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    In Growth We Trust: Marketing | Growth | Startups

    🔮 Marketing Career Journey to Head of Growth, SMS Marketing and Paid Media | Kevin Adom, Head of Growth (DROOL, HEAT, Lyst, Cuvva)

    Tue Feb 13 2024
    careerteam managementmarketinggrowthsmall teamslarge teamsCRMluxury brandsDTC spacecreative directorsgrowth hackernonfiction books

    Description

    The episode features a conversation covering various topics including team management, marketing, and growth. The guest shares their career journey from studying literature to working in different industries such as fashion marketplace and car insurance. They discuss the challenges of managing big teams, optimizing marketing strategies, effective reading of nonfiction books, and more.

    Insights

    Importance of Finding a Job that Pays Well

    Kevin emphasizes the importance of finding a job that pays well after being discouraged from pursuing writing.

    Advantages of Small Teams vs Large Teams

    There is a discussion about the advantages of working in small teams versus large teams, with both having their pros and cons.

    CRM as an Underutilized Channel

    The speaker believes that CRM should be made more exciting and discussed more in digital marketing.

    Understanding Multiple Channels for Marketing Optimization

    The speaker thinks that understanding multiple channels can help connect optimization with emotion and improve marketing strategies.

    Challenges Faced by Luxury Brands in Sales and Discounts

    The conversation touched upon the limitations luxury brands face when it comes to sales and discounts due to brand image concerns.

    Importance of SMS in DTC Space

    The speaker emphasizes the importance of using SMS in the DTC space and highlights its high open rates and click-through rates compared to email.

    Hybrid Role of Creative Directors

    Creative content is still important, but it has evolved into a hybrid role where creative directors also handle paid media.

    Role of a Growth Hacker

    The role of a growth hacker has evolved to include creative media buying. It is someone who understands what drives a business forward and can prioritize actions accordingly.

    Effective Reading of Nonfiction Books

    Repetition and drilling the information over and over again is necessary to truly understand and absorb the key messages in nonfiction books.

    Reading Habits Affected by Remote Work and Commuting Changes

    Reading habits have been affected by remote work and commuting changes due to COVID-19.

    Chapters

    1. Career Journey and Marketing Experience
    2. Management and Team Dynamics
    3. Challenges of Managing Big Teams
    4. Optimizing Marketing Strategies
    5. Marketing Strategies in the Fashion Industry
    6. Effective Marketing Channels and SEO Strategies
    7. SEO Strategies and Web Shopping
    8. Promoting Apps and Hybrid Roles
    9. The Role of a Growth Hacker
    10. Effective Reading of Nonfiction Books
    Summary
    Transcript

    Career Journey and Marketing Experience

    00:00 - 07:49

    • The podcast episode features a conversation between the host and a guest named Kevin Adam.
    • They discuss various topics including team management, marketing, and growth.
    • Kevin has worked in different industries such as fashion marketplace and car insurance.
    • He shares his career journey from studying literature to interning at Nike and Converse.
    • Kevin emphasizes the importance of finding a job that pays well after being discouraged from pursuing writing.
    • He mentions working at List, a fashion marketplace similar to Farfetch, where he learned about marketing.
    • Kevin also worked at Cover, an insurance company, which provided him with a different perspective on marketing for the general public.

    Management and Team Dynamics

    07:26 - 14:17

    • The speaker has worked in various industries, including fashion and insurance.
    • They gained a different perspective on marketing and communication through their experience in the insurance industry.
    • The speaker recently started a company called Drew, which focuses on selling artwork by emerging artists.
    • They have had the opportunity to work with great managers who taught them and trusted them to take ownership of their work.
    • The speaker strives to replicate the positive management experiences they have had in their own roles as a leader.
    • Delegating tasks can be challenging, especially when there is a specific way the task should be done or when it involves creative aspects like marketing.
    • Creative tasks require collaboration and allowing team members to execute ideas in their own way, which may differ from the original vision.
    • Finding team members who understand your style and can deliver beyond expectations is valuable and should be retained.
    • There is a discussion about the advantages of working in small teams versus large teams, with both having their pros and cons.

    Challenges of Managing Big Teams

    14:02 - 20:41

    • Working in a big team can be challenging, especially when trying to find tasks for everyone.
    • The ideal team is one where everyone knows each other's strengths and weaknesses and can take on tasks accordingly.
    • The speaker prefers not to see themselves as the leader of the team, but rather as part of the team with some guidance responsibilities.
    • Hiring people is difficult because you never truly know how they work until you start working with them.
    • As companies grow bigger, roles within big teams become very different from roles in smaller teams.
    • Small teams allow for faster execution and decision-making, while bigger teams often face difficulties pushing through the right decisions.
    • Some people prefer working in big teams and enjoy the challenges that come with it, but there has been a trend towards small teams in recent years.
    • Smaller companies have less room to hide mistakes or inefficiencies compared to larger companies with more bureaucracy.
    • Managing a team becomes more challenging when it exceeds four members due to differing opinions and potential conflicts within the team.
    • The speaker enjoys being hands-on and wants to avoid having people management become more than 50% of their job.
    • They prefer being part of the team doing the work rather than solely managing others.
    • Being hands-on keeps them sharp and engaged in their day-to-day tasks.

