Chandler Villacruz has spent nearly two decades building a successful career as a marketing professional. Laying the foundation for his future endeavors, he earned a bachelor of business administration in marketing, with a focus on advertising strategy, from Texas A&M University. In his final year of college, Chandler Villacruz gained early experience as a marketing intern at Texas Home Security.
Chandler Villacruz subsequently relocated to California, where he pursued a master of science in marketing at the University of Southern California (USC). After graduating in 2002, he accepted the role of a marketing assistant with the Los Angeles-based firm Healthy Living. There, Mr. Villacruz worked alongside a team of professionals on both print and digital marketing projects. One of his biggest contributions to the firm was developing a marketing campaign that increased sales by 10 percent in a single year. In 2006, he assumed the position of marketing director at Healthy Living’s headquarters, located in San Francisco.
Since 2008, Chandler Villacruz has served as a senior marketing manager at Food Rates, an online restaurant review platform. Having joined the company in its startup phase, he has facilitated the growth of its marketing department and now leads a team of five employees. Among his many achievements at Food Rates, Mr. Villacruz devised a customer rewards program that garnered 10,000 new signups within the first month of its implementation.
What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?
I’m an early riser, generally up by 6 am. I like to start my day with a run. I take a shower, grab a coffee, and listen to the news in the car on the way to the office. My first task is catching up on voicemails and emails, then I check the diary and see what I need to prioritize for the day. Schedules vary from day to day, but they generally involve planning campaigns, analyzing data, overseeing campaign execution, scheduling team meetings, and liaising with clients. I like to stretch my legs at lunchtime and grab a coffee and a bite to eat, then I get back to it. I try to head home by 7 pm, unless we have a big deal going on. I enjoy cooking – I find it a great way to unwind – or catching up with friends at a restaurant.
How do you bring ideas to life?
Effective management of strategic campaigns relies on an ability to craft compelling stories. To achieve this, I go to great pains to gain a deep understanding of the target audience and addressable market. It is also vital to gain a thorough grasp of the product you are promoting and how it can solve customer pain points. I take a collaborative approach, bouncing ideas off colleagues and inviting feedback across cross-functional groups, enabling us to create clear messaging for product offerings and potentially identify new channels to reach customers.
What’s one trend that excites you?
Like many industries today, AI is completely transforming the marketing ecosystem along with emerging technologies such as VR, AR, and advanced analytics. Automation is streamlining operations, from customer communications to content creation, while advanced personalization techniques are enabling us to tailor experiences to the specific preferences of each customer, enhancing brand engagement and loyalty.
What is one habit that helps you be productive?
In my role, effective time management is crucial. I’m a consummate list-maker and rely heavily on classic to-do lists, creating productivity regimens to manage daily, weekly, and monthly workloads and blocking off time in my calendar to dedicate to specific projects and tasks.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Our biggest setbacks tend to provide our most important learning opportunities, but what really holds people back is inaction and a failure to launch. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes – and don’t sweat the small stuff.
Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?
Other than professionally, I don’t utilize social media at all. That is just not a way I enjoy spending my time and interacting with people.
What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?
I read at bedtime. Not as much as I would like, but I aim to read a book or two every week. I don’t stick to a specific genre. I’m currently reading Who Moved My Cheese? by Dr Spender Johnson. Its an interesting take on change management that offers some valuable viewpoints.
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
Run! I’ve always enjoyed running and found it a great way to let off steam. I was a high school state cross country champion. I like the way it snaps you into the present and provides distance and perspective on problems, as well as getting you out into the fresh air and closer to nature. That’s never a bad thing.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?
I’m a firm believer in investing in talent. I’ve seen it time and time again – this is where a lot of business owners trip up. The greatest asset of any business is its people. To attract them and convince them to stay, you have to incentivize them, and that goes far beyond remunerating them properly. You have to invest in developing your workforce, helping them to flourish both personally and professionally.
What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?
Some early successes helped me rise through the rankings fairly quickly in my early career. I had some impressive stats, but not necessarily the savvy to back it up. My biggest mistake was landing a huge client by overpromising, then failing to live up to expectations. In this instance, it wasn’t the end of the world, I just lost the account, but the client stayed with the company. However, in retrospect it was a massive error, as it could have damaged not only my reputation but that of the business too.
What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?
The e-commerce model has become phenomenally popular in the West, but in many countries globally today it’s only just taking off. I think there are huge opportunities there for new start-ups, particularly in South America.
What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
Hands down Evernote. It allows me to take and organize notes on the move.
Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?
It’s a British podcast actually, No Such Thing as a Fish. I listen to it while running, purely for entertainment value.
What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?
Leave the World Behind. It’s an apocalyptic psychological thriller starring Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke. I found it thought-provoking and a little unsettling to be honest.
Key learnings
- Prioritize and tackle the most important tasks first.
- Never overpromise.
- Invest in your people.