August 5, 2022 | Role Specific Hiring Tips

Three Keys to Hiring Your Next VP of Ecommerce

The VP of Ecommerce is responsible for the success of (and the strategies behind) your organization’s ecommerce channel. In other words, the VP of Ecommerce is a role that is fully dedicated to managing, developing, and growing your organization’s ecommerce channel.

Streamlined Buying and Selling

Digitalization requires organizations to streamline buying and selling over the Internet. An important step in the digital transformation journey is properly managing and growing your organization’s ecommerce channels. However, growing an ecommerce channel requires different skills and experiences than growing traditional wholesale or retail channels. Here are the top three things a new VP of Ecommerce needs in order to fulfill an organization’s ecommerce goals:

1. Knowledge of Critical Online Aspects

In order to grow your organization’s ecommerce channels, your next VP of Ecommerce needs to have a broad but sufficiently in-depth understanding of the online aspects which are necessary for successful conduct of ecommerce. These include development, design, onsite optimization, marketing, traffic acquisition (paid and organic), and numerous others.

Your new VP doesn’t have to be able to expertly execute all of these online aspects personally, but as a digital leader, your new VP does need to be able to understand how each aspect contributes to the overall strategy which drives growth of the organization’s ecommerce channels. When searching for your next VP, ensure that they have a broad knowledge of strategy corresponding to these individual online aspects. 

This knowledge is required in order to continually optimize ecommerce strategy and thus drive ecommerce growth. Furthermore, ensure they have an effective understanding of how these aspects play into the overall strategy behind developing ecommerce channels.

2. Experience in Growing Ecommerce Brands

It isn’t enough for a VP of Ecommerce to have only knowledge of developing ecommerce strategy. They also need to be able to successfully implement this knowledge. Digitalization has initiated a growing need for successful ecommerce, and has made this role a fairly hands-on one. Knowledge alone isn’t enough— your new VP needs to have a proven track record of successfully growing ecommerce brands. 

Your new VP has to be able to apply their broad knowledge of online aspects to successfully growing ecommerce channels. You aren’t looking for just a manager, you’re searching for a digital leader. When searching for your next VP of Ecommerce, ensure they have sufficient experience in successfully growing ecommerce brands.

3. Proven Leadership in Driving Teams toward Goal Fulfillment

The success of a VP of Ecommerce is measured by the success of the organization’s ecommerce channel. If sales are on the rise and the consumer base is increasing, then the VP is likely successfully leading teams to fulfill the organization’s ecommerce goals. This role is a highly goal-driven one. When you’re searching for your next VP, consider their track record in leading teams towards the fulfillment of organizational ecommerce goals.

A successful VP doesn’t have to be a verified expert in all critical online areas, but they do need to be able to lead a team of experts in those areas. When searching for your next VP, ensure that they have proven their ability to lead teams towards the fulfillment of organizational ecommerce goals.

Final Thoughts

Growing and developing ecommerce capabilities is an essential part of an organization’s digital transformation journey. A VP of Ecommerce should be fully dedicated to these efforts. When searching for your next VP, ensure they have these three things: knowledge in critical online aspects, experience in growing ecommerce brands, and proven leadership in driving teams towards the fulfillment of organizational ecommerce goals. Contact us for more information on hiring your next VP of Ecommerce. 

Posted by Mark Whitman

Mark Whitman is the founder of TeamBuilder Search. Mark’s mission is to help clients recruit the top five percent of digital marketing executives, taking great satisfaction in helping clients out-recruit their competition. In the process of fulfilling his mission, he takes great care to help digital marketing leaders elevate their careers. People say Mark owns a recruiting and staffing company. He says he owns a life improvement company. To learn more about Mark visit our Leadership page.
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