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We are working with Peet’s Coffee & Tea in their search for an Ecommerce Business Leader based in Emeryville, CA. Reporting to the VP of Strategy, the business leader owns the revenue and profit from Peet’s online business, and is responsible for creating the business strategy and executing the annual plan.
This role will collaborate with shared marketing and technology services in coordinating the company’s overall digital strategy. The leader will have responsibility to lead, develop and execute product and marketing programs for the ecommerce channel and, working with internal partners, is responsible for driving traffic to Peet’s website and call center as well as converting traffic. The business leader will also serve as the coffee, tea and gifts category manager for the ecommerce channel.
HARRY’S COMMENTS: You remember the Venn diagram from high school, don’t you? It’s the two circles that overlap in the middle, showing the probability that something a part of both Set A and Set B, like so …
Suppose, for example that Set A consists of the number of San Francisco-based searches we manage in any year: No more than 5. Set B might be the number of insanely cool ecommerce leadership searches we manage in a year: Perhaps 30% of our total volume of 200, or 60. Now then: What are the odds that an insanely cool ecommerce leadership role would be offered in San Francisco? Tiny.
Yet that’s what this is.
Peet’s makes and sells coffee and tea, and the company has a fanatical customer base in the San Francisco Bay Area and across the nation. I bought my very first bag of Peet’s coffee last week and I must say it’s the best I’ve ever had. Peet’s believes there’s only one way to craft great coffee and tea – with an obsessive commitment to doing things right. Peet’s roasts small batches by expert hands and they have unparalleled freshness standards. Basically, they craft a better product and then get it to market faster than anyone else in the category.
Whatever. All I know for sure is that their coffee rocks, and I’m sure I will buy it again even though it’s more expensive.
Apparently, lots of people feel the same way I do, which would explain why Peet’s has been so successful selling through multiple channels: Coffee Shops, Peets.com; Food Service; Grocery; and Office Coffee service. If you love Peet’s coffee, you can get it through any of these channels. However, given the strength of Peet’s brand, the quality of its products, and its ever-growing store network, ecommerce represents a significant growth opportunity for Peet’s. That’s what makes this one of the coolest ecommerce careers around.
You can smell the opportunity …
According to First Research, coffee and tea manufacturers generate about $70 billion in worldwide sales. The US coffee and tea manufacturing industry includes about 300 companies with combined annual revenue of about $12 billion. Like the beer market, there’s plenty of room for growth for a brand that caters to the high end.
Without going into too much detail, there are three functional areas where the Ecommerce leader will need to make a significant impact:
- Marketing – The acquisition of new customers,
- CRM – The loyalty, retention, and reactivation of existing customers, and
- Technology – The client runs Magento and seeks to improve its overall efficiency while integrating new marketing and CRM solutions into this platform.
Peet’s CRM priorities include using technology to enhance its customer experience; increasing customer satisfaction; enhancing cross sell and upsell opportunities; creating a single view of the customer; increasing customer retention; increasing customer data quality; reducing cost of service and operation costs; and increasing brand awareness.
It will be your responsibility to make sure that Peet’s CRM initiatives are customer centric, process-based, and milestone driven. Each of these types of projects might have different objectives, such as transforming customer relationships; building loyalty; or nurturing interactions. Additionally, each of these projects might require different ways of assessing their ROI, such as reducing costs; decreasing customer churn; increasing Peet’s share of wallet; or increasing the size of Peet’s housefile. It’s up to you to tease out such things in an academically rigorous way.
Is this job right for you?
We have a TON of information (including current KPI’s) that we can share with qualified candidates about Peet’s online business. Yet you should know that you’ll be leading the internal discussion regarding assortment, pricing, promotions, forecasting, content development, reporting and analysis for Peet’s entire online business which includes the coffee, tea, merchandise and gifts categories. As the leader of the online business you’ll be charged with driving volume while honoring the authenticity and uniqueness of Peet’s brand.
You’ve heard me say this before: Your job will be to sell more stuff to more people, more often, for more money. And you’ll be expected to do that profitably in a way that reflects well on the brand.
If you are up to the task, we love to hear from you.
ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Own Peet’s online commerce experience. Develop the strategy, communications and user experience to convert traffic to sales and grow and retain Peet’s existing customer base.
- Develop, execute and manage e-commerce marketing programs including promotions, creative, email, web, direct mail, and marketing collateral. Provide analysis and insight to manage the success of marketing programs and improve efficiency. Work with digital marketing team to execute and optimize e-commerce paid search, affiliates, social and display campaigns.
- Serve as coffee, tea, merchandise and gifts category manager for e-commerce including assortment, pricing, promotions, forecasting, content development, reporting and analysis.
- Partner with Customer Service to develop sales programs as appropriate, including corporate gifts.
- Work with internal marketing partners to integrate e-commerce across channels.
- Develop and manage retention program for Peet’s coffee and tea subscription program.
- Manage external consultants and agencies and internal creative services team to execute e-commerce marketing efforts.
- Develop, with internal partners, long term and short term strategies for Search Engine Marketing (SEM) programs. Ensure that programs are targeted.
QUALIFICATIONS:
- Minimum of 5-10 years e-commerce experience with at least three years in the area of online marketing for a consumer goods or retail company.
- This is a highly entrepreneurial role that will be charged with reshaping the existing business and defining the future. Start-up experience is preferred.
- Email marketing experience is required. Retention marketing experience strongly preferred.
- Proven track record in creating and executing online marketing strategies to retain customers. Consistent history of business-building success. Must have direct experience developing marketing plans.
- Must be results oriented – with a high degree of personal initiative and leadership – in a fast-paced, fluid and lower resourced environment.
- Strong analytical skills required including demonstrated ability to analyze raw data, draw conclusions, and develop actionable recommendations. Proven ability to think both strategically and tactically.
- Ability to work across functions and in a matrix organization required. Success in this role will require collaboration across multiple functions on a daily basis.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills required. Content development including creative and copy experience a plus.
- Excellent interpersonal and relationship building skills with a proven track record of leadership across functional lines that delivers business results required.
- BS/BA required.
Applications for this position are being coordinated by Allan Seibert. To apply, CLICK HERE. Candidates, please be sure to email Allan for additional information that will differentiate you in your candidacy. Due to the extremely competitive nature of this search, you won’t want to be without this proprietary source material as you prepare for your interviews!
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