)<\/span><\/p>\nSo before and after joining Elementor, I tried to do things a bit differently, combining methodology with biology, maximizing marketing methods together with intra-organizational communication, working systematically but adapting all the time according to day-by-day events and above all - handling everything with empathy and humanity, trying to be an \u201cobserver\u201d as much as possible.<\/span><\/p>\nBefore starting any role, do your research, for real. If you bother to do research before buying a dryer, you should do some research before starting a job, regardless of your level and vertical.<\/span><\/p>\nMy research included the following:<\/span><\/p>\n\n- A lot of reading on the company from various sources - blogs, interviews, Facebook groups, comments on the company blog, and so on.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Conversations with people that know the company and the founders from different perspectives.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Conversations with people that know the industry.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Conversations with people who worked there.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Conversations with 13 marketing leaders from Israel and around the world who lead teams and budgets on a similar scale to the one that I am about to lead.<\/span><\/li>\n
- My previous work as a consultant (a great hack that provides a relative advantage on both sides).<\/span><\/li>\n
- Meetings with Yoni that included browsing the marketing history of Elementor, shaping the role, defining responsibilities, human capital, existing and future marketing elements in the organization, and refinement of the marketing vision. These meeting created a high level common language.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Meetings with other executives. I must say that these meetings, alongside meetings with the founders, were the most crucial factor in my decision to join. Once I understood that everyone realized what marketing means and why it is needed to succeed, I knew my work would be more accurate and systematic.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Full onboarding of the product and extensive use. This is a short sentence, but one of the most important. In hindsight, I wish I had dedicated even more time to this stage because it gives a significant relative advantage, especially for marketers who need to market their company\u2019s product.<\/span><\/li>\n
- After starting, I held 1-on-1 meetings with each member of the marketing team. This meant meeting dozens of people and provided a very complete, substantial, and real perspective.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n- Planning<\/b> that is built as much as possible from the bottom up and will be the flag on the top of the hill that we are aiming for<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
The objective of this stage is to coordinate expectations and lay the ground as quickly as possible for operational actions. Because you can stick with Google Docs and White Boards forever, but leaving them behind real fast is essential.<\/span><\/p>\nThis stage begins in the first month and should be 80% complete by the end of the second month.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nHere are some of the things I did at this stage:<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n- Write a marketing manifesto<\/b><\/p>\n
Once I felt there was sufficient mutual trust, I wrote my marketing manifesto. This manifesto continues to be written, and it is primarily for me, but parts of it have become an anchor in the marketing work and define our role in the company. As time goes on, we incorporate additional parts of it into our work, and more people in the company contribute to writing it.<\/span><\/p>\nIt is built as follows -<\/span><\/p>\n\n- Values<\/span><\/li>\n
- Strategy and roadmap<\/span><\/li>\n
- Organizational structure<\/span><\/li>\n
- Culture and team robustness<\/span><\/li>\n
- Budget planning and KPIs<\/span><\/li>\n
- Work methodology<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n- Defining the organizational structure<\/b><\/p>\n
The following notion originates in more traditional industries and is generally true. However, it MUST be used very carefully - \u201cWhen a new manager enters a new office, they need to move their desk to another spot in the room and bring a new flowerpot, and this will make them feel more relaxed and in control.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nI agree with the mental aspect of this notion, and in the context of defining the organizational structure, it is almost true because a marketing leader has to believe in their marketing system. Without it we are either inefficient or insecure.<\/span><\/p>\nAt a rather early stage, a few of the company\u2019s leaders, Yoni, and some marketing leaders from my direct team sat together and defined the desired look of the department.<\/span><\/p>\nI admit that I had a certain plan in mind and it wasn't entirely accepted. And so, even though I do agree with the notion above, I realized that I needed to be a lot more flexible, and took part in some of the system plannings that were being held.<\/span><\/p>\nIn these meetings we defined the organizational structure and the responsibilities of each team in the department.<\/span><\/p>\nI am sure that the process was not easy for everyone, but I cannot forget these meetings, and the way that everyone reacted, cooperated, and carried it forward.<\/span><\/p>\nIt's time to build the operational layer!<\/span><\/p>\nThis layer includes the following elements:<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n- <\/span>Projects<\/b> - mapping all of the \u201con-hand projects\u201d. This means all of the projects that the teams are currently working on in order to better understand what is being worked on, how to prioritize it, the impact of each project, and the reason for it being worked on.<\/span><\/p>\n-<\/span> Teams designation<\/b> - defining each marketing department, each team, and each role. This generally includes vision, tasks, definitions, responsibilities, roles, KPIs and determining what is considered a success for each role\/team\/department. This leads to more accurate OKRs.<\/span><\/p>\n- <\/span>Roles and responsibilities (R&R)<\/b> - when it comes to defining and building teams, you will discover two things 1. Roles overlap 2. Blind spots, i.e. subjects\/works that are in no man's land. The R&R document differs from company to company and from department to department. It is prepared in full transparency and involves team leaders and role holders that are relevant for this document.<\/span><\/p>\nIt defines what everyone does, the handshake between teams, the workflow character etc. If you want to see what this document looks like, google it or ask your HRBP and adapt it to your requirements. This is a sine qua non.<\/span><\/p>\n- <\/span>Defining onboarding for new team members<\/b> - the recruitment rate grows, team members change roles, and there is a lot of work based on human capital. You must ensure that the onboarding of new team members is mutually easy and goes smoothly.<\/span><\/p>\n- <\/span>Mapping all of the meetings in the department<\/b> - this is still not complete but we have determined essential meetings such as weekly group meetings of all marketing leaders, weekly 1-on-1 meetings between each marketing leader and me, meetings of team marketing leaders with each other. Weekly kickoff meetings of each marketing leader with their team managers. We created an accepted format for these meetings and this brings a lot of order to our actions, focus, and alignment.<\/span><\/p>\n- <\/span>Mapping of all tools and software being used to assure organization and collaboration<\/b><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n- Execution<\/b> in order to get the pipelines flowing and building processes + creating the roadmap<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
