Top 5 Challenges for Ecommerce Directors
April 8, 2020
April 8, 2020
If you’re not failing now and again, it’s a sign you’re not doing anything innovative.
- Woody Allen
We asked, you answered – here’s what mid-market digital marketing & eCommerce directors are struggling with as based on our annual Mountains & Metrics eCommerce Conference Attendees feedback session.
The pain points ranked in order of frequency:
The most common challenge for marketing and commerce directors was trying to stay ahead in an ever evolving industry. Responses ranged from “rapid rate of new technologies” to “how to keep on top” to “overwhelmed by everything we’re not doing.” The sentiments reflected in these comments really speak to the need to effectively prioritize and focus on the right activities to maximize ROI given all the noise.
Common theme: We all struggle to stay abreast on changes in the digital space and prioritization is key.
The second most common pain point suggested a desire for more sophisticated analyses to inform marketing and eCommerce efforts. Respondents wanted analyses like “segmentation based on potential ROI,” “accurate attribution for LTV,” (lifetime value) and simply to “understand what’s working.” A corollary thread related to this concern that was mentioned a couple times was simply the ability to act on the insights gleaned from data. This points to the need to leverage the data we have.
Common theme: The exhaust from all the data can choke any team.
The third most common challenge identified was related to increasing key metrics (traffic, visitors, and subscribers) and profitability (conversions, and revenue). Marketing and eCommerce directors are on the front lines for driving growth and they need to understand the optimal ways to drive and convert website traffic.
Common theme: “What have you done for me lately?”
Three issues rounded out the fourth most common concerns.
Common theme: Tech stacks can hamper efforts, data is everywhere and participating in customer communities is an ongoing concern.
A tertiary problem for many eCommerce managers comes down to having inventory to sell onsite which pointed to the fifth most common issue focused around forecasting. Syncing up inventory and sales forecasts is a beast and it requires system integration across ERP, Sales, and Marketing to make it happen – but boy wouldn’t that be magical for planning purposes?
Common theme: Operations is critical for eCommerce success.
We’re working hard to solve some of these challenges to help small teams manage all the variables that go into making an eCommerce store perform across SEO, Social, Paid and Email channels. We see a future with a blended approach of smart software and high-touch services along with ongoing education.
One of the most exciting things we’ve uncovered with our beta group, is the chance to really build technology based around the challenges we’re hearing. This conviction to build tools to make jobs easier is what has us running up the stairs two at a time each morning.
Here’s the major themes we’re working on solving based on these pain points.
We’re incredibly excited about what we can do to help companies hone their processes and then use technology to scale their results. Going forward, plan on seeing more educational content and workshops here in Bozeman or NYC to help you and your teams crack this massive opportunity for building an ecommerce engine in-house.