Key Considerations for Building a Successful Ecommerce Team
You may be new to eCommerce, or you might just be getting started. If so, you are aware that building a successful eCommerce team involves a number of factors. You’ll need to hire experts who are familiar with the nuances of marketing, technology, and fulfillment in eCommerce.
Between 2015 and 2016, total U.S. ecommerce retail sales increased from $294,45 billion to $322.17 milliards. The trends suggest that 2017 will reach a peak of around $353.68 Billion. To put this in perspective, the total estimated retail sales for the U.S. were around $5 trillion. Statista also projects that retail ecommerce sales will grow by 50% to reach $7.4 trillion in 2025. Online shopping will continue to grow as the number of digital shoppers reaches over 2 billion by 2021.
Ecommerce boomed by 15,6% in 2016, the fastest growth ever recorded. Ecommerce will not go away. You could be losing out on an important source of revenue if you don’t make it easy for your customers to use your site.
You can expect results from the ecommerce industry in the months and years to come, but only if you do it the right way. This means that you should focus on these critical tips to achieve ecommerce success. An ecommerce company can be very profitable and rewarding if run correctly. Not all ecommerce companies are successful – only those with the resources and infrastructure to succeed will succeed in this highly competitive market.
How can you ensure that your company’s productivity is constant and unwavering? In this blog, we will talk about the most important considerations for building a successful ecommerce team that can help you grow your business digitally.
Let’s get started.
Why Do You Need a Dedicated eCommerce Team?
It’s important to have a solid team when you start an eCommerce business or want to improve your current business. A well-rounded team of professionals that covers all aspects of your business is essential to its growth and success.
When you have a team that is ready to go with a common mission and vision, you can achieve your goals. A perfect team is surprisingly able to save you money. So, building a successful ecommerce team is necessary. Saving money doesn’t mean using inferior products or shortchanging your team.
It’s all about investing in people who matter and managing your assets efficiently. Cost-effectiveness is not about saving money. It’s about being strategic and delegating tasks to the best people within your team. You should be aware of the latest eCommerce technologies and tools as a digital entrepreneur.
15 Tips For Building a Successful eCommerce Team
Now that you know why you should need an ecommerce team, let’s now check out the key considerations that are necessary while building a successful ecommerce team.
#1: Assess Your Staffing Size
Start your journey by determining the staffing requirements for your business. You must know what roles you will need to hire and when you should hire them. You must also know how to place these employees for maximum impact.
# 2: Assign a Manager
Every physical store requires a manager who will direct the team and ensure that operations run smoothly. Your eCommerce store is no different. To keep your business profitable, you need to actively manage all aspects of pricing, sales, and marketing, as well as inventory. As you establish your eCommerce team, one of the first things to do is hire eCommerce developers to guide and direct your team.
Some smaller companies don’t need an entire eCommerce team or even a manager who is full-time. It’s important to designate a person to be in charge of your digital retail platform. You can say that no one is in control if every team member is responsible.
#3: Decide Your eCommerce Manager’s Responsibilities
Your eCommerce manager’s responsibilities may vary depending on your industry, business type, products and services sold, and business size. It’s important to know what your manager’s responsibilities are and to explain them clearly.
Responsibilities may include:
- Online sales figures: Monitoring and improving them
- Implementing online marketing strategies and content management protocols
- Determining eCommerce channel budgets
- Managing the eCommerce team and its roles
- Reporting to the upper management
- Account activation for existing and new customers
- Online feedback is a great way to get customer feedback
- Manage eCommerce services, communications, and process changes
- Manage agreements with your eCommerce Suppliers
Your eCommerce manager must be able to translate the mission, values, and products of your business into a digital world. They should also have clear goals and KPIs to work towards.
#4: Establish Clear Expectations for Your Team
Your new team members will come to your business as “blank slates” and quickly adapt to your unique methods of operating. When building a successful ecommerce team, you should establish certain ground rules and expectations. Setting time and financial objectives is crucial. You also need to decide what type of team you want to create.
You may want to establish a culture that encourages shared decision-making, communication, and problem-solving. Tell your team right away what you expect of them. You can keep track of the performance of your team as they adapt to your new way of working by using team management software such as Monday.com or Hibox.
#5: View Your Team Members as Individuals
Each team member is an individual with unique stories, experiences, and perspectives. To create a strong work environment, you must respect and honor each person’s unique skills and insight. Each person must be given the opportunity to contribute in their own way towards your eCommerce goals.
#6: Hire Website Management Staff
The senior management team of your website will be the foundation of your eCommerce
platform. You should be aware that those in charge of running your online business must know every aspect of the industry inside out. The technical, administrative, marketing, merchandising, and revenue-generating elements of your site will be under the control of your website management team.
