How Jiten Thakkar Started Local Forever Between all Odds
Jiten Thakkar is a successful digital marketing consultant and a visionary who has always shared the importance of using digital strategies for business success. In order to help small business owners thrive by using digital media, he launched Local Forever.
His company is already prepared to help organizations, societies, and business owners achieve success and find their space in the internet world.
He has worked with numerous business owners around the world to assist them with outcome-oriented digital marketing tactics that can help to improve business. With impressive case studies of turning companies up, he has strong footprints in Australia, the United Arab Emirates, India, and other nations.
The world currently is witnessing a situation like never before & Jiten believes digital innovations & new internet marketing strategies will play a vital role in rebuilding what we have lost in the past few months.
We recently sat down for a brief interview. Here is the gist of our conversation with him.
Could you please tell our readers a brief background about yourself and how you started your business?
I am Jiten Thakkar, a digital marketing consultant & founder of Local Forever, a platform that helps local businesses get their business online & increase their visibility. Currently, we are living in 4 countries – India, United Arab Emirates, Australia & United Kingdom. We also plan to expand ourselves in more countries in the coming weeks.
Starting my career in sales, I grew interested in digital marketing & ways to reach the end customers the modern way. As my passion for digital marketing grew, I managed to get accustomed to various digital marketing strategies & worked with clients around the world.
The last 7-8 months have been really difficult for everyone around the world and with increasing issues of local business owners, I thought of ways I could use my experience to help businesses survive during and after the pandemic. This idea developed into a plan in launching Local Forever.
What are you currently doing to maintain/grow your business?
Currently, inbound marketing is working the best for us. Our unique subscription model is our key marketing strategy which is a win-win for both clients and us. We also do advertisements on social media & search engines to spread the word about our initiative in supporting local businesses.
What are the three biggest challenges you have faced growing the business and how did you overcome them?
Initial difficulties in promoting an offer which may generally sound too good to be true, handling workload during lockdown while team working remotely & strengthening relationships with our partners.
As an entrepreneur, what is it that actually motivates and drives you?
My passion to make a difference and helping businesses grow with your digital marketing strategies and combinations are what drive me.
What social media platforms do you usually use to increase your brand’s awareness and why?
For business, we usually search-engines ads as well as social media pages. For personal brand awareness, I have been focusing on creating valuable content on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram & Twitter.
What is your experience with paid advertising, like PPC or sponsored content campaigns? Does it work?
In Digital Marketing, every campaign has its own advantages and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Paid advertisements are as important as organic campaigns and comparatively give faster reach, traffic, and ROI, if done right.
It’s important to first understand the business you are into, and your customer’s preference & demand channels before creating a digital marketing strategy for your brand.
What form of marketing has worked well for your business throughout the pandemic time?
Currently, social media marketing – organic and paid has been our number one marketing strategy followed by video ads that we do on local channels.
What startup mistakes have you made along the way that others can learn from (or something you’d do differently)?
The number one mistake that I have made is focusing on perfection before launching assuming that the user would love the platform if it’s completely perfect. In the process of making everything right, you actually delay starting it at the right time. I believe starting first and then making it perfect is a better way to go about it.
What excites you most about your industry? Where do you see it heading in the near future?
Changing business dynamics, helping businesses to survive & grow & ever-changing strategies are exciting to give your best every single day. Due to the pandemic time, the digital marketing industry has actually gone ahead in time for a few years as now may realize the worth of offline-online.
With increasing digital adaptability, there will be an increase in the supply of services and digital products in the near future. It’s a very promising career option for anyone who is passionate about it & its end outcome.
What is one reason you believe stops most people to take action on their dreams?
Self Doubt – I believe the majority of people have amazing ideas but they never execute or take action on their ideas only because of doubt if they can do it. The best way to clear & eliminate self-doubt is to take action and start.
If you could go back in a time machine to the time when you were just getting started, what would you do differently?
Honestly, nothing. Whatever I have learned till today is because of multiple attempts, wins, and failures. Some people have to go through a hard learning process in order to guide others to easier paths.
The only thing I wish was different when I started would be the ease of acquiring any information now from learning to earning there are various search, audio, and video mediums to gain information.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
I am an avid reader & for anyone getting into marketing I would highly recommend reading The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing.
For aspiring digital marketers, I would recommend them to read through my book – ‘Marketing Digital Marketing’ which is specially created for those who want to find their space in the industry with updated information.
What is the best advice you have ever been given?
I usually use my quote as advice for anyone starting in the digital marketing space – Act Confident, Be Positive & Stay Digital Forever.
What advice would you give to a newbie Entrepreneur setting up their first business?
Focus on serving the end clients with your solution to their problem & the returns would eventually follow. Never let anyone tell you if you can or can’t do something & never do something half-heartedly.
Where can our audience connect with you?
They can reach out to me in any of the below ways:
Website & Blog: Jiten Thakkar
Company Website: Local Forever
Facebook: @iamjitenthakkar
Instagram: @iamjitenthakkar
Twitter: @iamjitenthakkar
