Meet the Team: Director of Growth Marketing Martin Šimo

At Bloomreach, we're lucky to have Martin as a valued member of our Marketing team. Having joined our company in 2020, they have gained a unique perspective on what it’s like to be part of our company. We recently had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Martin about their journey at Bloomreach and gain insight into what it's like being part of our dynamic Marketing team. If you're considering joining our company, read on to discover more about our culture, values, and the exciting opportunities available on our Marketing team.

1. How did you find out about Bloomreach?

Exponea (which Bloomreach acquired in 2021) has been on my radar for a long time. I had many friends who worked in the company, and I knew there were elements of the company culture that strongly resonated with me.

I was aware of a big change coming very soon during the last stages of my interview process and the acquisition of Exponea by Bloomreach happened less than two months after I joined. The company effectively doubled in size overnight, and it was an interesting time. A lot of effort went into integrating the companies and making sure our culture stays strong and becomes united.

2. What’s your role at Bloomreach? Tell us more about your team and give us a sneak peek of your day.

I’m currently leading our Growth Marketing team. I’m lucky to have a great team of six smart people with the ambitious goal of experimenting with new ideas, products, and approaches, as well as changing how we as a company go to market. 

Most of my days are spent trying to navigate the balance between the ordered structure of how we work and the chaos of new ideas that comes with experimentation. This could mean writing a document on how to run our regular meetings or diving deep into competitor research to brainstorm how we run a campaign against a specific competitor. The great thing about my work is that it is a lot of fun when done well.

3. What has been the most impactful experience for you during your time at Bloomreach?

This would’ve been in my previous role. A decision was made about a go-to market for a product I was the product marketer for — a decision that I wanted to strongly push back against. After two calls going up the company hierarchy, I learned the ultimate decision was made by Raj, our CEO. I still believed that there were good reasons not to make the decision, so I reached out to him. Two hours later we were on a call together, I presented my case, and he agreed, and changed his mind.

I love sharing this story because it shows that in Bloomreach, we’re focused on making the right decisions rather than on being right.

4. What is your favorite thing about working for Bloomreach and why?

This one is easy. It’s the smart people I get to work with every day. I noticed this in my first month at the company and I’m still amazed over two years later about how well we do when it comes to finding and growing talent.

5. How would you describe our company culture in 3 words?

Learn. Grow. Repeat.

Because that’s the cycle you’re going through all the time. When I joined Bloomreach, I quickly realized the ramp is pretty steep. I was a past user of the product (which I’ve relied on a lot), and the product marketing function was also new to me. And then at some point, I realized that the ramp stays steep. Working in a company full of smart people places an expectation on myself, too. It’s simultaneously the best thing about my job and the most challenging. 

I love that I get smarter just by talking to colleagues across the different teams in the company, and everybody is willing to help achieve a common outcome. I, in turn, do my best to keep learning and growing to continue being a valuable addition to the team.

6. What growth opportunities have you had at Bloomreach, and how does the company support your professional development?

I joined the company as a Product Marketing Manager for Engagement, which is one of our products. A year later, I took on more responsibility as a Product Marketing Manager for cross-pillar, which increased the scope of my role to include all of our products and how they interact and deliver greater value together.

This January, I became a Director of Growth Marketing and am now leading a team charged with experimenting and generating insights about new go-to-market strategies. I’m very grateful for the opportunities I’ve received and the responsibilities I’ve been able to take on. 

I also want to call out our annual development budget, which has helped me take certifications and learn skills as I needed to uplevel for each new role.

7. In your opinion, what sets our company apart from other companies in our industry, and how can we continue to build on those strengths?

Culture would be number one. We have fantastic people who want to get stuff done, see great results, and win. To me, this is the most important strength as whatever the destination, it’s the company that makes the journey worthwhile.

Product is also our strength. We see a lot of our competitors and the market move in a direction in which we’ve been going for years. This means we already have experience, case studies, and a great product ready to win.

And, money in the bank. Perhaps the least sexy, but extremely important from a practical perspective. We raised our last round of investment shortly before the reset of the technology stock market. Now we need to make sure we take advantage of that.

8. What is a critical project that you're working on right now that you believe will bring a lot of value to our customers and the company overall?

We’re working with multiple different teams on updating positioning and messaging for Bloomreach Engagement, specifically for the US market. We’ve seen traction in the US and we want to accelerate it further by crafting a message that will resonate and help more customers discover our product, develop stronger relationships with their customers, and grow their businesses as a result.

9. Outside of Bloomreach, what are you passionate about?

Spending time with my family. I have two daughters, a three-year-old and a half-year-old, who are both amazing, and I’m trying to spend as much time with them as I can. Whenever I can and we have help, I steal moments with my wife. And among other things, I also enjoy collecting curious facts and interesting stories from the world of business and marketing.