Equip your website management team with a web management system such as Adobe Experience Manager to get even better results. This crucial role should be given priority over other professionals such as marketers, designers, and programmers.
#7: Hire Skilled Technical Staff
You will then need to hire technical personnel to build an ecommerce website. It may be more cost-effective to hire a temporary freelancer for these tasks if you run a small business. You need to be aware of two distinct technical skill sets: front end and back end.
Front-end staff creates the design and code. Back-end employees integrate websites with systems such as your accounting, shipping, and payment processing system. The two skill sets are significantly dissimilar. It’s critical to determine upfront the precise capabilities your company needs.
#8: Find Your Digital Marketing Specialists
Your digital marketing team is the next best addition to your eCommerce team. So when building a successful ecommerce team, hiring digital marketing specialists will typically have different specializations. Decide on your main marketing goals before you begin the hiring process.
Depending on your needs, you could hire: You could:
- An email marketing expert with knowledge of marketing mail as well as metrics such as click-through rates and open rates
- A paid advertising expert who knows what options you have and how to use them effectively to achieve success.
- An SEO expert who can bring organic traffic to your site by increasing your rankings on search engines using keywords and SEO-optimized content
- A specialist in analytics who knows how to use key tools such as Google Analytics to increase sales and conversions.
#9: Hire Customer Service and Support Staff
Your customers are essential to your success. They hold the secret to the success of your company. Without them, you will have no sales, profits, or future. But simply having customers won’t keep you going. To remain loyal, your customers must feel engaged and satisfied. You need a committed group of customer service agents if you want to deliver excellent customer service.
Customers may shop online at odd hours due to their busy schedules. This is an advantage of being available 24/7, but it also means that your support team needs to be readily accessible as much as possible every day.
Prioritize hiring people with excellent interpersonal skills when you hire support staff. Your staff must be able to handle customers in their best and worst situations. They will keep your customers engaged and their business for the long term. Use customer service software such as GrooveHQ for a memorable supporter experience.
#10: Find the Right Accounting Staff
You may need an eCommerce accountant if your business is large to handle your finances. Keep track of your income and expenses and manage multiple transactions every day. Your new hire should have the ability to manage your finances and provide you with accurate information regarding your eCommerce site’s finances, investments, taxes, and other areas.
Investing in automated accounting software and payroll management for your company can help you improve the efficiency of your team. Accounting software like FreshBooks can reduce the amount of time spent by your team on bookkeeping, invoicing, and reconciliation. Your team can then focus on other pressing financial issues to keep your company running smoothly.
#11: Onboard a Business Analyst
A business analyst may be needed to help you make important decisions on how to enter new markets and grow your business. So, when building a successful ecommerce team, hire an experienced BA. A senior consultant with extensive expertise or an industry veteran often fills this job. To guarantee you receive the greatest advice and direction, set aside enough money. It is worthwhile.
#12. Find Your Team an IT Technician
Your team will be able to use your eCommerce platform’s digital infrastructure with the help of an IT specialist. They can connect online information to your inventory and logistics staff in order to track and move merchandise efficiently through the supply chain. A specialist in IT will also store your data safely and protect your business against cybercriminals and other relevant, potentially crippling risks.
#13: Hire Logistics Managers
The logistics manager is responsible for ensuring that your orders are delivered safely and on time to your warehouses. They are responsible for the customs clearance of cross-border shipments. They also conduct quality checks and ensure that transport insurance is in force.
A manager with the right skills will oversee your company’s delivery fleet.
They’ll also manage relationships with third-party delivery services in order to streamline supply chain management. Digital is the medium through which eCommerce shoppers can shop. The products will still be delivered to customers in the physical world.
The primary responsibility of your logistics manager is to make sure that you get the goods from your manufacturers to customers in as short a time as possible. Try an automated workflow app for logistics if your budget does not allow you to hire dedicated developers. Cflow software can help you keep your logistics in order.
#14: Consider Resources for Training
When building a successful ecommerce team, it’s essential that you account for the training and onboarding time. These processes can steal valuable time from senior members of your team who could otherwise focus on strategy and growth.
To streamline onboarding and learning processes, you can use digital training and education tools such as iSpring Learn Apty and TalentLMS. These tools will give your team the skills needed to excel in their roles.
#15: Reassess Your HR Investments Regularly
The number of employees you need will increase exponentially as your business grows. For SMEs that lack HR departments, the company leader must spend a lot of time training and finding new employees.
The hiring needs of your business will vary depending on its size, products sold, and areas that you wish to serve. You can save time by using HR management tools like Kissflow HR Cloud and BreezyHR to find the best team members for your business.
Challenges of Building a Successful eCommerce Team
eCommerce teams are made up of different positions and roles that cover many areas. eCommerce professionals need to demonstrate specific expertise in areas such as marketing, logistics, and website development.
