Karolis Jurys, Commercial Manager at DIDWW, has a busy schedule managing two departments in the company: Sales and Carrier Relations. From his initial posting in the Support Department, Karolis has rapidly worked his way up through the organization and now fills this important position. During his eight years with the company, Karolis has taken part in 23 expos worldwide, and conducted hundreds of face-to-face meetings with customers and partners.
Despite having a degree in business administration, he considers himself a technology and a sports lover. In his free time he browses the Internet to explore new technologies, plays games such as Counter-Strike and is competitive in basketball and squash. But after the birth of his first child, he now has very few spare moments between his responsibilities at work and enjoying his family. Karolis is a highly dedicated and motivated team member. “What I like about my work is that I don’t feel that I’m working. I love what I do at DIDWW, and I’m still paid for it. I’m very grateful for the life that I have,” points out Karolis. In March 2018, he travelled to two different countries, Spain and Brazil, to attend the Mobile World Congress and Capacity LATAM.
What did these exhibitions mean to DIDWW?
These are two different very types of exhibitions. At Capacity LATAM in Brazil, our goal was to show people what we do at DIDWW, but we attended MWC as a visitor in order to meet existing and prospective customers and partners. Different kind of experiences, but both very productive and important for our business. Expos help us build our relationship with enterprises globally. We have a comprehensive digital strategy that allows us to meet and service customers over the Internet and by phone, but there is no substitute for face-to-face communication. So, exhibitions are critical to DIDWW, as they provide us with the opportunity of meeting people and helping them grow their businesses.
What was your most memorable experience during these business trips?
I found my meeting with CenturyLink to be extremely special. When you sit with six senior professionals from a company of that size, and discuss the future of telecommunications and how together you can make a huge change in the world, you realize “This is worth everything!”.
Do you usually have time to do some sightseeing during your business trips? What did you enjoy the most in Barcelona and Rio de Janeiro?
In Barcelona I had my family with me, which is unusual on these short and busy business trips. We really enjoyed spending time together in the evenings and exploring the city. What I liked about Rio de Janeiro is that is a stunning city, with gorgeous nature and with the most friendly people that I have ever met. In a single day before the expo, I visited Sugar Loaf Mountain, Christ the Redeemer, went to the Ipanema beach and even enjoyed some Feijoada. On these trips, my spare time is usually limited to one day before or after the expo, and a few hours in the evenings. It’s a rush to explore during these brief visits, but I always try to see as much as I can. The effort is well worth it, as it is very important to understand the culture of our local customers and partners.
What is the first thing you do when you come back to your office after an expo?
Our attendance at expos is always very well planned, and this includes our post-expo activities. Of course, speed is of the essence when processing the information that we collected at the event. Very often, I need to read and respond to thousands of emails; the day that I returned from Brazil, I had almost 2,000 messages in my inbox!
How important are expos for DIDWW’s strategy?
Being present at expos is the best way for us to develop and cement relationships with our customers and partners. Even when using the best digital communications, our customers tell us that it’s much nicer to meet their account manager in person! I believe that we could not have achieved the stellar results that we have today without these face-to-face meetings. So, a significant component of our growth is meeting people and understanding their specific requirements. And consistency is something I really care about. That is why we regularly attend a variety of global expos, and will continue to attend these events in the future.
What is the most important aspect of DIDWW’s business for you?
Without any doubt, it is the focus on the customer. And this does not only apply to me. At DIDWW, we all put the customer first and foremost, and we are driven to achieve total customer satisfaction. And I am not just talking about customer service and support. We have to continually innovate so as to deliver highly reliable and effective products that provide optimum solutions for our customers. If our customers grow, we grow. This equation makes total sense to us.
