We all know the challenges that the entire world is facing this year have made a huge impact on the way we work, study and live our lives. It looks like technology has made a progress of 5 years in only a 5-months’ time span forcing companies to change their structure and slightly move to smart-working.
Large corporations started hosting their meetings purely online and schools doing exams and online classes while all of us had to become more technological simply because the external conditions left us with no choice.
This new, ultra-fast digital era Matteo Pittaluga seems to know and understand it very well.
Born in Italy in 1987, Matteo spent many years working and traveling between Spain, United States and Australia. Very passionate about the online world since he was a teenager, Matteo Pittaluga took every possible course and consumed hundreds of hours of content about digital marketing until launching his very first E-commerce that was selling tickets for events in Ibiza in 2015.
Later on in November 2016 together with his business partner Fabio Gallerani he decided to launch “Marketing Genius”, an online academy specialized in digital marketing courses.
Very soon Marketing Genius was able to gather interest from many students who were looking for high quality education and practical knowledge in the field of digital marketing and now, with over 38.000 students, Marketing Genius is one of the leading educational providers in Italy in its field.
Matteo, how do you think small companies are going to react to the economic crises?
Matteo: “They basically have no choice. People have changed their behavior and now they are all comfortable making purchases online. The pandemic has forced almost anyone (even those who were afraid of technology) to make a little effort and start using their smartphone or computer to buy services, check their bank account balance, make wire transfers, order their groceries. All those people who were used to go to a physical store to do their things now prefer to buy online, it’s just a matter of fact. As a consequence every company should now be ready and have their store online, their social networks always active 24/7 and be prepared for a new world where business will never stop because everything has moved online.
Stores that were used to open from 9:00 to 5:00 now they must change their perception of work and approach a new model of 24/7 availability for the customers who are looking for information online and might contact to ask question or buy a product at any time, especially at night!
I guess this new model will require also new skills from both business owners and employees. As a teacher, do you find school or universities prepared for that?
“In most cases unfortunately they are not. They are even behind with e-learning, they are just getting started with online classes and online exams therefore they are not prepared to offer high quality education in the digital field. Anyway I believe now everyone would agree that this is the present and the future so I expect every year to see more and more universities adding digital marketing degree programs and diploma courses.
What tips would you give to someone who is getting started now with the online world?
“First of all, don’t be afraid. There a lot of things to be learned but just like everything it’s all about being consistent and show passion. The biggest tip that I can give is to follow practice and avoid theory, even when you pick a course that you want to study try always to find something practical that shows you how to do things in real life.
The “job economy” is now over and we have entered the new “skill economy” where practical knowledge, actual skills and problem solving are way more important than a good college degree. Focus on learning high-income skills and you will never be jobless, instead anyone will want to do business or work with you.
Last question for you Matteo: what is your current mission and your main goal at the moment?
“I am on a mission to change the world of education. Myself and my business partner Fabio Gallerani are working every day to provide the best practical knowledge to our students and we are inspiring every other academy and university we collaborate with to do the same. Our goal is to make a difference and help students from everywhere in the world to accelerate their learning curve and acquire high-income practical skills in the field of online marketing that allow them to hit the ground running as soon as they enter the real world of work after their studies.”
Thank you Matteo for your time, it was a pleasure having you here and we wish you the best of luck with all your future projects.
