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One of the coolest ecommerce jobs around!

ALLAN’S COMMENTS: We are working with a leading supplier of specialty and high-performance automotive ignition, fuel delivery, and exhaust products in its search for a world-class VP of Ecommerce. With opportunities to participate in cool marketing events, this is a remote / WFH position that will require you to travel to the West Coast and Midwest once every 6-8 weeks.

Among car enthusiasts, our client has TONS of street cred. (I say that as a gearhead who has been customizing cars since I was 16.)

The client was the first company to offer products to convert points-and-condenser ignition systems to fully electronic systems and continues to be the go-to brand for those products. Its fuel delivery products enjoy widespread popularity by gearheads everywhere, and its exhaust products have both hot rod and modern muscle applications.

Gearheads … Talk about a rabid subculture! They’ve got a way of thinking and a language all their own. They’re probably a ball to sell to!

These products are very “information-intensive,” too. Ask any gearhead, there’s a TON of detailed information to consider when choosing the right aftermarket parts — especially on the Make/Model and fitment side of things.

Our client has been in this business for a long time, and with the heady growth of the high performance segment, they have succeeded due to their emphasis on highly-engineered products.

Today, the client is renowned for its points-and-condenser replacement kits, HEI performance modules, built-in cast distributors, ignition coils, spark plug wire sets, high performance fuel pumps, fuel delivery systems, and shorty and long tube headers.

Its ignitor kit sales have blown past 4 million units, and the releases of its digital ignition boxes and high performance fuel systems represent its steadfast commitment to lead the market.

Its fuel pumps and fuel systems are regarded as the premier products for true motorsports enthusiasts, and are featured prominently on professional racing teams at the highest level — including NASCAR and Indy. Its line of header brands have grown significantly as performance enthusiasts seek brands that have an authentic connection to the classic muscle car era, as well as true racing racing applications.

About the Market

There are roughly 280 million light vehicles on the road in the United States today and the overall vehicle population is changing. Light trucks and SUVs are becoming more popular.

Most of the light vehicles in operation today are less than 20 years old (the average age is 12), and roughly 90% of all vehicles are model year 2000 and newer. More than half are model year 2011 or newer.

Here’s why that matters:

After about 10 years, the number of vehicles on the road for a given model year begins to drop exponentially as the vehicle scrap rates increase. During traditional recessions, consumers tended to hold onto their vehicles longer to save money until the economy recovered.

Of course, the COVID-19 recession was different.

While new car sales were disrupted severely at the beginning of the pandemic, they bounced back sharply and were on their way to returning to pre-pandemic levels.

True to history, for the first half of 2021 it looked like consumers had an appetite to ditch their old cars in favor of new ones. But then the supply chain and chip crunch hit, and new cars — and many used cars — were hard to come by.

That’s good news for the parts industry.

Used car sales are way up, and while accessorization can happen at any time during a car’s life, most vehicle owners upgrade or modify their cars within the first few months of buying it, new or used. Basically, the more cars change hands, the more chances for accessorization.

And here’s some great news for VPs of Ecom in the automotive space:

Historically, gearheads bought the lion’s share of their parts from stores. However, 2020 saw major shifts toward ecom due to restrictions on in-person shopping. The result: More than HALF of dollars spent in 2020 went online …

Pre-pandemic, channel preferences varied widely based on the cost, complexity, and local availability of a given product type. Post-pandemic, consumers buying more online than ever before.

But that’s not to suggest that there’s a ton of work to be done on the CX side of the business: Market research suggests that while online channels offer convenience and broader selection — many gearheads value the ability to talk with an expert in person to make sure they find the part that best suits their needs.

About the Role

This position is an integral part of the client’s company-wide ecom efforts, including DTC online retail. Currently, the firm is selling DTC, but the management team views DTC success as one of its highest priorities, and it intends fully to support this new VP to the hilt. Indeed, the market opportunity is there — and you’ll have the capital, people, technology and agency support to make stuff happen.

