the organization and what they already are doing in eCommerce and how far behind they are , the decision to invest / realign may be more or less aggressive and this crew has the ability to evaluate the gap vs . industry peers and map out a plan to close it fast . The downside is that it could be expensive for small companies to staff and provide a budget to an in-house ecommerce team or consultant and since eCommerce is new to most companies , you need to advocate and get approval from senior leadership on staff count and budget which can be time consuming .
The Sales Team
There are many different ways your company can approach diving into the eCommerce space . The basics that whatever team responsible will have to own , include getting educated on the space , vetting vendors , creating capability decks , and presenting findings to senior leadership . Once a full-stack plan has been established and approved , the team can then work with the vendors , sales managers , brand managers , and other parties to execute the plan .
What works for the sales team is that they are familiar with their own retailer ( s ), and already have a rapport with their buyers which they can use as leverage to show they are a “ good brand to work with ” plus the fact that typically , trade has larger budgets to work with . The weakness emanates due to the fact that this team lacks time to devote to this type of initiative and might not be familiar with overall marketing initiatives and strategies . They are mostly only familiar with their retailer and not the general eCommerce space and often remote and not headquartered in the office with the CEO , brand managers , shopper marketers , etc . making communication more difficult .
The Brand Team
This team stands out because they are experts on their category and products , they usually have larger budgets and more headcount to take on this type of expense and initiative , and eCommerce plan could already be part of their broad marketing plans . They are also well-educated on marketing trends and strategies and already have a list of vendors they work with that may have the capabilities to take on eCommerce work . The low side for this crw however is that they are generally not knowledgeable on specific retailers ’ space and have no time to devote to eCommerce management on top of all their other responsibilities .
All Four Teams ( Shopper Marketing , Ecommerce , Brand , And Sales )
The vote for this combination is that since each team is an expert on their own space , everyone ’ s insight is valued and they can work together to create a cohesive plan . Each team has a stake in the success since eCommerce affects the entire company .
The collaboration result in the creation of an eCommerce Center of Excellence that includes a representative from each team for open communication and overall success . The flipside here emanates from the fact that too many cooks in the kitchen can cause confusion and drama , with the attendant challenge in divvying up tasks and holding one another accountable .
At the end of the day , your company needs to decide which method makes the most sense . eCommerce can ’ t be a part time responsibility to be done on the side of some team ’ s desk . It has to be staffed and funded appropriately to be taken seriously .
There is a lot of money at stake if an eCommerce plan is not executed properly . And if the team is successful in their mission , they will surely be recognized for their efforts . But before that happens , your company is tasked with the challenge to hire , staff , and assign the responsibility to the right people .
Lisa Crocco is a marketing analyst at a CPG company in the USA and a freelance writer / marketer for startups like Shopperations . For more information about Shopperations , please contact Olga Yurovski at : Olga @ shopperations . com . And for more information about Lisa , please contact her at : LisaCrocs @ gmail . com .