{"id":105510,"date":"2023-09-08T13:16:07","date_gmt":"2023-09-08T20:16:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thegood.com\/?post_type=insights&p=105510"},"modified":"2023-09-11T08:15:21","modified_gmt":"2023-09-11T15:15:21","slug":"e-commerce-team-structure","status":"publish","type":"insights","link":"https:\/\/thegood.com\/insights\/e-commerce-team-structure\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Ecommerce Team Should Be Part Of Your Sales Department"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This article is based on an excerpt from my book, Opting In To Optimization. Inside is a set of principles that will help ecommerce leaders capitalize on unprecedented market demand and build sustainable, thriving businesses. <\/em>Get your copy here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is an aspect of \u201cold age\u201d ecommerce thinking that is particularly troublesome to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many brands I meet treat their ecommerce site as a marketing channel and put it under a marketer\u2019s jurisdiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may wonder, \u201cWhat\u2019s so problematic about this?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s problematic because marketers tend to approach a website from a brand perspective. They have goals, priorities, and key performance indicators (KPIs) that are brand-centric.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In reality, an ecommerce site\u2019s job is to convert visitors into customers and leads. The website needs customer-centric goals because it\u2019s there to serve the customer\u2019s needs. So why don\u2019t ecommerce team structures fall under the sales department?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, I\u2019m diving into why you should consider rearranging your organizational structure so that marketing and ecommerce managers can excel in their corresponding roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The POV Shift: Moving Ecommerce Team Structure From Marketing To Sales<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When a marketer is in charge of an ecommerce site, business goals are prioritized over customer goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, when marketers write product descriptions<\/a>, they often sell the lifestyle or overall brand vision of the company but not how the particular product meets the visitor\u2019s individual needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think \u201cour classic logo polo\u201d (self-serving) versus \u201cour polo is made of soft organic cotton that is machine washable\u201d (shares a few compelling reasons to buy).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you extrapolate this brand-centric<\/a> approach to every other part of an ecommerce site, the result is an underperforming channel that values style over substance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what\u2019s a better option?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider what would happen if ecommerce sites and the ecommerce team structure fell under the sales department instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The user experience would be completely different (and, I\u2019d argue, for the better!). Whereas marketing focuses on generating awareness, interest, and desire, sales focuses on conversions\u2014getting out of the way once the visitor is ready to buy. This aligns much more closely with what your online business should be doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"ecommerce<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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From many years of working with ecommerce brands, both large and small, I\u2019ve noticed the most successful brands acknowledge this split and actually do put their ecommerce site under a more sales-focused role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In many cases, this means a brand has at least the following roles:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • A marketing manager responsible for creating interest and recognition and driving good visitors to the website.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • An ecommerce manager who is responsible for what happens when the visitor arrives. This role operates more like sales than marketing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    These separate but collaborative roles work together (like in the circular image above) to effectively get a visitor to the site and then get out of their way once they\u2019re there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n