“Welcome to the future of online businesses in the UAE.”
It’s a bold statement, but it’s true: the way we do our business fosters change. We’re getting more and more companies to make the jump from brick-and-mortar to digital, and Manazir Abbas is at the forefront of this change. As a renowned master of marketing strategies, he has been leveraging his vast knowledge and experience in branding and digital marketing to advise companies to take strategic moves towards online transformation.
For the last 15 years, he has led Infobahn Consultancy to hone their skills in website, eCommerce, SEO, and digital marketing, and has been at the forefront of helping business owners in UAE grow. The company has managed to deliver remarkable results to over 6,000 businesses by providing digital marketing solutions and consulting services that help them to reach their business goals.
Let’s get to know Manazir a little bit better:
Describe the company’s history, including its growth under your leadership.
I started Infobahn Consultancy with a vision to bridge the gap between the digital space and brick-and-mortar and e-commerce businesses. The business began as a technology solutions idea to help solve issues that were plaguing both industries. Since then, my team and I have grown by leaps and bounds through our commitment to leveraging our collective strengths and experience to provide solutions for the problems we were seeing in disparate industries.
I believe strongly in the importance of bridging gaps between industries so that we can provide solutions for all types of businesses—regardless of their size or location. It’s through this approach that we’ve been able to understand the unique challenges each industry faces.
What are your goals for the future and how can you meet those goals at your workplace?
My goals for the future are to have a company within a company. A place where all of our deserving team members can thrive and find their place within the organization. A place where there are different areas and expertise, but all in the same domain.
The way I will meet these goals is through careful planning and execution. I want to make sure that everyone knows what they’re doing, how they fit into the bigger picture, and how we can help each other achieve our own personal goals as well as those of the company.
We aim to be diverse in our areas of expertise and industry but unified in our mission. I want us to be one of the leading internet marketing agencies in the UAE, helping businesses from all over the world achieve their goals.
What is your company or team’s greatest strength?
A team of marketers, developers, and creatives whose greatest strength is the ability to listen. We listen to clients, we listen to their problems, and we listen to their goals. We use our ears more than our mouths because we believe that the best marketing solutions are ones that are tailored to each client’s needs and preferences. We don’t want to leave any stone unturned—we want to make sure that every client feels heard, understood, and well-supported throughout their journey with us as their partner in digital marketing innovation and creativity.
We know that when your business grows, so does your audience. That’s why we take the time to get to know you and your brand before we start developing any campaigns or strategies for you—so we can be sure that everything we create is going to be perfect for YOU and YOUR AUDIENCE.
What steps did you take to get to where you are?
Being passionate about tech and internet marketing, I became fascinated by systems and processes. I realized that if you put in place the right systems, people would naturally do great work. When I started Infobahn Consultancy, my first step was to hire talented and passionate employees who were aligned with our mission of making clients successful through digital marketing. It’s not enough to just have a great idea: you need people who can execute it well. That’s where we focused our energy from day one, and it’s still what drives us today. We don’t just hire talented people; we make sure they feel like part of the organization—and then we give them all the tools and support they need to succeed.
What are your reasons for starting this company?
One of the reasons I started this company was because of my constant and relentless drive to stay up to date with the latest technology and gain expertise in digital marketing. With time, I aimed to have the ability to constantly learn and keep my finger on the pulse of emerging technologies and trends, and implement them in a way that would benefit our clients and grow their businesses.
From AI to the Web and e-commerce, digital marketing is constantly changing. Taking advantage of these changes can be hugely beneficial to your business. I’m not afraid to try something new or learn something new—it’s what keeps me going.
What are some of the challenges you’ve faced in pursuing your goals?
One of the biggest challenges that I have faced in pursuing my goals has been the dynamic online technologies that are constantly changing. For example, when I first started working as a software developer, machine learning was just starting to become popular, but now it has become a standard part of most projects. Another big challenge has been keeping up with software updates and algorithm changes on platforms like Facebook or Google. It can be really difficult to keep track of everything that is happening in this space.
To tentatively adjust we overcome these changes by working with startups because it gives us the opportunity to solve different problems every day. There are many challenges that come up when trying to build websites and brands’ identities from scratch—but the most rewarding part of this job is seeing what we can create when we put our minds together!
If you had to describe yourself in just one word, what would that word be?
Diligent.
Tenacious.
What do you like most about Mondays?
Mondays are the best because they’re a chance for me to get back into the swing of things after a long weekend—to start fresh and take on a new week with energy and enthusiasm. I am a workaholic, so I look forward to them. I also love my job, so it doesn’t feel like work to me. I’m lucky enough to have found something that excites and challenges me every day.
What activity keeps you focused and motivated during the week?
I have a mastermind group. It is a group of business owners from different industries who come together to discuss the problems and goals they are accountable to. The group provides a safe space for us to share our struggles and successes, as well as receive feedback on how we’re doing. It keeps me focused and on track with my goals, as well as reminds me when I need to check in with my company’s previous goals.
Can you denote the most innovative or creative project that you worked on and how it was different from other projects?
I can think of several innovative projects that we worked on. One of them was for a leading FMCG company where we were able to improve their SEO ranking by more than 30% in four weeks. The challenge with this project was that they had less time for execution, so we had to come up with an innovative solution to increase their visibility quickly.
We used some of our own proprietary tools and techniques to achieve this goal, which helped us win the client’s trust. Additionally, I believe that our team is very talented and experienced enough to handle such a challenging project effectively.
What values helped you overcome obstacles on your entrepreneurship path? When have you demonstrated leadership skills?
The best way to overcome obstacles on your entrepreneurship path is to have hard work and integrity. I also came to realize, later in my career, that people should know what not to do rather than what to do. If you know what not to do, then you can avoid making the same mistakes over and over again.
I have demonstrated leadership skills in many ways throughout my life and career. One of the most important ways is by leading my team at Infobahn. In order to keep up with our growing client base, manage several projects simultaneously. When we take on new clients, we need to be able to manage all aspects of their projects from start to finish without any errors or delays in order for them to get the results they want out of their campaigns.
Explain how your company’s services/solutions or products are better than the others. What innovative new offerings will you be rolling out in the near future?
We have been in the industry for 1 and a half decades and have worked with more than 6000 customers. We understand the gap between the business needs and their online presence. We are abreast of time and technology to deliver what we promise. Each client is assigned a designated account manager who will work closely with them to ensure that there is a clear understanding of their requirements. With this, we are able to deliver quality content and marketing as per our client’s requirements. We love our clients, which makes us unique from other agencies. Our aim is not just to execute the project but also to go an extra mile for them.
Infobahn Consultancy is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve our service offerings. We have been following the paradigm shift in the industry, and we are incorporating more blockchain, crypto marketing, machine learning, and artificial intelligence into our business. These are the new service offerings you ought to expect from us.