Zinkup Marketing, Expertise and Innovation at the Service of the Tech Industry

We talked to María Asín of Zinkup Marketing on how to help clients build better B2B marketing programs, accelerate pipelines and the metrics that matter and this is what she had to say.

First of all, how are you and your family doing in these COVID-19 times? 

María Asín: We’re all doing good, despite the circumstances. Getting ready for 2021, which we’re sure will be better than 2020 for everybody.

Tell us about you, your career, how you founded Zinkup Marketing.

María Asín: After working in the tech and cybersecurity industries for more than 10 years, I decided it was time to start a marketing and communication company specializing in helping startups journey and scale-up.

We founded Zinkup Marketing in 2016, with the aim of providing early-stage startups and small & medium B2B companies with time-to-time marketing support and comprehensive solutions or marketing counsel outside of the common agency business model. I have over 18 years of experience in B2B marketing and communication, and I specialize in brand strategy, startup acceleration and international marketing. 

We are currently a team of 7, and each of us is an expert in a different field: content marketing, digital marketing, inbound marketing, lead nurturing, copywriting, PR, account-based marketing… Zinkup Marketing is like a jigsaw puzzle in which all the pieces fit together. This synergy makes us unique and gives our customers a full range of services and options through which they can achieve their objectives. 

How does Zinkup Marketing innovate? 

María Asín: We provide marketing and communication services to tech companies, startups, accelerators and the cybersecurity industry. On the one hand, we are aware of new technologies and trends that may appear in the marketing field, to be able to provide a good service to our customers. We also speak the same language as our customers, which leads to good communication and in-depth knowledge of their world.

How the coronavirus pandemic affects your business, and how are you coping?

María Asín: We’ve been doing remote work from March on, and will keep on doing so until the situation improves. Luckily for us, we have experience working remotely, since half of the team is located in San Sebastian and the other half in Madrid. Digital transformation has helped companies and industries like ours in these difficult times. 

We’ve noticed that cybersecurity companies have had more work than ever, due to the increase in cyber attacks —that has also meant more work for us, indirectly. Other clients have been able to transition to remote work as well and even managed to organize online events, so we’ve been able to provide our services with no disruption at all.

2020 has been quite a strange year for everybody, and the marketing sector has definitely been affected, but luckily we’ve been involved in lots of interesting projects this year, and we hope to kick off 2021 with even more!

Did you have to make difficult choices, and what are the lessons learned?

María Asín: I wouldn’t say that we made difficult choices at all regarding work. It was easier adapting to 100% remote working than having to stay at home all day long due to lockdown, without being able to go for a walk.

In my opinion, what we’ve all learned from these circumstances is that digital transformation is not only inevitable but also necessary in order to keep in touch with customers, workers and colleagues. Having online tools and solutions and being fully immersed in a digital environment has allowed us to keep up with our daily tasks and pass this hard test with flying colors. 

How do you deal with stress and anxiety?

María Asín: I stay close to my family and friends. In times like these, with the COVID-19 pandemic going on, it’s good to be surrounded by our loved ones. 

I also love doing exercise and having a good lunch or dinner —small pleasures that we can enjoy every day.

Who are your competitors? And how do you plan to stay in the game?

María Asín: The marketing sector is a very competitive one, but we are focused on our niche market, and we all have lots of experience in the field. In marketing you have to keep on learning (always), since it changes constantly and new trends appear, and do a good job —helping clients achieve their goals will make them want to work with you again.

Your final thoughts?

María Asín: I’m sure in 2021 we’ll see an increase in the use of digital technologies for marketing. New apps and approaches will appear, so we must keep up with these innovations and provide our clients with our expertise. But, despite all the changes that may come, one thing is sure: organizations will always have the need to communicate, tell stories about themselves and attract their target through well-crafted messages. We’re here to help them achieve this.