As the firm’s new VP of Ecommerce, you will be accountable for the execution of the company’s entire online business — which means you will work closely with all internal and external stakeholders to achieve revenue and profitability goals.

PLEASE KNOW: As successful as the client has been up to this point, they’re a bit behind the competition when it comes to DTC ecom. We’re looking for someone who CAN build and is EXCITED to build something from the ground up.

Again, they are online today, there is a small (but SOLID) team, and there are a few agencies now in place. You will not be alone Day One. Soon, as you develop the roadmap and work with your team to execute, you’ll have the authority to make additions or changes on all fronts (team, agencies, technology, tools, etc.).

The CEO, Board and Investors are fully backing the growth of DTC. As you drive the business forward, you will definitely have the resources to take this thing to the next level.

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 …

1. The “real” background requirements for this position, along with the top five things all resumes MUST have to be considered for the role.
2. 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 few months on the job. Every ecommerce job has these — and this one’s no different.
3. 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.
4. The leading and lagging KPIs that will determine your success in this role. In a nutshell: How you’ll keep score.
5. 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 ecom 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.

View Harry Joiner’s profile

Responsibilities:

• Develop and execute short- and long-term e-commerce roadmap, including performance goals, covering online marketing, and tech stack functionality and operations
• Build a team to meet the agreed-upon e-commerce performance goals
• Identify and report online-related KPIs; monitor and analyze those data to identify and take action on opportunities improve operational results and site performance
• Identify and execute on customer experience improvement opportunities in areas such as user interface, site functionality, content, product and vehicle application data, etc.
• Develop and execute paid-search strategy, including campaign profitability, use of in-house and/or out-sourced campaign creation and execution, tactics, platform and channel choices (e.g. Google, Bing, Amazon, etc.), as well as other aspects of paid-search
• Develop and execute social media strategy, including platform choices, engagement tactics (e.g. copy and creative production, post frequency, subscriber growth, CRM, influencer outreach and management, etc.) and broad social listening (e.g. reputation management, competitor activity, etc.)
• Develop and execute on- and off-site SEO strategy, including content improvement, KW deployment, technical optimization, quality backlink growth, etc.
• Develop and execute email marketing strategy, including areas such as copy and creative production, frequency, subscriber growth, etc.
• Manage tech stack, including optimization and maintenance of Shopify, evaluation and potential company-wide implementation of standardization, integration with soon-to-be implemented ERP system, email marketing application, etc.
• Interact with internal company teams, such as B2B sales, product development, IT, accounting, CS, warehouse operations, to ensure project and business success
• Draft CapEx requests and assist in the formulation of annual, company-wide budgets

Skills, Experience, Qualifications and Certifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; graduate degree in a related field preferred
• 7+ years of previous online retailing experience required
• Demonstrated commitment to customer satisfaction, including an appreciation for customer experience, required
• Knowledge of key e-commerce applications required, e.g. Shopify, Google Ads, SEMrush, e-mail marketing, social listening, Web analytics, A/B testing, CRM, ERP integration, etc.
• Demonstrated ability to achieve goals and manage time to meet deadlines
• Demonstrated ability to work unattended and as a member of a team
• Demonstrated ability to manage, grow and cultivate teams under your direction
• Demonstrated ability to manage up and openness to coaching
• Demonstrated attention to detail, combined with the wisdom not to get lost in details
• Analytical, organizational, decision-making, problem-solving and written and verbal communication skills required; board presentation experience a plus
• Thorough understanding of the Internet, and ability to use the Internet and Internet technologies to perform job functions required
• Auto parts-related experience preferred
• Knowledge of and experience with vehicle application data a plus
• SEO experience required
• UI experience, including A/B testing, a plus
• Online-related infrastructure and testing experience a plus
• Business process re-engineering experience a plus
• Well-developed Microsoft Office product suite skills required