Important Trends in E-Commerce Executive Recruiting For 2022 and Beyond

The demand for talented e-commerce executives has grown over the past few years. Top marketing managers, digital directors, social media gurus, chief growth officers and other leaders who direct e-commerce activity are all highly sought after. Blame it on the pandemic, which inadvertently created a market for executives with diverse skills who can bridge the real and digital worlds.

Worldwide, new e-commerce businesses are growing daily and hiring managers face global competition for the top candidates with the most experience and skills.

E-commerce sales are growing enormously, and businesses are encountering a common problem: they find it difficult to source expert hires with the technical and practical expertise to guide them to e-commerce success.

Although e-commerce can be turbulent, it is can also be lucrative. And as online buying grows, making up 40 percent of trade in developed countries over the next 10 years, a well-developed e-commerce system quickly turns from a luxury to a necessity. Consumer expectations are increasing, and companies that can’t provide their customers an online shopping experience will end up with abandoned shopping carts, static digital stores, and a weakened brand.

Being an e-commerce specialist is a complex profession with a vast assortment of critical parts that are constantly changing. It takes a unique marketing leader to manage everything and move it toward a cohesive vision. Alas, these people are hard to find and even harder to hire. The question is, why?

The Challenge

The most significant factor in finding a well-rounded e-commerce manager is supply and demand: there aren’t that many, and everyone wants one. Immediately. As a result, there is a large gap between the need for excellent e-commerce experts and the available people qualified to fill those jobs. As such, it remains very competitive.

Because there is such a high demand for experienced e-commerce managers—who are rarely unemployed—you seldom find one actively searching for work. As a result, e-commerce recruitment becomes more complicated, and you will likely have to find a way to capture the attention of candidates who already have good jobs and convince them to switch over and work for you.

As with all other services in high demand and low supply, e-commerce expertise doesn’t come cheap. Unfortunately, many businesses use outdated or unreliable salary guides, and when they discover the actual cost of an e-commerce specialist in today’s market, they are shocked. Therefore, it is common for companies to be under budget by 15 percent or more when looking to hire a talented leader.

Proven Success is Rare

Due to digital marketing having interconnected and codependent parts, no one can work effectively siloed in a narrow field. However, an e-commerce executive must show proficiency over a staggering number of moving parts, and very few people can keep up. Consequently, an e-commerce leader should have a deep knowledge of standard retail principles, SEO, and SEM. In addition, they must also understand media buying, UX, sales, creative, design, social, omnichannel, customer loyalty and more.

In the current pool of talent with e-commerce expertise, a limited number of individuals can prove their mastery and show evidence of success. Numerous people with a background in e-commerce can’t tie their work into noteworthy success and growth. This is because they don’t have access to the right ROI-centric metrics, or worse, they don’t even understand what they are. It then becomes very difficult for hiring managers to define how good an e-commerce expert is and if they are worth the investment, which is usually substantial.

Schools Don’t Teach E-Commerce

Sadly, even colleges with celebrated marketing departments are behind on training their students in all aspects of digital marketing and up-to-date e-commerce education. As a result, introductory online retail courses are uncommon, and education related to this field beyond undergrad is even more so. The result is that e-commerce expertise is almost exclusively created within the industry itself, resulting in severe limitations to the amount of new talent. Furthermore, with no standard degree or certification for this specialization, it’s even more challenging to identify an expert. With no e-commerce diploma to prove their abilities, candidates must earn their trade through hands-on experience.

Don’t Low Ball

With a compa-ratio of less than 1, your organization will undoubtedly be at a competitive disadvantage with regards to the salary of a top performer. For many prospects, retirement benefits are as significant as medical coverage. If your company lacks in that area, you may need to make it up in salary or through a sign-on or guaranteed annual bonus.

The Future of E-commerce and Digital Marketing Recruiting

Things have changed for marketers and may never be the same again. One thing we know for sure is that digitization is alive and well and will only grow in importance in future years. If you are looking to hire in the e-commerce sector, contact us and we will be happy to discuss how we can help