optimize their customer experience.

We’d love to hear more about mGage’s sales and marketing strategies? And choice of salestech and martech as of now!

mGage uses a combination of inbound, outbound, and digital marketing strategies to grow our sales pipeline. We also focus heavily on growing customer accounts. Providing customers and prospects with educational content is an important component of these efforts. We rely primarily on Salesforce and HubSpot for managing the sales pipeline and automating marketing efforts.

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How has the team evolved over the pandemic and now, with being acquired by Kaleyra, what are some upcoming changes?

Fortunately, mGage was already nationally and internationally dispersed pre-pandemic, which meant the team was accustomed to communicating digitally and across different time-zones. We don’t expect significant changes after the Kaleyra acquisition, but we are hoping to open some of our office locations again this year! Overall, we are looking forward to combining our talents and technologies.

Tell us more about the acquisition and how it will add value to users?

The acquisition joined to entities which together offer a larger global footprint and expanded product portfolio. mGage is a. Tier-1 aggregator, meaning we have direct connections to carriers, making us faster and more reliable than most competitors. By combining our Tier-1 status and robust messaging product portfolio with Kaleyra’s cloud communications offerings, we will be able to offer customers industry-leading multichannel communication.

A few thoughts on the future of B2B sales and salestech?

Ultimately, B2B sales strategies will have to match the experiences we are all accustomed to in our daily lives as consumers, which means offering multiple ways to communicate on their own schedule. Delivering omnichannel experiences makes business communication more convenient for prospects, who are often balancing personal and professional responsibilities. Enabling them to communicate with salespeople on their preferred channel will boost engagement and ultimately deliver increased ROI.

A few thoughts on what you feel today’s sales and marketing leaders need to do differently in today’s business climate?

Sales and marketing leaders should approach prospects with a problem-solving mindset. Instead of thinking about how prospects can help you meet your sales or MQL quota, think about how the product or service you’re selling can make their job easier and fuel growth at their company. With this approach, your conversation will be more compelling and genuine.

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mGage is a global mobile engagement provider helping brands create powerful and interactive connections with customers.

Priyank Parikh is the Vice President of Sales & Solution Engineering at mgage (acquired by Kaleyra).

Strengthening your Marketing and Sales Alignment with better data-driven insights – how do the leaders do it? Catch more tips from the latest episodes of The SalesStar Podcast!