Welcome to the EVP Talent blog! This blog series exists to demystify common startup roles, create clearer pathways and tell the stories of exceptional operators within the EVP Portfolio. Every fortnight we will release a blog post highlighting a role that exists within a different function.
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Beth Smith is the Head of Account Management at Particular Audience (PA), a software business that uses Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to shortcut product discovery on ecommerce sites with 100% anonymous item data led personalisation. E-commerce businesses can embed PA's no-code solution to drive recommendations, merchandising, onsite ads and dynamic pricing.
We had the pleasure of (virtually) sitting down with Beth to learn more about her experience and what she does as Head of Account Management.
How do you explain what you do?
I help our clients help their customers. Most of our clients are online retailers - we help them make their customers really happy, meaning they achieve higher value baskets and more orders
Broadly speaking, can you give us a sense of what activities you’re accountable or responsible for?
To retain and grow our clients. We do that by making sure we understand our clients' businesses. So we have very regular meetings with them. We'll try to be across any changes that they might be facing. And we try to make sure that our technology is achieving all of the strategic goals that the client wants to achieve. And then looking after the team and making sure that they are happy and working well for all of our clients.
What could a day, week or month look like for you as Head of Account Management?
I usually have quite a few meetings in the morning in the UK, because our team is split globally. Then we'll be dealing with correspondence. Questions via slack, emails from clients and developers. The remainder of the day I spend solving different problems for clients.
At the start of each month we will be doing a lot of the reporting. We wait for the data to be processed and for it to be signed off so there aren't any anomalies in it. Then we start working on generating reports for all of our clients. In the second half of the second week and the third week we organise meetings with clients and go through those reports. That's always quite a fun time because you get the opportunity to catch up with everyone and present some good figures.
At the end of the month we act on everything that we talked about. Usually in the meetings we'll spot some opportunities in the data or maybe the client might want us to investigate a new piece of technology that could be valuable for them. We put tickets to our software developers and work through those actions.
Tell us about your past experience and journey to PA.
I have been in retail and digital e-commerce for my whole career. I started out working for a couple of retail brands in different sectors and became increasingly more specialised in digital sales. Before joining PA I was at IKEA. My first role there was as a digital merchandiser. I then spent a year in store. I came back to the digital team as head of eCommerce, focused on making sure we hit the targets that we forecast and seeing what levers we can pull to try to drive more sales.
When I met James, the founder of PA I was really excited by his vision.
What prior experience set you up to succeed at PA as Head of Account Management?
Having knowledge of the outcome of the technology was key. Working in eCommerce I had a strong base in understanding conversion rate optimisation. It was useful knowing what it felt like to partner with tech companies. I had worked with several account managers on different projects, so I'd seen various styles of account management and learnt what worked best in different situations. And, having hands-on experience working on a website was very valuable.
Was there anything that you needed to upskill in or unlearn from your prior experience that was no longer serving you?
I had to adapt to the pace of change. At PA you can really respond to what your clients are telling you and what’s happening in the market which is great, but it also means you need to always be on your toes. I have always been someone who likes structure. So I try to make structure within the slightly messy ever evolving scenario that we're in. With time I got used to it and I now enjoy the fast paced nature of it.
What advice would you give yourself or a friend starting as Head of Account Management?
I think it's really important to be open-minded. To listen carefully in your first weeks and absorb everything. You need to leave your preconceptions at the door and just enjoy the ride. I guess there'll be times when it's a bit tough, but make sure to keep yourself grounded and enjoy each day.
My experience of joining a startup has been awesome. I think it's an environment where you can be yourself, grow and make a big difference. So it's a super exciting environment to be working in. If there’s anyone who thinks they might like it, but is a bit anxious to take the leap, it's definitely worth giving it a shot. If I can do it when I'm pretty risk averse, then I think anyone can.
Who do you work most closely with?
We have a close knit Account Management Team. But apart from that we work a lot with the technical team. So we'll be speaking to Product Owners, QA people and Engineers quite a bit. We also work closely with Sales. After a client signs, it's the Sales Team who drive the integration, but Account Managers will get involved where they can add value. Once the client is live, we will become the primary point of contact. We also work with Finance when it comes to invoicing, with Product to bring the client’s view in, and I work quite closely with James (CEO & Co-founder) too.
