As part of our series on Growth Tactics, I interviewed Ashley Dudarenok, the founder of Alarice (a China-focused digital marketing agency) and ChoZan (a China digital transformation consultancy.
Ashley (www.ashleydudarenok.com) is a well-known serial entrepreneur, digital expert and author based in Hong Kong. She’s also a sought-after professional speaker covering topics around customer centricity, the future of retail, and technology. She is the author of 11 books on digital China. Her contact links are at the end.
We had a fun discussion about how she built and grew these two businesses. You can listen to the podcast here.
This short article is a summary of 5 digital growth lessons I learned. These are mostly related to ChoZan, her digital transformation consultancy business. These are my interpretation (i.e., my words, not hers – unless quoted).
Lesson 1: Be in a Market that’s Constantly Growing. And Preferably Dynamic.
It’s straightforward but so true. Everything is harder in slow growing businesses. Growth tends is usually more expensive. The competition tends to be more intense as everyone is mostly focused on market share. Whenever you can, be in a market with a tailwind. It doesn’t have to be super-fast growth. But you want it to be consistently growing.
ChoZan does digital transformation consulting, which is pretty good in this regard. By definition, it is constantly evolving with new technologies. ChoZan grew from a startup with just herself to 50 people with offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Shenzhen.
It also helps if the market is dynamic and moves fast. That’s true for digital transformation. ChoZan is also focused on advisory in and about China. That’s about as dynamic a market that exists. Ashley mentioned there’s a joke that in China, everything happens later, but faster. And that is true.
A fast-moving and dynamic market pushes you to grow all the time. You need to try lots of things quickly, where you will succeed fast and fail fast. The industry just has a lot of energy and dynamism. You have no choice but to grow with your customers. In contrast, if the market is stagnating and if clients and industry insiders are not pushing you, you stagnate and stop innovating.
Lesson 2: Build a Personal Brand – with a Community Around it. For Professional Services This Means Thought Leadership.
Small businesses, especially in professional services, have a trust problem. You don’t have the scale or the experience as larger firms. So, you need to appeal to clients with your prior experience. Or you need to appeal with your unique insights.
You need to put yourself out there with your reputation. With your personal brand. That is usually as a business leader. Such as the owner of the business or a division leader.
Your personal brand is what will create the trust for the smaller firm. And then you need to build a community around you that will support your business.
Lesson 3: Content, Content, Content.
Creating valuable and high-quality content is key. Especially in professional services. Ashley mentioned that expert content was extremely important and that they publish every single day.
It helps if you are in a niche market. It’s a niche so it is not something that most people will read or watch every day. That’s not great.
But it’s also easier to establish yourself as the person and business to call for this topic. Becoming a digital marketing guru is very difficult. Yes, it’s a big and popular topic but there are also tons of people and businesses doing it.
Ashley’s business Alarice does digital marketing into China. That’s a good niche for businesses in the US and France. People may watch for months and years and not call. But when they finally have a need, or when they have a pain point related to this area of expertise, you are the person they call for this niche topic.
Lesson 4: Stay on the Frontier with the Big Platforms.
Creating content and becoming an expert doesn’t work if aren’t able to reach people. And that means working with the big platforms (YouTube, LinkedIn, etc.). Which is a constantly changing game.
Ashley mentioned that when they started they tried all the big platforms (X, YouTube, Facebook, IG, etc.) for four months. During that period, they put out content every day. It was a full-time job. And after four months, there was enough data to see what was working. And what was not working.
She said that they discovered LinkedIn is very organic. You can get views without the need to boost it. But on Facebook (and IG after it was acquired by Meta), you needed to pay to play.
Right now, she thinks YouTube is powerful.
- With YouTube shorts, you can reach millions of people quickly. It’s easier to grow. But the quality of followers is dropping.
- For long form videos, you need to go through keywords. So, you need to research the keywords that are the most searched on YouTube.
You need to be smart about the platforms that can grow your business. Which is a never-ending and always changing game. Plus, it’s better to put yourself out there personally. She says she encourages people to be Richard Branson rather than Virgin Atlantic.
Lesson 5: Build Communities Offline.
Digital is great. But it’s also important to build your community offline.
Ashley says she travels a lot and whenever she goes (London, Chengdu, or Puerto Rico) she always meets the community. She invites people for group dinners and other activities. Real conversations and relationships are key. Not only for business, but also for to understand what’s happening in the industry.
It’s important to connect with people on a different level. It makes your smarter. And that contributes to your growth.
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That’s it. Thanks for the fun talk Ashley. Her contacts are below.
Cheers, jeff
- LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleydudarenok/
- YouTube https://www.youtube.com/c/ashleydudarenok
- Twitter/X https://twitter.com/AshleyDudarenok
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Related articles:
- When Microsoft’s Bundles Are Good vs. Bad for Customers and Markets (Tech Strategy)
- Microsoft’s 3 Big Upgrades to its 2 Platform Business Models (2 of 2) (Tech Strategy – Daily Article)
- What is Elon Musk’s Plan to 10x Twitter? (2 of 2) (Tech Strategy – Daily Article)
From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:
- Growth: Hacks and Tactics
- Digital Marketing
From the Company Library, companies for this article are:
- ChoZan
- Alarice
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I write, speak and consult about how to win (and not lose) in digital strategy and transformation.
I am the founder of TechMoat Consulting, a boutique consulting firm that helps retailers, brands, and technology companies exploit digital change to grow faster, innovate better and build digital moats. Get in touch here.
My book series Moats and Marathons is one-of-a-kind framework for building and measuring competitive advantages in digital businesses.
Note: This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research.
