The secret behind Dojah's growth is and will remain its people. Dojah is gifted with talented and diverse team members who constantly work behind the scenes to build the services you know and love. One such individual is Ayomide Ajayi, Dojah's Marketing Manager. He has helped build the Marketing team from Scratch since he joined the company. He talks about his journey so far as Dojah's marketing lead, the challenges he encountered, and what lies ahead for the marketing team. 

Career Journey

What attracted you to a career in marketing?

Initially, I started out as a brand designer, creating fun logos and visuals for companies. But over time, I became really interested in the strategic work that goes into developing a brand. I wanted to gain a deeper understanding of what makes for effective copywriting and impactful branding.

To satisfy my curiosity, I began learning about brand strategy, which made me a much better designer. Then I enrolled in an intensive digital marketing course organized by Taslim Okunola to learn the basics. With this new knowledge, I started doing some side work as a social media manager for a few small businesses. I was responsible for creating and sharing content, running social media ad campaigns, and improving important things like sales and customer engagement. I also led several marketing campaigns with the agency I worked with.

After earning a certification from the Chartered Institute of Marketing in the UK, I landed my marketing job with a B2C tech company. I spent some years working with two fintech brands before taking on my current role with Dojah. My start in brand design turned out to be a great way to discover my passion for helping brands develop winning marketing strategies, and I still adopt design-thinking principles in my process. 

Going B2B

What motivated you to join a B2B startup?

As much as I had a good time working with B2C companies, I was eager to explore the challenges of a new context. Personally, I think unlike B2C marketing, where the focus is often on deploying tactics to reach a broad consumer audience, B2B marketing requires a more strategic approach to creating targeted, personalized campaigns that speak directly to the needs and pain points of specific decision makers within the businesses and industries the company caters to. 

More importantly, I was excited about the opportunity to work with a startup that was focused on solving a real problem for businesses. When I came across Dojah, I was immediately drawn to the founders' vision to help Africans easily access the products and services they need to thrive. Verifying the identity of Africans is a critical problem that hinders many business interactions, and I wanted to be a part of the brand building the solutions to this. 

Leadership and Team Building

Can you describe your approach to leadership and team-building, particularly in the context of marketing?

To lead a team and work together, I believe in making a culture where people openly share ideas and feedback. It is important that team members feel comfortable talking to each other and that everyone helps the team succeed. It's also very important to always set clear goals for the team and let each person take charge of their own work. Each team member has different skills and views, so giving them the freedom to do their best work helps the team do better overall.

For a marketing team specifically, it is important to work with people who love what they do and understand the company's mission. The identity verification industry is uncharted territory, and we're conscious about building a team that's willing to take risks, try new approaches, and adapt to uncertainty.

Marketing Team Challenges

What are some of the biggest challenges you've faced in building the marketing team at Dojah, and how have you addressed them?

One of our biggest challenges has been crafting a marketing strategy to communicate our value to customers effectively. The identity verification industry is complex, so we need to simplify our messaging without sacrificing important details.

To address this, we've taken a data-driven approach. We use various tools to track our campaigns and measure their impact on our target audience. By analyzing the data, we continuously improve our approach and optimize our marketing activities to maximize return on investment. We also focus on channels, like LinkedIn and industry publications, that best reach our target audience.

We're always seeking new ways to improve our team's performance. We regularly review our processes to identify opportunities to streamline our work and boost results. We also invest in tools and technologies to work more efficiently and effectively.

Hiring

Let's talk about hiring. What was your first hiring role, and why did you know to fill that position first instead of others?

My first hiring role was for a content writer. Content marketing is crucial to our marketing strategy, so we needed a strong writer to craft compelling content that resonates with our target audience. Finding someone who could convey complex ideas clearly and concisely while simplifying our messaging without sacrificing important details was essential. We also sought a candidate familiar with technical concepts, as much of our early products were technical. By filling this role first, we established a high-quality content foundation for our marketing strategy, effectively communicating our value to potential customers.

Navigating the Future

Looking ahead, what do you see as the biggest opportunities and challenges leading B2B marketing in tech, and how are you preparing your team to navigate them?

I think the biggest challenge for B2B marketing in tech is finding the balance between data-driven decision-making and creative engagement when implementing marketing strategies. On one hand, data and analytics are essential for making informed choices about target audiences, messaging, and tactics. On the other hand, it's necessary to grab attention, connect with customers emotionally, and differentiate from competitors. 

To develop effective marketing strategies, B2B tech marketers must balance data-driven and creative approaches. Quantitative data like web analytics shows what's working, guiding decisions on channels, content, and messaging. Qualitative data from surveys and interviews provide deeper customer insights. By combining both, marketers can craft targeted strategies tailored to audience needs.

However, it's also important not to rely too heavily on data and analytics. Creative thinking is still essential for cutting through the noise and engaging customers emotionally. This is where storytelling, visuals, and messaging that engages and resonates with the audience come to play. At Dojah, we have the diverse skills and perspectives to leverage the power of data-driven insights and transform them into customer experiences that inspire.