Ecommerce Jobs: FramesDirect seeks a Digital Marketing Program Manager (Austin, TX 78741)

Searches like this are my favorite because pure play online retailers usually have a very strong “sense of self.” They know what their business is about, who their business is for, and why — exactly — their target customer should choose to do business with them versus every available option, including doing nothing.

Such is the case with FramesDirect, online purveyor of the world’s finest prescription eyewear. Founded by two optometrists, Dr. Guy Hodgson and Dr. Dhavid (yep, Dhavid with an “h”) Cooper, who ran a chain of successful optometry practices in Houston Texas, FramesDirect was founded on the premise that patients want a broader selection of better eyewear at lower prices than could be offered in brick-and-mortar stores.

FramesDirect launched in 1996 and was the first company to sell eyewear online. Later, the firm became the first company to sell progressive lenses online as a result of the groundbreaking innovation its founders were introducing. Today, FramesDirect is committed to using only the highest quality lenses, providing world-class customer service, offering the best selection of premium brand eyewear, and selling their merchandise at the lowest possible price without sacrificing quality.

While I can’t give you the exact size of the US market for prescription eyewear, I can offer some proxies. In the United States there are roughly 20,000 optometrist offices with a combined revenue of $12 billion. I’ve recruited for Luxottica, and I’ve heard eyewear market size estimates as high as $20 billion. That’s $63 for every person in America (including babies!).

Demand for eyeglasses is driven by demographics, and the aging of the US population increases demand for eye exams and eyeglasses every year. Consider this: Boomers number nearly 80 million and make up 26% of the US population. Roughly one in 4 consumers is a Boomer, and every day for the next 18 years, 8,000 Boomers will reach age 65. Most of ’em will need prescription eyewear.

It gets better: Nearly 40% of Boomers are affluent and can afford to maintain a trend-right appearance. And while Boomers are by no means the only demographic to which FramesDirect sells, it’s nice to know that there’s an extraordinary volume of business to be done with the Boomer cohort, where the opportunities to cross-sell and up-sell frames and lenses is enormous.

This is a new position, added for all the right reasons: The firm has some new marketing initiatives on tap that require new marketing skills. No big deal. We’re looking for someone with solid online retail experience who has experience running similar programs, like loyalty, retention, reactivation, merchandising, project management, and analytics.

However, you’ll need to know enough about analytics to know how to optimize your own marketing and merchandising activities. Being analytically biased means understanding WHAT needs to be measured, WHY, and HOW. Test and learn. We’re looking for someone who is hypothesis-driven and understands that it’s okay to fail as long as one learns along the way.

Naturally, we would like you to have solid Excel chops since you’ll be busting out the pivot tables and vlookups. This role is all about bringing an analytical bias to everything you touch, which will likely include paid search and other paid channels. We don’t need you to be an expert in these things – but we will expect you to use Excel to separate the high-impact activities from the low-impact ones.

Because of the number of new programs Frames Direct is launching, this will be an exciting time for you personally to impact these programs’ strategic promise, probability for success, and overall cost-effectiveness. You’ll be expected to present your ideas and thought processes to senior executives – and they will look to YOU for guidance on which short- and long-term KPI’s should serve as the best yardsticks for what’s working (and what’s not).

You will be expected to work very effectively across multiple functions, including IT, Creative, Sourcing and more as your new initiatives gain traction in areas like referral marketing and conversion rate optimization. (There’s a lot we can share with qualified candidates about the projects you’ll have on your plate.)

Bottom line: Frames Direct is very proud of its lean, entrepreneurial, analytically rigorous culture – and its team it is excellent at optimizing the balance of art and science in great marketing. We realize this job spec covers a lot of functional ground. It’s highly likely that most A-players won’t have deep expertise in all of these functional areas. Don’t sweat it!

What Frames Direct needs is a “utility player” – a resilient, adaptable and resourceful up-and-comer who can learn many different things on the fly. In fact, in 6–12 months, there is a chance that your job at F.D. may be materially different. During your first year on the job, you’ll have projects that you find are not driving any incremental revenue, so your efforts will move to other opportunities. Happens to everyone.

When that happens, you can expect Frames Direct’s management to double down on the things you like, enjoy, and are good at. These folks are masters at building people, which is why we continue to manage searches for them.

As usual, my team and I have a monster amount of intel the chair with highly qualified candidates about this role. If you’re interested in this position, you definitely don’t want to apply without this information. Simply text “[your name] + Frames Direct” to 404-281-2025. Or, simply apply for the position at the bottom of the page. Either way, we look forward to chatting with you about this great opportunity!