CMO Spotlight | Vivek Saran - Belle Tire

The CMO Spotlight is a chance to get an inside look into the minds and journeys of high-performing marketing leaders. 

Setup CEO Joe Koufman virtually sat down with Vivek Saran, the CMO of Belle Tire, to talk about the pivots he had to make early in his career to find his areas of passion, how parenthood transformed his marketing style, and much more.

WATCH + READ THE RECAP BELOW

Q1 | Tell us about your career path.

“I am an accidental marketer.”

Saran began his career in government working for different members of congress on Capitol Hill. He eventually realized that he wasn’t passionate about his current work and ended up working for one of the oldest agencies in Kansas City. Saran then moved from agency to agency until he felt at home at MARC USA.

Saran joined Belle Tire in 2017, one of the largest regional tire and service retailers in the United States. “They were my client before I joined them, and they never had a Chief Marketing Officer.” Saran was helping them with strategic thinking, not just from an advertising perspective, but from an innovation, pricing, and technology perspective. He proved that he could look at the company from a larger, proactive, customer-centered approach, so they recruited him as their CMO.

Q2 | What advice would you give to other marketing professionals?

“If you think and listen more, [then] you ground your arguments in your hypotheses on facts and observations.”

Saran emphasized the importance of being a good listener and how listening leads to being more informed. He mentioned how, even as a leader, he is constantly learning from others - whether it’s from his team in the office, consumers, or workers on the field.

Q3 | What is your superpower?

Saran explained that his strength was understanding paradigm structures and finding solutions. He knows how to map out a solution, describe it to clients, and bring it to fruition. Saran also understands how imperative it is as a marketer to have a goal oriented strategy that proves value and gives work a purpose.

Q4 | What is your biggest challenge?

“One challenge we have is that we’re a grudge purchase.”

This challenge is exciting because it gives him a chance to push the boundaries. “Instead of hiding from that, we view it as an opportunity.” This leads to a deeper understanding of his customers' frustration and angst when buying his company’s products, leading to a deeper effort to build a relationship with his customers. 

His relationships with his customers are built on being a supportive resource that they can trust. Saran said they try to give consumers peace of mind that “when they do need us, we're going to get them back on the road fast and affordably” for a long life cycle.

Q5 | Where do you find your inspiration?

Saran is inspired by his children because children are honest and give an interesting view into the human psyche. 

He continued, “When you start to really understand the human behavior [and the] way people think, then you start to understand how to become a better parent.” The lessons from parenthood influenced him in all aspects of life. The vulnerability has required him to become “a better manager, motivator, friend, and marketer.” Furthermore, he’s developed more humility, understanding that he doesn’t have all the answers, and that listening and building connections is imperative.

Q6 | What values are important to you as a leader?

“Listen and don’t be arrogant.”

He listed three other important values:

• We're all teachers and coaches. 

• Leaders walk the walk.

• Lead to inspire, not to seek attention.

Q7 | Tell us about an impactful campaign.

Saran referenced his work during the pandemic as the most impactful campaign and “one of my greatest learning lessons.” 

He explained that he and his team needed to make a decision when the pandemic began: cut costs and wait and hide until things got better, or double down on their investments. They chose the latter. 

“We were brave. We challenged it. We spent 60 days beating ourselves up, figuring out what was the right plan to put in place. When would be the right optimal time to do it? How would we do it? How would we double down?” They were ultimately successful in their investment efforts and “increased market share in every single market” that they were in.

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For more marketing leadership advice and a view into the mindset of marketing executives in various industries, be sure to watch the full interview with Vivek Saran, and keep an eye out for more thought leadership from our CMO Spotlights.

Watch the full interview to the right.