Case Study: Cross-Functional Collaboration

Moving Fast and Driving Success Across Product and Marketing 

Background
In small companies, versatility is not just a nice-to-have—it’s essential. While serving as the Product Lead at Cerkl, I was frequently called upon to contribute beyond the scope of my primary responsibilities. One such instance arose when our CEO asked me to completely revamp the marketing website within 30 days. The site was outdated and failing to meet the needs of our growing customer base, creating a barrier to new client acquisition.

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The Challenge: Balancing Priorities

Problem:
The marketing website had become a pain point, with outdated design and limited functionality. Yet, as the Product Lead, I was already managing critical responsibilities and tight deadlines in my primary role. Taking on the website redesign presented a unique challenge: delivering a high-impact project within an aggressive timeline without compromising ongoing product development initiatives.

Solution:
I embraced the challenge by leveraging cross-functional collaboration, efficient project management techniques, and a clear vision for the website’s future.

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The Approach: Execution Under Pressure

1. Prioritized Planning:
   • Conducted a rapid audit of the existing site to identify key pain points.
   • Worked with marketing and sales to gather input on must-have features and branding goals.
   • Developed a clear 30-day project plan with weekly milestones.
2. Assembled a Lean Team:
   • Partnered with designers, developers, and content creators across the company to ensure alignment.
   • Established a shared vision and communicated progress regularly to all stakeholders.
3. Leveraged Agile Principles:
   • Treated the website redesign as a sprint, focusing on iterative improvements rather than aiming for perfection from the outset.
   • Balanced my product responsibilities by dedicating early mornings and evenings to the redesign effort.

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The Results: A Future-Ready Website

Impact on Marketing:

• Delivered a completely refreshed, modern website within the 30-day timeframe.
• Aligned the site’s design and messaging with the company’s evolving brand and growth goals.

Key Metrics:

• Achieved a 113% increase in page views within the first three months of launch.
• Improved conversion rates significantly, with more qualified leads entering the sales pipeline.

Sustained Product Momentum:

• Despite the additional workload, I maintained the pace of ongoing product initiatives, ensuring no disruptions to key deliverables.

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Leadership Lessons and Takeaways

This experience underscored the importance of:

1. Adaptability: Taking on challenges outside your core responsibilities can drive significant organizational impact.
2. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Aligning with other teams ensures that even high-pressure projects can be executed effectively.
3. Time Management: Balancing competing priorities requires strategic planning and efficient execution.

By delivering a future-ready website under a tight timeline, I demonstrated my ability to:

• Respond quickly and effectively to urgent business needs.
• Lead high-impact projects while maintaining momentum in my primary role.
• Foster collaboration across teams to achieve outstanding results.

This project remains a testament to the power of cross-functional collaboration and the value of embracing challenges to drive measurable outcomes.