Finding Company Values That Live Up to the Name Optimove

At Optimove, we help marketers constantly improve by optimizing retention marketing.

Optimization is a calling and responsibility. At the core, we developed our Customer-Led Marketing Platform to try to meet the highest standards and performance in retention marketing. That platform and our solutions ensure that marketing always starts with the customer instead of a campaign or product. Customer-Led Marketing has been proven to deliver brands an average increase of up to 33% in customer lifetime value.

Could we measure up?

So, in starting marketing with the customer – we asked ourselves how we measure up to meet this calling and our promise to leading marketers. If we continuously optimize marketing, what values do we need as a company to optimize ourselves?

Five values:

With much deliberation, we landed on five values: Transparency, Comradery, Hunger, Good-Better-Best, and Ownership. Two of our values, Transparency and Comradery, are culture focused. In fact, unsolicited, most of our employees said they loved working at Optimove because these two values are organic to our company. Culture-focused values define the atmosphere and relationships within our organization. They promote transparency, trust, and collaboration, creating a positive and supportive environment for our team members and stakeholders.

The other three values, Hunger, Good-Better-Best, and Ownership, are about fostering self-improvement. This emanates from the reality said by Mary Kay Ash that "a company is only as good as the people it keeps." With that said, if each of us improves ourselves, it is the core of improving our company, our partners, and our clients.

Culture-Focused Values:

1. Transparency. We are open, honest, and forthright in how we communicate. We act with integrity and the highest level of work ethic.Transparency starts with the board and me, the CEO. Transparency means keeping everyone in the loop, sharing the good and the bad, and welcoming honest feedback from team members. For example, the data and reports our leadership shares with the board are shared with all our company employees. Transparency instills trust.

Transparency extends beyond internal communication to our interactions with clients and partners. By fostering open discussions and honest exchanges, we establish a foundation of trust that enables us to address problems head-on and identify opportunities for optimization with external stakeholders.

2. Comradery. We rely upon each other, trust one another, support each other, and have fun.

Comradery is the glue that binds us together, fostering teamwork, cooperation, and mutual support. It encompasses friendship and a shared sense of working towards a common goal. It epitomizes teamwork, collaboration, and our willingness to support one another. We prioritize approachability and openness, fostering a culture of accessibility and mutual assistance.

Comradery is intricately linked to our cultural value of transparency. For us, this also extends beyond the inner workings of our company. Our clients and partners are comrades creating an ecosphere where there is unwavering mutual support.

Values that Foster Self-Improvement

3. Hunger. We are hungry for success and aim high and play to win. We approach our work with a sense of urgency, which excites, energizes, and empowers us. We act today to secure our vision of tomorrow.

Hunger is an inherent value that cannot be taught; it is deeply ingrained within the foundation of our company. This innate hunger is not exclusive to us but is a common trait in every entrepreneurial venture.

Our hunger traces back to a pivotal moment in 2012 when I invested €2,200 in a ticket to attend an exclusive gaming industry event in Copenhagen. At that time, we had only one client in the gaming sector. Despite the financial commitment, I recognized the significance of this investment for our business's growth and our understanding of the gaming landscape. It was a decision driven by an insatiable hunger for knowledge and a relentless pursuit of success.

Every step I took, and every interaction I had throughout the event, became an essential move toward survival. Immersed in talks, keynotes, and sessions, I absorbed every word, capturing a wealth of insights and ideas in my notepad. The hunger for knowledge was insatiable—the need to connect our company to people we could help became my mantra. As a result, I formed invaluable connections and relationships that have played a pivotal role in our company's development.

This hunger mindset continues to pulse through the veins of our organization to this day. No one in our company is expected to face the exact circumstances I encountered. However, each team member possesses a unique level of hunger—a relentless drive to achieve and exceed expectations. This collective hunger propels us forward, compelling us to go the extra mile and undertake incremental steps to improve and advance continuously.

4. Good-Better-Best. We adapt, evolve, and grow every day; we seek to be better than we were yesterday through incremental improvements in all that we do.

It is about taking small, gradual steps to make things better. While it may not guarantee immediate success, it is a constant growth process. We embrace the 'good, better, best' philosophy—never allowing ourselves to settle for mediocrity. This famous saying captures the essence of our approach: 'Never let it rest until your good is better, and your better is best.' We believe in the cyclical nature of improvement, always striving for the next level of excellence. It is a mindset that keeps us evolving and ensures we never become complacent. By embracing this philosophy, we continuously push ourselves to achieve our best and seek new opportunities for growth and development with ourselves, our partners, and our clients.

5. Ownership. We think big. We are fearless in our approach and believe anything is possible. We own our actions and are accountable for their outcomes.

Ownership involves taking responsibility, anticipating needs, and having a broader perspective. In the context of Israeli colloquialism, the term "Rosh Gadol" describes someone who takes the initiative and goes beyond the given tasks to understand the bigger picture and act accordingly. This concept can be applied to ownership in a broader sense, both in functions and within a company, where individuals take ownership and work as if they are the owners, going above and beyond to ensure success. It involves taking initiative, anticipating needs, and having a panoramic view of the situation rather than being narrowly focused. In doing so, we anticipate the needs of our company associates, partners, and clients.

At Optimove, our name is a responsibility - a calling. Our values are core to living up to our name. It is a never-ending journey.