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We’re working with 4moms in their search for a world-class Director of Ecommerce based in the Cultural District of Pittsburgh, PA.
Let’s dwell on Pittsburgh for a minute, shall we?
I know what you’re thinking: Pittsburgh was left for dead after the steel industry collapsed in the 1980s. Unemployment soared, the population plummeted and corporations fled. That’s what everyone thinks. However, the Steel City weathered a transition from an economy built on manufacturing to one driven by cutting-edge research.
Check it out …
Fact is, Pittsburgh is a reason to keep reading. Not a reason to stop.
Now then: In addition to Pittsburgh receiving recognition as the “Most Livable City” 6 times since 2000, one of Pittsburgh’s crown jewels is Carnegie Mellon University, a world class research university whose schools of Computer Science, Business, and Engineering are literally among the highest ranking in America. CM is also a tremendous source of talent and inspiration for 4moms.
Who is 4moms?
4moms is an innovative consumer tech company that has introduced robotics, technology and design to the juvenile industry with its suite of high-tech baby gear, including the world’s first power-folding stroller. With a brand that transcends baby gear and is recognized as one of America’s top consumer and retail brands, 4moms dramatically improves the product experience by incorporating mechatronic technology and electronics into its products to expand their functions and increase ease of use. The firm designs every product it makes with obsessive attention to detail, and its products are always totally original.
About the Market
If, like me, you are a hardened capitalist, there’s not much to dislike about the Online Baby Product Sales industry, which (as a whole) retails goods for infants and toddlers such as furniture, toys, strollers, formula, apparel and diapers over the internet. According to IBIS World …
“The Online Baby Product Sales industry has expanded rapidly over the past five years in lock-step with the overall ecommerce sector. Industry operators have benefited from rising consumer acceptance of online shopping, both through traditional websites as well as mobile websites and applications. The proliferation of broadband internet and smartphones, along with consumers’ increasing reliance on the internet for activities like shopping, has driven demand for industry products. As a result, industry revenue grew at an annualized rate of 10.8% to $4.9 billion over the last five years to 2015, including growth of 8.1% in 2015 alone.”
(It gets better.)
“Competitive pricing and the development of multichannel retailing options have enhanced already-strong growth. More traditional brick-and-mortar stores have entered the industry in recent years due to the success of smaller online-only retailers. Benefiting from their brand recognition and existing infrastructure, these larger companies have gained market share fairly quickly.
(And here’s the kicker:)
“The industry’s growth spurt will continue over the next five years, with revenue projected to grow at an annualized rate of 6.8%, to reach $6.8 billion by 2020. The greater acceptance of and need for convenient online shopping platforms will fuel demand as rising employment will cause lifestyles to become busier and workloads to become heavier for many parents. In addition, greater internet connectivity along with continued technological development and innovation within online shopping platforms will further contribute to industry growth.”
TRANSLATION: This is a wonderful time to be in this wonderful market selling wonderful products with wonderful margins. 4moms’ business possesses exactly what draws savvy investors (like Bain Capital Ventures and consumer private-equity firm Castanea Partners) passionate to any business:
- Huge, addressable market
- Remarkable, high-quality product(s)
- Well-defined, passionate customers (in this case, young moms and new parents with high disposable income)
- Multiple routes to market
- Proven revenue model
- Long-term scalability
- Access to the right team (which you’ll get to help build.)
Yessiree, Bob. This is a GREAT gig.
As 4moms’ Director of Ecommerce & Digital Marketing, you will be responsible for delivering significant growth of the 4moms direct-to-consumer ecommerce business, supporting wholesale customers’ online channels while expanding the brand through digital media. You will be accountable for the ecommerce P&L and collaborate with colleagues in brand/product marketing, technology, customer care and sales to create brand awareness, drive conversion, and expand customer lifetime value.
Reporting to the VP of Marketing, you will be tasked with building the high-achieving Ecommerce and Digital Marketing team and network of external partners required to support the brand’s aggressive objectives. You’ll need to be a hands-on, pragmatic leader capable of delivering results in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment. And you’ll need to be humble enough to unload the dishwasher when necessary.
I’m not kidding.
4moms’ company culture is based on humility, which enables real creativity and collaboration. The company has an open, shared workspace and its environment promotes teamwork and unscripted conversations which results in fast fixes and therefore, better outcomes, and dramatically better products. 4moms is a place where people work hard, respect others, communicate openly, embrace change, and …
GET STUFF DONE!
I don’t know too many companies who are so proud of their culture that they have their own yearbooks, but 4moms does. (It’s amazing, btw.) I can see why they’re so proud of what they’ve built: The people are incredibly bright and positive-outcome oriented, and their offices are among the coolest in Pittsburgh.
Are you ready to soar with eagles? Ask yourself …
- Do I have hands-on ecommerce experience, and have I run an ecommerce site that has delivered significant growth?
- Am I fluent in all digital marketing methods across the entire spectrum – be they paid, earned, or owned.
