BT Blog & News

Top Tips From Ecommerce Managers

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Tips And Advice

Sometimes it’s nice to know what your peers are thinking and how they do things. You know those niggling little problems that you can’t quite put your finger on. So we thought we’d put together some top tips from Ecommerce Managers we know as reference for all your head scratchers (you’re welcome).

On managing stakeholders
The ability to manage stakeholders is a very desirable skill, and employers are increasingly expecting these skills from potential employees.

• Prove your case by proving the value of your idea with figures and test results
• People are more inclined to listen when you’ve got proof rather than taking a “that’s my job and I know best” approach
• Listen to everyone in the room and take on what they say – someone else in a different role can have a valid and useful opinion. You may not know what people have done before their current role.

On pinching ideas
To look at competitors or not to look at competitors? That is so often the question. So what’s the best way to use other people’s good ideas?

• Have a monthly meeting where everyone brings an example of something good or bad in the industry from the last month
• These will usually be just little projects that you can work on when there’s a lull in activity

On price points
Knowing where to pitch price points and balance them with delivery charges is a headache for many Ecommerce Managers.

• Customers are more tolerant for low price points – they’ll be more likely to compromise on delivery times and user experience to get a good deal.
• You’ll often find that the bigger the company the more politics get involved in pricing and what people are prepared to sacrifice on margin between product and shipping
• It’s worth remembering that some customers (including a certain Ecom Manager we know) won’t buy from you unless the delivery is free. Know your customer and test!

On catalogues
Many online retailers were born out of catalogue models, while others often toy with catalogues as a marketing tool.

• Catalogues can be annoying for digital evangelicals within a company as they take over priorities and large parts of budgets – plus they’re nightmares when it comes to ROI
• Customer experience is key when considering what to do with your catalogue
• If you have a long, information-heavy catalogue (like a builder’s merchants), then a physical brochure may be more user friendly than an online one to handle all that information.
• For luxury or lifestyle brands a well-designed catalogue creates a captive and engaged audience, generating a brand association that a website can’t

On agencies
The struggle between bringing resources in house and outsourcing them is a perennial one. How do managers cope with this?

• The trouble with using agencies is that they don’t care about the brand – they do what they’re told rather than think out of the box and develop new ideas
• The biggest pain is waiting for things to be implemented and getting excuses when they’re not done on time. At least in house you can track and support staff, helping them make it happen.
• Agency work is costly and you compromise on results just to avoid spending money on more hours work. With people in house you have more control over your budget
• However, not everything should be brought in house. Certain things, like tricky web development, should be left to the experts.