Exploring a future-ready Sri Lanka with SLIM President Thilanka Abeywardena

The appointment of the first-ever female President of Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM), Thilanka Abeywardena has heralded a new era for SLIM. This milestone in the history of the institute promises the development towards a ‘Future-Ready Sri Lanka’. 

Thilanka Abeywardena is presently the CMO Lead for SouthEast Asia New Markets at Microsoft with 14+ years of local and international marketing experience and is qualified in marketing and communications. Here, she speaks on her vision for the future of SLIM, the development of Sri Lanka through a knowledge-based economy and her hope for aspiring marketers across the country.

Q: How does it feel to be taking over the leadership of SLIM at such a volatile time as the present?

Times are really challenging; there’s no question about it. I think last year the lockdowns were more about prevention but this year, the threat is so real. Taking over at a time like this, needless to say, is very challenging. I look at it from a positive angle because as marketers, it’s part of our job to really understand and see opportunities through threats. 

I have laid out a three-pronged plan for this year. The first pillar focuses on SLIM – the internal upliftment and transformation of SLIM, its staff and their skills. The second pillar is about the stakeholders while the third is about our contribution to the national landscape. With this plan which has people at the centre, I am very hopeful that we can beat any odds that come our way. 

Q:  What challenges do marketers face under COVID-19, and how can they steer themselves and their brands through these unprecedented times?

One of the biggest challenges is that our consumers have completely changed. The pre-COVID consumer doesn’t exist anymore. Conducting our day-to-day activities online; classes, work and everything else would not have resonated with us before the pandemic. Many customers engaged in their first online transactions and purchases because of the pandemic. In essence, your average consumer has completely changed and as such your consumers’ expectations have changed. 

Brand loyalty has been impacted because now consumers decide based on availability and safety as opposed to mere loyalty to the brand. In addition, you have consumers who are very digitally savvy now. Therefore, having a digital channel is no longer a competitive advantage; it’s mandatory. If you don’t have the option for someone to place an order digitally, you don’t exist in the market anymore. The consumer has changed and this is the #1 challenge, I believe, for the marketer.

Secondly, I believe the era of constructing five or 10 year strategies is over. What has happened around the world has shown us that it’s about having short term plans. It is important to have a long term vision but it’s more important to operationalise your strategy in a way that you plan out quick wins and really focus on this agile marketing so that you are willing to adapt to the changing needs of the market. 

Thirdly, it’s about having a purpose. We all look up to brands that are authentic. Gone are the days that you can create a beautiful story where you don’t mean what you say. We all question brands now. Brand communication is a two-way street. You can’t be an organisation/brand and throw things at your consumer and wash your hands off it without expecting a reaction. Your consumer is well informed and has access to you through digital and social media and can challenge you as a brand. We see that happening and the power that the consumers have in hand. They will question you on your purpose. 

I think these are the three things that influence one’s role as a marketer, a role that has indeed changed. 

Q:  As the first female president of SLIM, you are marking a milestone in the organisation. How has your journey been to the top, and how do you see the role of women in the field of marketing?

 With SLIM, I started my journey as a committee member. In 2010, I became a part of the Executive Committee. I have held various positions in this journey with SLIM. Standing here, as the first female president, I truly feel humbled – walking in the footsteps of many past presidents and committee members who have supported me. 

More than that I am proud to have 25% female representation on the board now, which is the highest it has ever been and with that I truly think that in the future, it won’t take another 10 years for the next female president to stand before you. I know it has been a long journey for the first but the second will not take that much time. We have the right representation of women on the board so one of them will definitely step up in the coming years.

As humbled as I am to be the first, I want to ensure that I am not the last. That’s why we have female representation with varying responsibilities. I also have another female in the Council of Management in the role of the Assistant Secretary, so clearly, in the coming four to five years I think we will see her also rising to the top. 

I don’t think every profession should be looked at from a gender perspective. I think anyone who loves marketing and who enjoys being a marketer, should be in marketing. As we’re talking about gender itself, I think this is a great choice of career for a woman to take up because this is a role that is very close to the consumer. So it’s very interesting and the landscape is very dynamic. Every day is new because you are exposed to different things; consumers and insights. 

Q:  How important is it to build a knowledge economy in Sri Lanka, and what advantages will we have in the region as a knowledge hub?

 I think that with this pandemic, we are learning a lot of lessons. It has taught us the importance of health, reminding us of the importance of family. During this time spent at home, a lot of people have come to realise a multitude of things – the value and purpose of life. So in a situation like this, I think it’s time for us to question ourselves on how we do business. 

The era of focusing only on your physical strength has really changed. The present is an era of knowledge, insights and information. Therefore, we all should be focusing on a knowledge economy. It’s not about how hard you work, but how smart you work. I think this concept has been there forever. But national associations like SLIM and governments, should all get together and understand this. Are we really up skilling our youth? Are we really up skilling our professionals with future-ready skills? 

So this year, my theme is ‘Future-Ready Sri Lanka’. It’s in accordance with this theme that I have developed a three-pronged strategy. The first goal is making SLIM a ‘future-ready’ association. There are a lot of changes scheduled to take place. The second one is about ‘future-ready’ marketers. There are many initiatives coming up to help our marketers and our experts become future ready. The third pillar is that, as a national body, we will be launching a national campaign about the importance of becoming a ‘future-ready’ society through upskilling, SME empowerment, entrepreneurship and innovation. So you challenge your dependent mentality and really embrace knowledge and entrepreneurial mentality. 

I think ‘knowledge economy’ is a buzz word but very simply – the knowledge economy encompasses four pillars. We at SLIM really focus on the pillars of education training, which is our mandate, and the pillar of research and insights driven economy. So that whatever you do is not just based on gut but more on research and information. When you are making data driven and informed, insight-based decisions, your economy will move forward so that your resources can be allocated very effectively and efficiently. 

It’s important for all of us, not just SLIM, to come together in creating a knowledge economy mainly because this is the future and as we prepare for post-pandemic economic recovery, the world will realise it more than ever.

Q:  There is a lot of focus on developing the SME sector to uplift local economy. What plans does SLIM have to contribute to this?

For SME and entrepreneurship, there are a number of things we do. Firstly, this year for the first time we will be hosting the SME Awards. We are going to encourage our businesses to ensure that they are recognised via a suitable platform. In addition, SLIM has appointed an expert panel who advise our start-ups and SMEs, very micro-level SMEs, supporting them with their plans and strategies. It’s more like a free consultancy. We encourage our SMEs in many such ways and there’s more to come

Q:  Message to aspiring marketers?

I think the real message is that we all have to contribute and be part of creating a knowledge economy. How we do that is by all of us embracing an entrepreneurial mentality and taking risks, and making informed, insight-based decisions. That’s the only way this country will move towards that.  We want to see more and more value added brands being created within the country as opposed to relying on all trades which focus on raw exports. This is a significant arena in which marketers can play a massive role. 

I am very hopeful that at the end of this pandemic, the world is going to be more knowledge-based because resources and the way we do things will be different. I think it’s time that marketers really understand what’s lacking in their portfolio, what new skills they need to acquire and explore these avenues and skill up. Become entrepreneurs, take risks. I think the message is we all really need to be contributing in order to create a knowledge economy in Sri Lanka.