    Optimizing Marketing Strategies

    20:17 - 27:38

    • The speaker specialized in paid social media and became the go-to person in that field.
    • They also expanded their expertise to include affiliate marketing and CRM.
    • CRM is seen as an underutilized channel but is crucial for businesses relying on repeat purchases.
    • The speaker believes that CRM should be made more exciting and discussed more in digital marketing.
    • They suggest that many digital marketing channels were added one after the other without considering the emotional aspect of customer interactions.
    • The speaker thinks that understanding multiple channels, like Kevin does, can help connect optimization with emotion and improve marketing strategies.

    Marketing Strategies in the Fashion Industry

    27:11 - 34:28

    • The podcast discusses the importance of understanding that customers have multiple touch points and creating a strategy based on that.
    • The guest worked at a luxury fashion mystery box platform called Heat, which addressed the problem of brands having excess stock.
    • Heat's business model involved putting products in mystery boxes with opaque prices, offering value higher than the cost of the box.
    • The guest found working at Heat to be an interesting experience and a pivotal time in their career.
    • They were involved in various aspects such as CRM, paid social, and engaging with different online communities like Facebook groups and Reddit.
    • The guest mentioned that there is a more engaged audience outside of mainstream platforms like Meta (formerly known as Facebook).
    • There was a humorous anecdote about not receiving the free monthly box promised by Joe, one of the founders of Heat.
    • The conversation touched upon the limitations luxury brands face when it comes to sales and discounts due to brand image concerns.

    Effective Marketing Channels and SEO Strategies

    33:58 - 41:13

    • The podcast discusses the interesting industry of bidding and contracts in the fashion market.
    • The speaker talks about how their strategy shifted from optimizing towards leads to optimizing towards purchases, resulting in higher conversion rates.
    • SMS was a powerful channel for driving revenue, with 80% of revenue coming from SMS.
    • WhatsApp was also used as a channel for one-to-one communication and had additional features like sending PDFs and answering questions.
    • The speaker emphasizes the importance of using SMS in the DTC space and highlights its high open rates and click-through rates compared to email.
    • Sharing through platforms like WhatsApp can lead to virality and increased reach.
    • The speaker mentions their involvement in SEO at Net Support Day.

    SEO Strategies and Web Shopping

    40:48 - 48:10

    • The speaker joined as a copywriter but never delved into the SEO side until later.
    • Simon, who was an expert in SEO, helped with the SEO strategy.
    • Meeting Simon made the speaker realize there was another level to SEO.
    • Businesses can spot SEO potential and engineer it by automating pages and estimating traffic.
    • Canva's success with SEO came from creating traffic through thousands of template pages.
    • SEO is more technical than people give it credit for, requiring engineering skills.
    • AI can be used to generate articles quickly and start getting indexed and traffic.
    • The speaker asks about the biggest wins in terms of SEO strategies implemented by others.
    • Implementing web shopping for a marketplace had an immediate impact on revenue generation.
    • Working with content creators helped generate cheap top-of-funnel traffic for a financial app.

    Promoting Apps and Hybrid Roles

    47:44 - 54:15

    • The speaker discusses the challenge of finding affordable ways to promote their financial app and mentions that other companies were showing their debit cards in ads.
    • They share a successful strategy they used for promoting an app called the list app by deep linking dynamic product ads to the app store, allowing users to download and purchase products directly.
    • The speaker acknowledges that deep linking is now more difficult due to issues with Apple.
    • They mention that many companies did not implement deep linking for a long time, causing frustration for users who clicked on ads but couldn't find the advertised products.
    • The speaker briefly discusses using a catalog management tool called Products Up to optimize product listings on Facebook.
    • Another person joins the conversation and asks about using DPA's (dynamic product ads) extensively. The speaker confirms that they use them in different parts of the sales funnel.
    • They mention that creative content is still important, but it has evolved into a hybrid role where creative directors also handle paid media.
    • Adapting to this new role requires understanding both advertising/marketing and creativity, as well as being knowledgeable about what will attract clicks and engagement.
    • The speaker highlights their experience working with data, creators on TikTok, branding, and CRM (customer relationship management) as valuable skills in this hybrid role.

    The Role of a Growth Hacker

    53:46 - 1:00:34

    • The role of a growth hacker has evolved to include creative media buying.
    • There is a debate about the definition of a growth hacker and who can call themselves one.
    • The role of a growth hacker varies depending on the business and its focus on acquisition, retention, or product-led strategies.
    • A growth hacker is someone who understands what drives a business forward and can prioritize actions accordingly.
    • It is impossible for one person to be an expert in all areas related to growth, so specialization is common.
    • The role of a growth hacker is difficult to define but often involves being a jack of all trades.
    • Reading habits have been affected by remote work and commuting changes due to COVID-19.

    Effective Reading of Nonfiction Books

    1:00:24 - 1:02:26

    • Nonfiction books are often filled with fluff and only contain a small amount of valuable information.
    • Reading nonfiction books quickly can make it difficult to remember the content.
    • Repetition and drilling the information over and over again is necessary to truly understand and absorb the key messages.
    • The guest feels like they have to read the same pages multiple times before grasping the intended message.
    • The podcast host mentions doing a spicy version, but experiences technical difficulties with the camera.
    • Despite low viewership, there are still around 20 to 30 people watching the podcast.
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