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One of the coolest ecommerce jobs around!
HARRY’S COMMENTS: We are working with LightsOnline in their search for a Senior Ecommerce Marketing Manager based in Duluth, GA — just 45 minutes north of Atlanta …
LightsOnline is wholly owned by Progressive Lighting — the largest chain of residential lighting showrooms in the Southeastern United States.
As a family-owned business with a 45-year history, Progressive Lighting has a national reputation for stylish and unique lighting fixtures, superior value, and unparalleled customer service. In addition to its 400,000 square foot distribution facility, the firm operates 15 retail locations in Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina, under both the Progressive Lighting and Lee Lighting brand names.
As Progressive Lighting’s flagship online retail store, LightsOnline has been lighting homes for more than 10 years, offering consumers a full catalog of elegant, high-quality lighting and accessories for the home. With central distribution from Duluth, Georgia, LightsOnline’s products include entry lighting, chandeliers, bath lighting solutions, wall sconces, ceiling lighting and ceiling fans, pendants, and island lighting.
Recently EcommerceRecruiter placed Jay Allen with Progressive Lighting as its new VP of Ecommerce — and truly, this is a great situation for any rising star.
Progressive Lighting’s digital presence is growing, and Jay is adding key team members to really get the site moving. During our kickoff call with Jay and CEO Troy Lee, we got the impression that the company building toward something special, and we feel great about their direction.
About the Market
The lighting industry is massive. So massive, in fact, that it doesn’t do much good to know the exact size of it ($1.8b annually). As Warren Buffett says, “I don’t need to know how much a lady weighs to tell if she’s fat.” And so it is with lighting. Between the retail and wholesale markets / DIY and DIFM, the lighting market is a mother.
Having closed several lighting searches, I know there are several lighting etailers doing $50+ million in sales with far fewer resources than LightsOnline. The real issue isn’t the size / addressability / attractiveness of the industry, but rather the drivers of retail lighting purchases. Are those drivers up, down, or sideways?
As LightsOnline’s new Senior Ecommerce Marketing Manager, you should know that there are dozens of ways to slice and dice the lighting market.
Consider the remodeling segment: When people remodel, one of the first things they invest in is new lighting. Big opportunity. According to HomeAdvisor’s 2018 True Cost Report, a lack of housing inventory, inflated home prices, and rising mortgage rates are driving more homeowners to renovate their existing homes instead of selling and moving. Just look at what happened to Home Depot last year.
Buoyed by rising wages and employment, plus a tax cut, all of which have translated into disposable-income gains, consumers are spending again with more abandon than they have in years.
More than 80% of homeowners plan to remain in their homes, and HALF plan to do at least some remodeling. That’s roughly 50 million homes. The HomeAdvisor report found that homeowners spent an average of $6,649 on home improvements between 2017 and 2018, and they plan to spend at least as much in 2019. If lighting is just 10% of that spend, you’re looking at an outlay of $665 per homeowner. That’s insane!
As a digital marketer, here’s something else to ponder:
These days millennials are more likely than other generations to take on remodeling projects. Many millennials who bought their first home since 2010 are looking to make improvements, as they likely purchased an older home now in pressing need of an update.
What does that mean for your success at LightsOnline?
It means the market is crawling with digital natives, so you’ll need to understand the particulars of how millennials relate to the category. But the good news is, because Progressive Lighting is a direct importer of 60% of what it sells online, you’ll have plenty of margin to work with as you market the business.
About the Role
Put simply, we’re looking for a paid search gunslinger with an analytical bias to the way they make decisions — a proven A-player who can operate independently.
Like most lighting etailers, LightsOnline markets through paid search, organic search, affiliate, paid social, and CSE. For LightsOnline, paid search is critical, and that’s where we would expect you to make a difference.
Three years ago, LightsOnline might might have attracted customers with the lowest price. That’s no longer necessarily the case. These days, the firm is marketing further up the funnel with a more inspirational, aspirational message. (Which is why I’ve shared so much about WHO buys from LightsOnline, and WHY.)
Email will fall under you, and you’ll find yourself developing content, optimizing templates, developing triggered sequences, putting together email designs, and managing the list and promotional calendar. All in an effort to improve email channel ROI.
You won’t believe how much we know about this search …
My partner Allan Seibert and I spent a ton of time on the phone with this client teasing out exactly what you’ll need to KNOW and DO to hit the ground running in this role. Some of the things I can share with highly qualified candidates include …
- The “real” background requirements for this position, along with the top five things all resumes MUST have to be considered for the role.
- The top five problems that exist due to this position being open. These are the little brush fires you will be expected to put out during your first month on the job. Every ecommerce job has these — and this one’s no different.
- What your average day / week will look like in this role. There’s what you read in the standard ecommerce job posting … then there’s reality. We’ve got the reality.
- The leading and lagging KPI’s that will determine your success in this role. In a nutshell: How you keep score.
- The major projects you’ll need to complete by Day 100 to be considered a home-run in this position. We’ve got the lowdown on how you can plug-and-play and drive REAL value in this ecommerce job.
We have a massive amount of proprietary intel to share with qualified candidates. Our industry research for this assignment exceeds 100 pages! Be sure to TEXT Allan Seibert at (706) 318-1196 for this info. Or simply use the email link when you apply for the role below.
View Harry Joiner’s profile
Responsibilities:
- Drive sales through paid search, affiliate, email, shopping sites and social media. Own these channels and develop strategies to increase sales and profitability.
- Plan, execute and track performance of marketing initiatives across these channels. Report on progress and strategic direction.
- Help develop the LightsOnline brand and strategy for long term success.
- Work with our merchants, creative team and copywriters to improve the quality and effectiveness of our marketing over time.
- Work to move our marketing up the funnel and inspire consumers to improve the lighting in their home. Find creative ways to drive exposure to potential customers.
- Manage and develop a direct employee who assists with the marketing operations and copy.
Requirements:
- Bachelors degree in marketing, ecommerce, business or similar field of study.
- At least four years of directly relevant work experience in ecommerce marketing with a depth of experience in paid search.
- Demonstrated ability to drive ecommerce sales growth through online marketing tactics.
- Strong sense of ownership and accountability for the marketing tactics under your belt. Not afraid to challenge others or suggest creative solutions to problems.
- Excellent communicator. Understands online brands. Team oriented and willing to roll up your sleeves and get it done.
- Experience managing creative a plus, but not 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 intensely competitive nature of this search, thorough preparation for these interviews with this proprietary material is strongly recommended.