What do you love about your role as Head of Account Management? What is hard?
I really love working with our clients and getting to know their businesses. I have deep insight across a lot of different industries, markets, products and challenges. I also love that I get to spend time working with and scrutinising data. Most of all we have a wonderful team and I love working with them.
Working in a startup can be pretty intense sometimes. There can be an awful lot to do and it can be a bit of a challenge to move from intensely focussing on one thing to intensely focussing on another thing - often within the space of 10 minutes. Often you're fighting a fire over here and then you're fighting a fire over there.
What misconceptions do people have about your role as Head of Account Management?
There can sometimes be confusion around the difference between Account Management and Customer Success. Sometimes the terms can be used almost interchangeably. Ultimately for both, the objective is to make clients happy and ensure that the technology is being successfully implemented and delivering the goals that they want.
Some people think Account Management is focused on dealing with lots of problems, firefighting and so on. There is some truth in that, but what surprises people is the extent to which we use data to deliver value for clients and think strategically about how we can best help them succeed.
What does good look like as Head of Account Management? Who are your role models?
We are doing a good job if our clients are happy because their customers are happy. It always feels great if you have a good meeting with a client. If you present their data, have an in-depth conversation about what they're working on and you have a good connection. It's all about making people happy at the end of the day.
I've been lucky to have a lot of great managers over the course of my career. My approach has been to try and emulate the people around me who I see taking the right approach when it comes to helping clients and having a balanced view on things.
Do you have a moment, day, team or piece of work that you’re immensely proud of since starting your current role as Head of Account Management?
At the moment our account management team is doing an awesome job, everyone is trying really hard and making a big difference for our clients. That's what I'm most proud of right now.
****
Interested in a Sales role? Check out Talent_OS to see opportunities across the EVP Portfolio, or reach out to Fred or Charmaine from EVP's Talent Team!
Welcome to the EVP Talent blog! This blog series exists to demystify common startup roles, create clearer pathways and tell the stories of exceptional operators within the EVP Portfolio. Every fortnight we will release a blog post highlighting a role that exists within a different function.
****
Beth Smith is the Head of Account Management at Particular Audience (PA), a software business that uses Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to shortcut product discovery on ecommerce sites with 100% anonymous item data led personalisation. E-commerce businesses can embed PA's no-code solution to drive recommendations, merchandising, onsite ads and dynamic pricing.
We had the pleasure of (virtually) sitting down with Beth to learn more about her experience and what she does as Head of Account Management.
How do you explain what you do?
I help our clients help their customers. Most of our clients are online retailers - we help them make their customers really happy, meaning they achieve higher value baskets and more orders
Broadly speaking, can you give us a sense of what activities you’re accountable or responsible for?
To retain and grow our clients. We do that by making sure we understand our clients' businesses. So we have very regular meetings with them. We'll try to be across any changes that they might be facing. And we try to make sure that our technology is achieving all of the strategic goals that the client wants to achieve. And then looking after the team and making sure that they are happy and working well for all of our clients.
What could a day, week or month look like for you as Head of Account Management?
I usually have quite a few meetings in the morning in the UK, because our team is split globally. Then we'll be dealing with correspondence. Questions via slack, emails from clients and developers. The remainder of the day I spend solving different problems for clients.
At the start of each month we will be doing a lot of the reporting. We wait for the data to be processed and for it to be signed off so there aren't any anomalies in it. Then we start working on generating reports for all of our clients. In the second half of the second week and the third week we organise meetings with clients and go through those reports. That's always quite a fun time because you get the opportunity to catch up with everyone and present some good figures.
At the end of the month we act on everything that we talked about. Usually in the meetings we'll spot some opportunities in the data or maybe the client might want us to investigate a new piece of technology that could be valuable for them. We put tickets to our software developers and work through those actions.
Tell us about your past experience and journey to PA.
