There’s a lot of speculation among digital marketing experts that coronavirus, coupled with social distancing and self-quarantining, will help boost e-commerce sales. If we examine its short-term influence over the course of these past few weeks, e-commerce has been one of the key channels for driving economic growth. While the long-term projections could yield complications with supply chain and demand, the underlying narrative of e-commerce is that it’s never been more important.

As companies strengthen their online presence and move toward a digital-first strategy, there’s been a surge in e-commerce hiring, especially among online retail giants like Amazon.

“E-commerce roles are incredibly important hires for many companies, especially now,” ForceBrands‘ Division Director Jennifer Fisher said. “Companies are going to hire candidates to fill these roles without in-person interviews. Why? If you want your business to stay in business, you need to hire the person to do it.”

Where should an organization start when building an e-commerce team?
E-commerce is complex. There are different ways companies can approach building out their e-commerce teams. The most important first step is to set up the infrastructure and determine the best platform to use.

When it comes to making those first strategic hires, an agile, hands-on, and knowledgable Director of E-Commerce is key.

“This director role is an important hire. Ideally, the candidate should be someone who understands UI/UX and has experience getting the platform up and running if it’s not yet there,” Fisher said. “They should also possess performance marketing skills and understand how digital marketing and e-commerce activities align to achieve long-term growth and success.”

Important roles to consider hiring in today’s climate
While e-commerce leadership is critical to the success of the team and business, other roles are growing in popularity in today’s uncertain climate.

“We’ve been seeing a lot of roles come in for Community Managers that help ensure a brand’s voice is consistent across all platforms,” Fisher said. “This role is responsible for making sure the brand is effectively communicating and engaging with its audience. It will become an increasingly important job as brands determine what tone of voice they’ll be using to navigating this kind of crisis.

Because people are so isolated right now, digital communication is more important than ever.

Optimizing e-commerce platforms
With the emergence of data analytics and innovative technologies, e-commerce is becoming more equipped to deliver better customer experiences. Here are some helpful strategies to help gain an edge on the competition:

Interactive Product Visualization
Product visualization is one of the best strategies for you to present your products to your consumers. It will help them study every detail of a product, which in turn will enable them to make an informed decision.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)
With business decision making becoming more data-driven, there is an increased demand for measurable metrics. AI tools enable you to gather as well as investigate data in real-time and track the way potential customers interact with your brand. AI facilitates better efficiency and competence.

Advanced Product Filtering
The advanced filter functionality allows your customers to find exactly what they’re looking for quickly and easily. It can be even more useful if you are selling a lot of variations of the same types of products with many options.

Chatbots
Chatbots enable businesses to instantly communicate with customers. Hiring someone to oversee this communication is key to gain insight into how well your customer service is performing.

More Delivery Options
As an important aspect of e-commerce business, delivery has to be fast, convenient, and timely if you want to stay ahead of the competition. Hiring the right people to guarantee your customers will receive their products when promised will drive your company’s success.

Adjusting to the new normal
When normalcy resumes, e-commerce skill sets will become more valuable than before, Fisher said. There are certain shifts in consumer behavior and lifestyles over the past few weeks that will have long-term staying power.

“There will likely continue to be a sense of uncertainty about returning to normalcy, and a lot of companies are preparing for that. When it comes to e-commerce, people are going to get used to going online to get products in case of another pandemic. Already these roles were in super high demand and it’s only going to continue to grow.”

Interested in working in e-commerce? Connect to one of our Executive Recruiters to start the conversation.