To get things moving, business leaders must overcome multiple challenges. The eCommerce industry is highly competitive. What to consider when assembling a custom e-commerce development company for your project. So let’s check out:
- Talent Loss and Skills Shortage
Did you know that over half of the decision-makers need assistance to find the best specialists at the best price? According to Mercer’s research, the most important hiring concern is ensuring that qualified candidates are available for projects in a timely manner.
- eCommerce projects need human resources with the appropriate skills and experience.
eCommerce businesses spend a lot of money on creating a pleasant customer experience. Unfortunately, employees are often forced to endure a bad work experience or to switch jobs due to a hostile working environment. To avoid failure while building a successful ecommerce team, it is important to create a culture that prioritizes positive experiences at work.
- Compliance Issues
eCommerce companies collect and store sensitive information on existing customers and website visitors. This data is used to identify the best strategies for generating leads, creating personalized campaigns, improving cart abandonment rates, and other daily activities.
It is important to make sure that these data are collected without infringing on privacy rights. Legal issues, even emerging ones, could damage the reputation of a company. Online selling activities may be restricted by local laws or regulations depending on the products or services that a company offers and where the customer is located.
Customer data loss due to a security system flaw is another possibility. This could lead to viability losses, reputational damage, and other serious risks. Your company is in charge of ensuring the security and privacy of eCommerce client data. You must take every step to avoid compliance and data-security issues.
- Customer Expectations Are Changing
It’s important for eCommerce companies to keep an eye on the latest trends in their industry. A second aspect is the ability to react quickly to changing expectations. When building a successful ecommerce team, it’s crucial to stay on top of the constantly evolving needs of customers.
It is feasible to put together a qualified team and launch an eCommerce project. However, you must also ensure that the team can adjust their efforts in order to meet customer demands. Even though it sounds difficult, building a great customer experience is a must to compete with large eCommerce brands such as Amazon.
What can businesses do to create a memorable online experience? It is important to have proactive people on the eCommerce team who are able to think outside of the box and provide personalized service. Building a workforce that will act in accordance with what their clients say is also crucial.
- Lack of Agility
eCommerce businesses must anticipate seasonal changes and react to the exploding expectations of customers. They also need to introduce changes dictated to them by the market or competitors. If you fail to offer a great shopping experience and excellent customer service, it could lead to lost sales and missed business opportunities.
- Lack of agility and speed is one of eCommerce’s biggest problems.
This hinders productivity and slows down the pace of digital transformation and innovation. Many companies are unable to adjust their strategies in order to meet or exceed customer expectations.
When building a successful ecommerce team, eCommerce companies must create a team structure to be agile. This allows them to make quick changes to their website, content, loyalty programs, and UX. Hire web developers who can establish personal connections with customers and adapt to changes.
- Technology Challenges
Hiring and technical decisions are closely linked when starting an eCommerce project. Wrong technology and platform choices, especially when building an eCommerce solution from the ground up, can hinder development processes and compromise later stages of software production.
- We can list performance issues, lack of features that differentiate you from your competition, and failures to achieve business goals as risks. Compatibility and technology’s capacity to foster progress should both be considered.
- the companies must conduct extensive research before choosing the right technologies and platforms to suit their project. It is important to keep in mind that the current business goals allow for future growth.
Conclusion
In conclusion, building a successful ecommerce team that is successful for your business is essential. It’s critical to make the appropriate hires. There are many folks who may talk the talk but not walk the walk. It is important to thoroughly vet them to determine their abilities and who they are. You can hire an ecommerce development company to help you if you do not have the knowledge. This is, after all, the foundation and cornerstone of your eCommerce business. We hope the above considerations should be helpful to you.
FAQ
1. How to Create an Ecommerce Website?
Follow these steps to create an e-commerce site:
- Plan the structure and design of your website.
- Choose a platform such as Shopify or WooCommerce.
- Install your domain and hosting.
- Customize the appearance and functionality of your website.
- Set up payment gateways and add products.
- Launch and promote your site.
2. What is the Cost of Hiring a Developer?
The cost to hire a developer depends on many factors, including their experience, skill level and location. The average hourly rate for developers is between $15 and $25. Full-time or project-based employment also affects the cost.
3. How to Hire a Team of Ecommerce Experts for Your Business?
Follow these steps to hire an e-commerce staff for your business:
- Decide on your goals and needs.
- Create detailed job descriptions to describe each role.
- Post the job vacancies on the appropriate employment boards, social media sites, and other websites that are appropriate.
- Interview and screen candidates
- Consider their experience, skills, and cultural fit.
- Offer selected candidates a job.
- Train and onboard your team members thoroughly.
