Interview With Mitch Ratcliffe – Partner Entrepreneur Technologist at Metaforce

Tech Research Online — Fri, 08 Jan 2021 13:14:47 +0000

In today’s interview, we had the opportunity to speak with Mitch Ratcliffe – Partner Entrepreneur Technologist at Metaforce.

Mitch is a very successful – analyst, entrepreneur, and storyteller. He is extremely adept at the leading business transformation. Mitch is a strategic thinker who stays focused on customers’ needs without getting distracted which makes for his efficient thinking. He’s equally effective in startup scenarios as he is incorporate innovation scenarios. Mitch delivers his genius in an extremely humble manner, and he is the definition of a team player.

1. Tell us About your Role and Journey. What inspired you to take up the Role at Metaforce?

The opportunity to work with great partners and a global team brought me to Metaforce. The way we engage with clients addresses a long-standing challenge I’ve seen from both sides of the agency/client relationship: too often agencies respond to client needs with the resources they have on the bench instead of putting together a team crafted to the specific challenge. Metaforce’s network of partners and activation partners allows us to deliver the right skills, including creative and execution, necessary to improve the client’s market position and business performance.

Many of our partner team have worked in operational roles at the largest brands in the world, as well as in startups and turnaround situations. We take the time to understand our clients’ business challenges, including the business outcomes they seek to achieve. Then, we assemble the right people to solve the problem. We can deliver a single project, provide ongoing service in partnership with internal teams, or build and hand-off a team that will fill the business need on an ongoing basis.

2. What kind of Strategy you Followed which led your Team to 50% Growth in 18 Months at Microsoft’s TechNet IT Pro Site?

The key was editorial organization. By creating thematically related content, featuring it together on the TechNet home page, and creating cross-links the site developed a growing repeat audience of IT pros who came to learn. As Microsoft’s primary IT communications interface at the time, we listened to what customers wanted to learn, the details they needed to do their jobs successfully, and delivered cohesive content packages, executive communications, and links to an unparalleled documentation and support resource.

Find what your customers need and deliver it. They will come.

Also Read: Influencer Interview with Simon Cocking, Chief Editor at Irish Tech News

3. What Are Some of the Challenges for You When It Comes to Growing the Revenue?

Maintaining a stream of new leads is essential to our growth. We are fortunate to have Allen Adamson, whose book Brand Simple and background makes him a frequent guest on podcasts and he is quoted frequently in the press. This raises our flag several times a week. But every marketer has to start by marketing themselves, and Metaforce has developed a listening-based approach to initial meetings that provides value to the potential client, and so far converts well.

4. Tell us the Unique Skill that you Think you have as a Marketing Leader?

I am a storyteller with technical insights based on many years of digital pioneering, consolidating an audience and interactive experience, and launching companies. I understand the problems our operationally-focused clients have every day, as do all our partners at Metaforce. We all have a background in marketing combined with operational roles in established companies as well as startups.

5. You’re One of the Most Influential Marketing Leaders In the Marketing Industry. What Production and Metrics Strategy did you Follow for the Next Generation of Windows Apps?

I was fortunate to be part of a great team that developed the news-driven Bing apps introduced with Windows 8. As an ad-supported business, we focused on KPIs that oriented us to the customer’s use of the content: visits; new visitors to return visitor conversion, dwell time, depth of visit, and a number of articles read, as well as the propensity to share content.

6. What Next for you?

Metaforce is just getting started. We are growing our team and client portfolio in several key areas, notably sustainability, science- and engineering-related communications, and our central pillar of brand clarity and simplicity.