PORTLAND, OR – With more than 200 digital commerce searches each year, EcommerceRecruiter.com is the leading contingency-based executive search firm serving the Shop.org, Ad:Tech, and IR-500 communities. To opt-in to our popular “Ecommerce Job of the Day” email, click here. (Simply unsubscribe at the end of your job search.)
We are working with Columbia Sportswear in their search for a Director of Ecommerce Marketing. Founded in 1938, Columbia Sportswear has grown from a small family-owned hat distributorship to one of the world’s largest outerwear brands and the leading seller of skiwear in the United States.
In 2007, the company reported record net sales of nearly $1.36 billion. (I assume it’s more now.) Columbia’s product line includes a wide variety of outerwear, sportswear, rugged footwear and accessories. Columbia is renowned for developing innovative products that are comfortable, protective, functional, stylish and offer great value.
General Position Summary:
The Ecommerce Marketing Director will lead Columbia’s ecommerce marketing activities. The Ecommerce Marketing Manager is responsible for defining and executing the ecommerce marketing strategy for all branded ecommerce sites. This is a demanding role that requires someone with a high degree of understanding and experience in the interactive/digital marketing arena.
The Ecommerce Marketing Director will also lead the company’s database marketing efforts. This includes building out a 360 degree view of our consumers across our suite of brands, including data from our loyalty programs, web and mobile sites, stores, social media, call center, pro purchasers and more. The construction of this consumer database will be an ongoing effort. As we add data and insights, it allows us to develop smarter, 1 to 1 personalized communication plans across all brands and platforms.
Ultimately, the goal is to deliver relevant content to the right consumer at the right time for maximum results. This is a demanding role that requires someone with a high degree of understanding and experience in CRM and database marketing. To say that this is an epic opportunity for personal and professional growth would be an understatement. Plus the money is solid, and Portland is a blast …
HARRY’S COMMENTS: Ideally, for this role Columbia wants someone who has managed multiple brands. The client has 30 websites, including its mobile sites and apps. It’s not a dealbreaker if you don’t have that experience, but it is a big plus. Additionally, experience with forensic analytics and multitouch attribution are very important. Like all smart marketers, Columbia wants to neither over-invest nor under-invest in its marketing initiatives. You know the drill.
In addition to having responsibility for Columbia’s European websites, the Director of Ecommerce will manage the firm’s web team, so you’ll need 8 to 10 years’ experience in ecommerce marketing in all its forms. Especially database marketing! This is a very analytical role, and Columbia expects you to routinely analyze how much the firm has spent on specific marketing initiatives and what the return on those dollars are. It’s all about generating revenue and acquiring new customers.
Pretty straightforward.
For example: Columbia would need you to slice and dice their email database to create strategies to determine which segments are performing and which ones aren’t. You’ll also touch Columbia’s loyalty program, so you’ll need the ability to pull up information about who is buying and generate ideas about acquiring new customers based on previous customers’ behaviors, such as …
- Recency: When last ordered
- Frequency: How often ordered in a given period
- Dollars: Total, highest, and per time period
- Items: What was purchased
- Source: From which channel the order originated
- Method: Means of payment
It’s all about looking for clues. You’ll need to be obsessive about knowing how copy performed, which offers performed the best, what difference the timing of those offers made, and which customer cohorts within the database which performed best – and worst – and using that information to inform your strategies for engaging both old and new customers with the right offers at the right time in the right channel.
Essential Functions/Responsibilities:
Database Marketing
- Build a 360 degree view of our consumers across our suite of brands and global markets by managing a unified global customer database.
- Management of direct marketing channels & championing best practices for customer relationship management and data-driven direct to consumer marketing/media strategies.
- Channels include direct to consumer media spends (PPC, affiliates, etc), email communication, CRM initiatives, etc.
- Build out 1 to 1 personalized communication plans across multiple platforms (web, online, retail) to deliver relevant content to the right consumers at the right time period.
- Management of key consumer segments such as loyalty, mobile and top decile consumers across all brands
- Detailed measurement and reporting of the impact of campaigns on acquisition, conversion, retention and revenues – identifying and recommending changes to improve marketing effectiveness and efficiency
- Enhancement of data including segmentation tools, customer profiling, attribution models, predictive modeling and demographic data to increase effectiveness of marketing efforts
- Build strong working relationships with internal teams to improve understanding of the customer base through insights, segmentation, strategic planning, research, and historical performance
- Manage the development strategy for the operational global database, including project managing integration of new data feeds, additional countries, brands, etc. Institutionalize best practices across divisions, brands and marketplaces
Ecommerce Marketing
Focus on online customer acquisition and retention, including the following areas:
- Print marketing – bag stuffers and direct mail
- Affiliate program – own and manage the company’s affiliate program
- SEM – responsible for paid search planning and buying
- SEO – assist with efforts to optimize the site for natural search
- Promotions – drive the promotional calendar, such as holidays, friends & family events, employee discount, free shipping
- Evaluating, hiring and managing vendors for key online marketing areas
- Track and report on key marketing metrics
- Liaise with company’s marketing team, helping to coordinate efforts among all channels
- Assist the PR and brand marketing teams on the company’s social media efforts as it relates to ecommerce
Specific Job Skills and Requirements:
- A minimum of 8-10 years experience with direct to consumer ecommerce marketing, and database marketing
- Communication skills; ability to communicate technical concepts
- Strong project management and organizational skills
- Deep experience with CRM, segmentation and targeting
- Experience with a successful loyalty program
- A thorough understanding of the social media space, and it’s benefits and opportunities
- Ability to understand and communicate key ecommerce metrics
Experience managing top tier vendors in key online marketing areas, such as:
- Search engine marketing
- Email deployment
- Database marketing
- Affiliate marketing
- Loyalty programs
- Comparison shopping engines
Education and/or Experience:
- Bachelors degree in Marketing or equivalent
- 8+ years of experience in an online marketing role
Applications for this position are being coordinated by Allan Seibert. To apply, CLICK HERE. Candidates, please be sure to email Allan for a packet of market research and company / competitive intel that will differentiate you in your candidacy. Due to the intensely competitive nature of this search, thorough preparation for these interviews with this proprietary material is strongly recommended.
Get my latest searches. (Opt out anytime.)
