In the dynamic world of stock photography, understanding the diverse needs of clients across the globe is essential for success. We sat down with Clair Gibbs, a Business Development Manager at Alamy, to gain insights into her role and the fascinating challenges and opportunities she encounters in the Rest of World Territory within the Create sector.
As the BDM for the Rest of World Territory, Clair oversees a spectrum of clients, ranging from creative agencies to non-profit organisations. Her role involves delving into the unique content requirements of each, making her daily work an interesting blend of strategy, creativity, and evolving client proposals. Having transitioned from local advertising, Clair now focuses on helping clients at Alamy, a shift that has added a new dimension to her professional journey. Let’s delve into her insights on a customer-centric approach, tailoring strategies, navigating the global landscape, and finding success with a holistic approach.
Can you provide a brief overview of your role as a Business Development Manager at Alamy.com?
I am the BDM for the Rest of World Territory within the Create sector, meaning I look after creative agencies, commercial production companies, corporate and corporate production clients, as well as non-profit clients.
It is a lovely mix of business types and a real pleasure to be instrumental in their content requirements, speaking to and meeting with creative people, discussing their ideas and strategies for campaigns, ensures my daily work is interesting, exciting and constantly evolving, alongside the clients proposals.
How did you get started in the stock photography industry, and what led you to Alamy?
My previous employment has been within local advertising, this provided me with a sound basis of industry knowledge, prior to my starting with Alamy, in my previous employment, the focus was on ‘selling’ the blank page, whereas now the focus is on assisting our clients to “Own The Blank Page!”
As a manager in the Rest of World territory, I am responsible for flying the Alamy flag across all continents, which is exciting and challenging.
How does ڹϳengage with its customer base, and what measures are taken to ensure customer satisfaction?
Alamy are customer centric, we stand almost alone in the industry in the offering of a dedicated account manager to our Enterprise clients, so that whatever their inquiry relates to, there is a point of contact that the client has and can reach out to. This is something that all my clients comment upon and are appreciative of.
Are there specific strategies for catering to the diverse needs of both individual and corporate customers?
As a business development manager, it is imperative to communicate with clients, learn about their business, brand guidelines and the style of content they require, this enables me to put forward proposals as new products are launched, or when we work with contributors that align with their business core values.
What challenges and opportunities arise when expanding into new geographical regions?
As a manager in the Rest of World Territory, I am responsible for flying the Alamy flag across all continents, which is exciting and challenging. This means you have to be abreast of trends in many territories and mindful of cultural differences, what may be celebrated in certain countries, can be deemed as unacceptable in others, so a fair amount of research is undertaken when selecting images for light-boxes, to send to clients and prospective clients, dependent on their location.
How do you measure success personally, and how does that align with your role at Alamy?
I believe that success can be measured in many forms within my role at Alamy. Primarily, as a BDM, I would say that revenue generated for my territory and sectors is key to my position and role within the business. Equally, success can be found in the building and development of relationships, both with clients, but also while working with different departments within ڹϳ— and also the wider PA Media Group.
I have been fortunate to work with different colleagues in the ‘Well-Being Team,’ which is employee-centric, as well as with the ‘Equity, Diversity & Inclusion’ team, whose focus was to bring in ‘best practices’ and enhance awareness on specific matters, such as people with learning disabilities in the workplace and neurodiversity, which were interesting and informative and a pleasure to be a part of.
‘Stronger Together’ reaffirms the importance of teamwork, sharing knowledge, and the success that is born from it.
I find it interesting to learn and understand the different cultural differences and trends and how that impacts the content clients go on to license. The fact that we work with 750 global contributor agencies means I can always meet their expectations, which is rewarding in itself.
What do you find most rewarding about your work at ڹϳon a personal level?
I enjoy the variety within my position at Alamy; no two days are the same. I am lucky to have the territory of the Rest of the World because it means I speak and communicate with people from across the globe (albeit through the use of translation apps). I find it interesting to learn and understand the different cultural differences and trends and how that impacts the content clients go on to license. The fact that we work with 750 global contributor agencies means I can always meet their expectations, which is rewarding in itself.
When clients forward the finished outcome of their projects, it is very satisfying. An example of this is a Spanish non-profit client – Terra Seismic, a Nobel Prize nominee on the work they do in early earthquake detection and prevention.
Success, for Clair, is multifaceted. While revenue generation is a key metric in her role, building relationships within ڹϳand contributing to progressive initiatives holds equal significance. Communicating with people from diverse backgrounds, understanding cultural differences, and witnessing the impact of licensed content on global projects is both interesting and rewarding. Appreciative feedback from her clients underscores her dedication to catering to diverse needs, core values, and ultimately providing exceptional service across the board. Thanks for sharing, Clair.