Mandira Chenjeri

Business is all about networking. Effective networking is a tool that allows individuals to connect with clients, mentors, colleagues, and more. Expanding your network gives you access to various resources and a multitude of opportunities. In my opinion, the most important aspect of networking is the relationships that you build. By investing time in nurturing connections, you are fostering loyalty and really getting to know the other person. You never know who knows who and maybe that can be your next opportunity. Networking has also increased my confidence and communication skills. During my first year of college, I was hesitant to go up and talk to other, even my own peers. However, as I kept attending career fairs and workshops, I have seen that I take the initiative to talk to other people. I don't wait for them to come to me. In the last year, I have definitely gotten more approachable and communicative. Lastly, it is always important to follow up with any connections that we...

Data-driven marketing is something that has always interested me. In the business landscape, data and marketing go hand in hand. Data helps marketers make informed decisions, personalize experiences, and most importantly, drive business growth. There are different best practices for data-driven marketing. These include: collection/integration, analysis/insights, and security. Companies have to make sure they have the strategies to collect data from various sources. This ensures that they get a comprehensive view of existing and potential customers. Analysis tools allow companies to analyze customer behavior, purchasing behaviors, and so much more. Segmentation and targeting also falls under analysis. They allow marketers to divide their audience into distinct groups based on characteristics, behaviors, or demographics. Lastly, security is extremely important. Companies should 100% prioritize data privacy and security.  They must adhere to relevant data protection regulati...

The motto of the Digital Summer Clinic is to "fail faster." Now what does this mean? Fail faster is a mentality that helps individuals identify obstacles or setbacks early in a process, rather than later on. This also helps overthinking individuals, like me. For example, I took the Google Analytics certification exam two times, before I passed. Normally, this would eat me up. I would be super hard on myself, as I didn't pass on the first try. Through the fail faster method, I was able to identify the modules that I needed to review more. By using this method, I ended up saving more time in the long run. This can apply to many aspects of our life. Something I am working on is trying instead of waiting. Like Nike says, just do it! This is something I have struggled with my whole life, and I am sure others have to. I have a fear of even trying something, as I am afraid I won't get it perfect on the first try. The fear of making mistakes has held me back from many opportu...

I can't believe week 5 of the internship is done. This summer has been going by way too quickly. This week I had a couple of projects to work on. I got to work directly with the marketing team which was really fun. This project included researching different venues in the Washtenew County for SPARK to hold their events in. This may seem simple, but I had to do a deep dive for many venues as some of the information necessary included cancellation policies, catering, etc. To be honest, I didn't even know we had so many spaces in our community. My second project was sifting through many many folders for an even SPARK is holding. A2tech360 opens up next week for small businesses to sign up for. My task was to include photos to help tell a story to put on the website. I learned a lot and got to explore the events that SPARK has hosted. I submitted that, and am still working on the first project as there are so many places! This week I also had the chance to attend the marketing meet...

For the last 8 days, I was on vacation in Switzerland. While, I was there, I took note of how marketing tactics were quite interesting there. The first thing I noticed was how there were billboards super high in the mountain, and I mean like 10,000 ft up. Switzerland is a very popular country for tourists, but I was still surprised to see the placements of the billboards. I really was not expecting to see them in between a bunch of trees and mountains. We went to The Matterhorn, which is a widely known attraction, most famous for the Toblerone chocolate logo. As we went in the train, I saw 2-3 billboards, obviously advertising other brands, but completely unrelated to any other outdoor activities. Another thing I noticed was how some big American brands have not penetrated the European market...yet. Now don't get me wrong, I saw a bunch of Nike, but as you start going to the less densely populated areas, you will only see European brands. I saw a lot of Hugo Boss, Jack and Jones, a...

     Last Friday, I got to sit in my first client meeting. We talked to MRW Solutions Group, and got to learn a bit more about the company and how they are using the Advance Your Business grant. It was really cool to see an interview happen in real time. I was asked if I wanted to conduct the interview since I knew the questions ahead of time, but I decided to just watch, so I could see how one is run. Definitely preparing to conduct one in the future! There is a lot of work that goes into writing a case study. Sometimes it is hard to take notes during the interview as you really want to focus on the what the interviewee is talking about. I'm really grateful for recordings as I am able to go back and take precise notes on what was being said. After that, I write the case study to the best of my ability and send it off to my manager.      An update on my Google Analytics Certification, I failed. I wasn't disappointed though, as I 100% expected it. Using the ...

Hi! My name is Mandira Chenjeri and I am a junior at Eastern Michigan University. I am majoring in Marketing and plan to graduate in December of 2024. This summer, I was paired as an intern with Ann Arbor SPARK, through the Digital Summer Clinic. Ann Arbor SPARK is a service that allows start-up businesses to launch and grow in the Ann Arbor area. They provide incredible amenities to ensure that all the businesses that work with them thrive. So far, SPARK has already helped 2000+ companies turn their business visions into a reality. SPARK has multiple programs that finance early-stage tech startups; these programs provide education and guidance for entrepreneurs as well. SPARK has two business incubators located in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor. All of the start-up businesses in this clinic fall under the SPARK umbrella, so it is really cool to see some familiar names! During Week 1 of the clinic, I had the opportunity to attend a seminar: "Customer Discovery-The secret to start-up succ...