I have been in retail and digital e-commerce for my whole career. I started out working for a couple of retail brands in different sectors and became increasingly more specialised in digital sales. Before joining PA I was at IKEA. My first role there was as a digital merchandiser. I then spent a year in store. I came back to the digital team as head of eCommerce, focused on making sure we hit the targets that we forecast and seeing what levers we can pull to try to drive more sales.
When I met James, the founder of PA I was really excited by his vision.
What prior experience set you up to succeed at PA as Head of Account Management?
Having knowledge of the outcome of the technology was key. Working in eCommerce I had a strong base in understanding conversion rate optimisation. It was useful knowing what it felt like to partner with tech companies. I had worked with several account managers on different projects, so I'd seen various styles of account management and learnt what worked best in different situations. And, having hands-on experience working on a website was very valuable.
Was there anything that you needed to upskill in or unlearn from your prior experience that was no longer serving you?
I had to adapt to the pace of change. At PA you can really respond to what your clients are telling you and what’s happening in the market which is great, but it also means you need to always be on your toes. I have always been someone who likes structure. So I try to make structure within the slightly messy ever evolving scenario that we're in. With time I got used to it and I now enjoy the fast paced nature of it.
What advice would you give yourself or a friend starting as Head of Account Management?
I think it's really important to be open-minded. To listen carefully in your first weeks and absorb everything. You need to leave your preconceptions at the door and just enjoy the ride. I guess there'll be times when it's a bit tough, but make sure to keep yourself grounded and enjoy each day.
My experience of joining a startup has been awesome. I think it's an environment where you can be yourself, grow and make a big difference. So it's a super exciting environment to be working in. If there’s anyone who thinks they might like it, but is a bit anxious to take the leap, it's definitely worth giving it a shot. If I can do it when I'm pretty risk averse, then I think anyone can.
Who do you work most closely with?
We have a close knit Account Management Team. But apart from that we work a lot with the technical team. So we'll be speaking to Product Owners, QA people and Engineers quite a bit. We also work closely with Sales. After a client signs, it's the Sales Team who drive the integration, but Account Managers will get involved where they can add value. Once the client is live, we will become the primary point of contact. We also work with Finance when it comes to invoicing, with Product to bring the client’s view in, and I work quite closely with James (CEO & Co-founder) too.
What do you love about your role as Head of Account Management? What is hard?
I really love working with our clients and getting to know their businesses. I have deep insight across a lot of different industries, markets, products and challenges. I also love that I get to spend time working with and scrutinising data. Most of all we have a wonderful team and I love working with them.
Working in a startup can be pretty intense sometimes. There can be an awful lot to do and it can be a bit of a challenge to move from intensely focussing on one thing to intensely focussing on another thing - often within the space of 10 minutes. Often you're fighting a fire over here and then you're fighting a fire over there.
What misconceptions do people have about your role as Head of Account Management?
There can sometimes be confusion around the difference between Account Management and Customer Success. Sometimes the terms can be used almost interchangeably. Ultimately for both, the objective is to make clients happy and ensure that the technology is being successfully implemented and delivering the goals that they want.
Some people think Account Management is focused on dealing with lots of problems, firefighting and so on. There is some truth in that, but what surprises people is the extent to which we use data to deliver value for clients and think strategically about how we can best help them succeed.
What does good look like as Head of Account Management? Who are your role models?
We are doing a good job if our clients are happy because their customers are happy. It always feels great if you have a good meeting with a client. If you present their data, have an in-depth conversation about what they're working on and you have a good connection. It's all about making people happy at the end of the day.
I've been lucky to have a lot of great managers over the course of my career. My approach has been to try and emulate the people around me who I see taking the right approach when it comes to helping clients and having a balanced view on things.
Do you have a moment, day, team or piece of work that you’re immensely proud of since starting your current role as Head of Account Management?
At the moment our account management team is doing an awesome job, everyone is trying really hard and making a big difference for our clients. That's what I'm most proud of right now.
****
Interested in a Sales role? Check out Talent_OS to see opportunities across the EVP Portfolio, or reach out to Fred or Charmaine from EVP's Talent Team!