The objective of this stage is to increase the day-to-day activity in order to create a common language and a machine that can operate at different speeds but still be organized and planned. This stage can begin in the second month and peak by the end of the third month. From that point on it will run by itself when the array is already in sync and working properly.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n- Having at least one \u2018lightning strike\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n
Until you actually start running a large-scale project, it is not really possible to appreciate the magnitude of what you are facing nor is it really possible to appreciate us, the leaders at the reins.<\/span><\/p>\nDuring my second month, Elementor celebrated its fifth anniversary. The anniversary plans began a long time before I joined - a sales campaign was planned and the community had been looking forward to it for several months since it was common knowledge that Elementor offers great bargains during its anniversary celebrations.<\/span><\/p>\nThis time, we decided to have a month of celebrations - the first half of the month would focus on growth and sales (according to plans) and the second half - an all-brand campaign.<\/span><\/p>\nWe organized a conference on a scale that had never been seen before with presentations by Seth Godin and Gary Vaynerchuk, and other meaningful content for our community and target audience.<\/span><\/p>\nIt was a company event that started at noon and ended at night, including live broadcasts, festivities, 25K subscribers, 11K participants, and endless satisfaction from the first thing we prepared together.<\/span><\/p>\nI held my breath.<\/span><\/p>\nevery second.<\/span><\/p>\nthere.<\/span><\/p>\n!!!<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe marketing leaders team actually planned and executed the whole thing but I felt like the groom at my own wedding - I was tingling all over and very proud.<\/span><\/p>\nThis kind of lightning strike is very valuable.<\/span><\/p>\nIt's sort of a field test and gives you the chance to get to know each other on a personal and professional level.<\/span><\/p>\nThis gave me more confidence and provided a greater understanding regarding the scale of things I was dealing with and the level of expectations from me.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n- Building a complete roadmap from the bottom-up that takes into consideration ALL of the marketing activity in the company.<\/span><\/p>\nThat is an art in itself. I promise to dedicate a special post to that topic and it is one of the greatest and most influential things that we experienced. We started preparing it just after my first 90 days but in hindsight, it should have been done two or three weeks earlier.<\/span><\/p>\n---<\/span><\/p>\nOnce the top level is firmly in place, and projects and campaigns start flowing through the pipelines, the work aligns as well and flows better. Remember that when the work begins to align, new challenges, changes and needs will emerge, some organizational, some personal.<\/span><\/p>\nFlexible thinking and management should help you solve anything.<\/span><\/p>\nThe next stage - alignment with the growth goals of the company.<\/span><\/p>\nIt will be challenging to meet the growth goals of the company without first preparing the ground for a well-defined marketing system that clearly states what each team does, organizes intra-department communication, and possesses a roadmap. Budget planning etc.<\/span><\/p>\nI try to maintain a humane and empathetic approach and to walk my talk. This has its challenges<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nI, of course, have slip ups here and there, but that's fine. It is impossible to have a completely smooth entry, regardless of the size and age of the enterprise that you are joining.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nHowever, there are several things that can be done in this context:<\/b><\/p>\n
- I often say the following - \u201cLet's fail together\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\nThis doesn't mean that I aim to fail, but rather it expresses the notion that failure is part of success, and if you are afraid of failure, you will never succeed. Moreover, it is important to me that the marketing leaders on my direct team, their managers, and their team members are not afraid to try and fail.<\/span><\/p>\n- I incorporate my notion that mutual support is the new currency and we need to trade in it often.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\nMutual support is somewhat forgotten in the realms of web and high-tech. I felt this as a founder of an agency, as a marketing leader, and as a start-up entrepreneur. Mutual support is contagious and unique. It is easy to assimilate this approach in Elementor culture thanks to the immense diversity of people, genders, sectors, and cultures.<\/span><\/p>\n- I have neither a room nor an office<\/span><\/i><\/p>\nA colleague from the growth department told me this week that I am a digital nomad in the organization. Someone in the creative department nicknamed me \u201cMr Turtle\u201d because I am always carrying my laptop bag on my back. Each day I sit at a different desk, with a different team, connecting with different team members in the department. This disrupts the hierarchy model and makes me feel connected, real, and authentic with regard to our work, pains, challenges, as well as big and small successes.<\/span><\/p>\nI don't expect this approach to shatter any built-in disparities, nor do I expect it to make me feel that I am all knowing and understanding. This approach helps me to be *more* accessible, and personally speaking, having ADHD and all that involves, it suits my tempo.<\/span><\/p>\n- Two issues that I could have done better and earlier in terms of intra-organizational communication.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\nUnderstanding\/creating communication channels in order for us, as a marketing entity, to relay our work to other teams and departments. Second, mapping key people in each department that have great impact on work, decision making, or just have a better common language with us. These people don't necessarily have to be higher up the echelon, on the contrary. They offer added value to my work and help me understand the challenges, apply solutions, and provide professional diversity in general, something that is very important in a company with 350 employees.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n