What A Chief Information Officer And Vice President Of Marketing At Sports Thread Inc Wishes They Had Known Before Entering The Technology Industry
Keenan, a Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Marketing, learned that "you're never going to be perfectly right your first time," a crucial lesson in both product development and marketing. This involves accepting that some highly anticipated projects might underperform while unexpectedly successful campaigns defy initial predictions, highlighting the unpredictable nature of the industry and the importance of adapting to unforeseen outcomes.
Overcoming Challenges, Resilience, Industry Realities, Hard Truths, Practical
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Keenan
Chief information Officer and Vice President of Marketing
Sports Thread Inc
University of Northern Colorado
University of Northern Colorado
Marketing
Sports & Fitness
Product / Service / Software Development and Management
Pell Grant Recipient, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School, Student Athlete
Video Highlights
1. You'll never be perfectly right the first time; accept that not every product or campaign will be a home run, and learn from both successes and failures.
2. Marketing and product development require a lot of time and effort; be prepared for unexpected outcomes and don't take negative feedback personally.
3. Data and insights can help guide decisions, but they don't guarantee success; be flexible and adaptable, as some things may perform better than expected while others may underperform despite your efforts.
Transcript
What have you learned about this role that you wish someone would have told you before you entered this industry?
I would say the biggest thing I wish I'd known is that you're never going to be perfectly right the first time you do something. You spend a lot of time building your product, thinking you've built a great product and considered every possible hiccup or question.
Then, you release it into the market and receive feedback you won't like. This can be hard to stomach, especially since you've invested so much time and care into it. It's important not to take that feedback personally; it's not a slight against you.
On the marketing side, it's very similar. You'll spend a lot of time on a campaign, convinced it will be your best work and be incredibly successful. Then, you'll put it out there, and perhaps no one will like or engage with it.
Conversely, sometimes you'll post something casually, just to fill the feed, and it will perform surprisingly well. You're never putting out trash, but you'll have instances where it's not your best work. Then something will hit, and you'll be unsure why.
You often have a good idea of what will work, but sometimes things that pop are unexpected, while things you spend hours developing don't. You make decisions based on data and insights, but you won't always hit a home run; sometimes it's just a single.
Knowing that not everything will be a home run upon launch is crucial, especially with the sheer volume of content required in marketing today. This is different from a single Super Bowl ad, for example. It's more about a social campaign where you need to get many posts out. That's something I wish I'd known more about when I first started.