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One of the coolest ecommerce jobs around!
ALLAN’S COMMENTS: We are working with a very large, well-established online retailer of firearms, scopes, and accessories in their search for a Director of Ecommerce based in the rural northeast USA.
NOTE: THIS IS A BIG JOB WITH A BIG BASE SALARY AND TONS OF PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL UPSIDE. THE COMPANY OPERATES IN THE FIREARMS ACCESSORIES CATEGORY, AND RELOCATION TO A RURAL AREA IS REQUIRED. ONCE YOU GET SETTLED, YOU MUST BE ONSITE FIVE DAYS PER WEEK. NO EXCEPTIONS.
About the Market
As you’ve probably heard, the U.S. market for firearms and accessories is MASSIVE. Some estimates say there are more than 350 million guns in circulation, but the exact number doesn’t really matter. You know how you feel about guns. I’m not here to convince you of anything you don’t already believe.
Suffice it to say that America has one of the largest civilian-owned firearm populations in the world, and that market includes handguns, rifles, shotguns, and various specialized firearms. Sales of firearms have been influenced by factors such as changes in gun regulations, political events, and concerns about personal safety.
The market for firearm accessories is also significant, and it includes a wide range of products such as scopes, optics, grips, holsters, magazines, ammunition, cleaning kits, gun safes, and more. Accessories cater to a diverse group of firearm owners, from sport shooters to hunters to collectors.
The industry is subject to federal, state, and local regulations which can influence the market, and changes in laws or regulations on certain accessories can impact consumer behavior.
Against this backdrop, the rise of ecommerce has made it easier for consumers to access a firearms and accessories online, which has contributed to the industry’s growth. Here’s where things get interesting …
About the Company
Founded more than 15 years ago, the company gained traction quickly and preemptively expanded its ops infrastructure, doubling down on its model from a fulfillment, inventory acquisition, and key supplier standpoint, buying from a slew of very high-end manufacturers.
Today, the company is among the fastest-growing firms in its category, and it will likely double or triple in size in the next five years. The firm sells high-margin products its competitors cannot always get, and HOW it buys inventory is itself a key to the company’s success. Very creative. Very unorthodox.
About the Role
Assuming you are an established Director of Ecommerce with a large DTC ecom company, your job will be to GROW OUR CLIENT’S BUSINESS. Full stop.
What that means, first and foremost, is you will be leading the firm’s marketing and ecommerce functions. Its current ecommerce business exceeds well exceeds 9-figures, and there’s plenty of long, straight road ahead for the category.
This role is almost entirely about Direct to Consumer (minus online marketplaces), and we’re looking for a proven Marketing Top-Gun who can take this DTC business to the level. At a high level, that means selling …
- OLD products to OLD customers,
- OLD products to NEW customers,
- NEW products to OLD customers, and
- NEW products to NEW customers
That’s it. Do that profitably and you’ll be a hero.
Increasingly, first-time buyers are a larger percentage of the company’s total business, yet admittedly, the team could be more process-driven in its approach to acquisition. Beyond that, the company could be doing a better job leveraging data in its loyalty, retention, and reactivation efforts.
See a trend here?
Of course you do! The good news is that, largely because of its unique business model, the company has enjoyed explosive growth. But now it’s time to professionalize the disciplines.
- This is normal.
- This is natural.
- The is not a turnaround.
It’s simply time to scrutinize ecommerce marketing best practices and bring the most relevant to bear on the business. Not the first time you’ve heard this. With 9-figures in DTC sales, the firm is obviously doing a lot right. It’s your job to figure out what that is and put a scalable process around it.
More science. Less art.
That means unpacking the firm’s email channel. Tons of low-hanging fruit there. Too much to get into here. It also means taking a good hard look at the firm’s organic and paid search channels and agencies, its merchandising and onsite experience initiatives, reviewing its CRM and database marketing programs, and overseeing the re-platforming of it’s ecom site.
Meanwhile …
There’s a lot to scrutinize in terms of the team and its approach to marketing — some of which may be A-OK, some of which might not be. Like buying a great house with some “deferred maintenance issues:” This role will be loaded with pleasant surprises, opportunities, and frankly, some things to teardown and rebuild.
You won’t believe how much we know about this search …
I spent a ton of time on the phone with the 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 KPIs that will determine your success in this role. In a nutshell: How you’ll 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.
I have a massive amount of proprietary intel to share with qualified candidates. My industry research for this assignment exceeds 100 pages! Be sure to TEXT me, Allan Seibert, at (706) 318-1196 for this info. Or simply use the email link when you apply for the role below.
Responsibilities
- Full ownership of the company’s 9-digit D2C .com ecommerce business (this role will not own marketplaces)
- Expanded and more sophisticated digital marketing strategy with an emphasis on Paid Media, SEO, Social and Email/SMS
- Implementation of attribution modeling and more sophisticated reporting/web analytics
- Oversight of an on-going site re-platform to Big Commerce
- Improvement to the overall UX and CX
- Development of a more sophisticated and advanced retention strategy, including more automation, better segmentation, and an overall more targeted approach
- Responsibility of a more developed and advanced SEO strategy
- Implementation of Paid Media where possible, given some regulations in firearms-related category
- Management and development of the current team
- Management of 3rd party agencies
- Improvement to Site Testing with a focus on improved CRO
- Site Merchandising and improvements to AOV
- Regular audits of the dot com business with a continuous focus on improvements
- Revenue growth is the core responsibility of this position
Desired Experience:
- 3-5 years of Ecommerce P&L experience
- 7+ years of full ownership of the end-to-end digital marketing mix
- 7+ years of Web Analytics and Reporting
- Experience improving and optimizing all digital customer acquisition channels, including Paid Media, SEO, Social, and Email
- Experience utilizing influencer marketing as part of your acquisition and engagement strategy
- Previous experience and successes with owning the onsite experience through checkout with an emphasis on improved UX/CX
- Utilization and optimization of content in a lifestyle-focused brand
- Experience implementing more advanced retention strategies, including automation, segmentation, and better-targeted messaging
- Strong ability to work with cross-functional teams
- Previous experience managing site replatforms on time and on budget
- Track record of improving Traffic, CRO, and AOV
- 5+ years of team management, leadership, and mentorship
- Proven track record of growing revenue. You will be expected to provide multiple examples of revenue growth across your career