- Am I extremely knowledgeable (and curious) about the ever-changing world of ecommerce marketing? Do I know the different vendors? Do I have hands-on experience with the different tools, platforms, and new technologies to make sure that 4moms remains at the forefront of the industry?
- Have I built a team before? 4moms will be building this team in 2016/2017, and it needs a humble A-player with strong leadership skills and the know-how to develop people.
- Am I VERY technologically savvy? You’ll be working in a tech-oriented company full of product and software engineers and must be able to collaborate with them to define business requirements, prioritize needs, and manage projects in an agile development environment.
- Have I lived through a major site redesign or re-platforming? Do I have a clear understanding of how to lead such an effort to a successful outcome?
And finally: Do I have relevant branded consumer products experience – particularly in a well-defined lifestyle or demographic customer segment? You needn’t have baby products experience — but we’d like you to have experience marketing consumer brands to a very specific target market.
A treasure trove of intel
As usual, my team and I spent a ton of time on the phone with the 4moms team teasing out exactly what 4moms’ new Director of Ecommerce & Digital Marketing must do to “win” in the role. I’m happy to discuss everything I’ve heard, seen, and researched about those things with qualified candidates.
You definitely don’t want to apply without this intel, so let me hook you up. Simply TEXT [your name + “4moms”] to me at (404) 281-2025. Or simply apply online below. Either way, I look forward to chatting with you!
View Harry Joiner’s profile
What you’ll be doing:
Ecommerce:
- Develop and execute strategies to rapidly achieve multi-fold growth in direct-to-consumer revenue while meeting brand and profitability objectives.
- Drive traffic and acquire new customers through a wide range of digital marketing channels such as search engine marketing, affiliates, display advertising, social media, and third-party relationships.
- Optimize path-to-purchase across 4moms.com ensuring shoppers can easily navigate across the site, learn about our products and brand, and complete a purchase transaction.
- Build a direct-to-consumer value proposition that differentiates 4moms.com from other competing brands and wholesale customer channels, including strong content and community dimensions, and judicious use of pricing/promotional incentives.
- Develop strategy to make 4moms.com relevant for consumers interested in baby registry.
- Leverage the 4moms mobile app to deepen consumer understanding and cross-sell additional products and accessories to our existing customer base.
- Define consumer lifecycle-based marketing strategies that deliver appropriate messaging and offers to individual customers based on their child’s age/stage.
- Continuously test new marketing channels, merchandising features, and other business opportunities to improve the customer experience and grow revenue.
Digital Marketing:
- Leverage owned digital assets and paid digital programs to achieve brand and product objectives.
- Provide vision and leadership while working with a cross-functional team to integrate owned digital assets (website, email, app) in the broader marketing communications plan.
- Build and execute a strategic roadmap for the 4moms.com web presence, including content, navigation, search engine optimization, mobile optimization, and internationalization.
- Actively engage in ongoing testing and optimization to improve the online user experience.
- Lead email marketing strategy and execution. Manage automated email flows to ensure consumers receive the right message at the right time.
- Collaborate with the 4moms App team (Software, UX, Design, Product Management) and Brand Engagement team to incorporate strategies that drive app and brand engagement.
- Collaborate with Brand Marketing to develop a digital marketing and editorial calendar aligned with the brand’s business and merchandise strategy.
- Partner with retailers’ digital marketing teams to develop and execute customer-specific programs that drive sell-through of 4moms products, including product listing content, reviews, and channel-specific marketing programs.
- Provide ongoing analysis of digital marketing program performance and key learnings to inform future investments.
Leadership:
- Build and lead a team of 3-4 ecommerce and Digital Marketing specialists.
- Manage direct report(s), working collaboratively to achieve team objectives and providing coaching to support development.
- Identify, select and manage external technology and business partners; ensure they meet performance and cost objectives.
- Prepare annual budgets, provide ongoing results analysis and forecasting, and drive prioritization of investments through quantitative business justification.
- Serve as digital marketing and eCommerce thought leader and champion, sharing new ideas and best practices to position 4moms at the forefront of our industry segment.
Requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree with 10+ years of overall work experience.
- 5+ years of demonstrated success in a digital marketing leadership role.
- 5+ years of hands-on eCommerce experience.
- 3+ years of experience managing direct reports.
- Branded consumer goods experience strongly preferred.
- Strong understanding of paid digital media universe and demonstrated ability to build robust digital media plans that deliver results.
- Strong proficiency in online merchandising, user experience design, and usability best practices.
- Solid analytic skills – ability to extract insights from data and calculate program performance.
- Track record of innovative strategic thinking combined with pragmatic, roll-up-the-sleeves execution and results delivery.
- Skilled and experienced negotiator.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills with the ability to motivate and persuade.
- Ability to work across functions to catalyze change in a positive, collaborative, and transparent way.
- Self-starter, willingness, can-do attitude.
- Must be able to work under pressure and extended hours when required.
Applications for this position are being coordinated by Allan Seibert. You can now TEXT Harry for more info at (404) 281-2025. Or to apply on your desktop, 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.
