Industry E-commerce

What Does an Ecommerce Manager Do?

7328

Most eCommerce companies have an e-commerce manager or some form of UX expert, and some have both. But what does an eCommerce manager do? And how do they work with the rest of the team to harness sales-related insights? What marketing strategies can eCommerce Managers use to improve your online store? In this article, we’ll look at what an eCommerce manager does and how they can help you reach your customers better.

Table of Contents

Job Duties and Responsibilities of an E-commerce Manager

So you are curious to know what an eCommerce Management job entails. That is a great question and something many people ask when they first start looking for work. The truth is, hiring managers for an online store can vary depending on the company and industry you work in.

But what exactly qualifies someone as an e-commerce manager? What are e-commerce manager responsibilities and duties? And how can they help your business grow?

Keep reading to find out.

Management Of Ecommerce Sites And Channels

Ecommerce Managers are leaders at the forefront of digital innovation. They develop ways to enhance the customer experience and increase sales, devise effective marketing strategies, oversee day-to-day operations, and more.

The e-commerce manager’s responsibilities focus on the management of eCommerce sites and channels. They drive all operations towards the attainment of the company objectives.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The specific duties and responsibilities of eCommerce managers vary depending on their company. Generally speaking, these managers perform the following tasks:

Web development and deploying an omnichannel strategy that produces consistent results across all channels.
Create marketing campaigns to promote products or services such as coupons, contests, or gifts with purchases over a certain amount.
Develop online advertising campaigns to increase traffic to an eCommerce site by increasing brand awareness and optimizing search engine results.
Organize online product catalogs by creating categories and subcategories to make it easier for customers to find what they need quickly.
Manage inventory levels by monitoring sales trends to determine when stock needs to be reordered.
Monitor sales statistics regularly (i.e., daily) to identify trends and make necessary adjustments (i.e., new products or services).

The critical difference between a typical eCommerce manager vs. operations manager (or other roles) is that the eCommerce manager is solely focused on online sales.

Developing And Implementing A Go-To-Market Strategy

E-commerce managers are responsible for the digital marketing of a company. Their job is to ensure the success of e-commerce operations and develop, manage and improve the experience for customers shopping online through proper market research.

Sales and marketing for an e-commerce company is an all-inclusive task. The sales team must have a vast knowledge of the consumer base and a deep understanding of the sold product or service. They must analyze the customer data, interpret it, and develop marketing strategies to sell their products effectively.

Marketing management is a complex endeavor that requires a large amount of time and resources. One key area where the marketing department must focus its efforts in developing new products and services for customers.

Marketing managers are the people responsible for leading this process. They are responsible for managing the team members, setting sales targets, and harnessing sales-related insights to improve sales performance.

For example, EpiProdux’s productivity solution lets users quickly search through product information on Amazon, eBay, and Alibaba directly from Excel, download images, and export product details to a spreadsheet. All of this saves time – one user reported that they spent 2 hours per day on research but can now do it in 10 minutes.

As part of their role, e-commerce managers will often liaise with other departments or external agencies to coordinate the efforts of marketing campaigns. Also, ensure the website is operating optimally and be on hand to troubleshoot any technical problems.

Identifying And Implementing The Right Technology Stack

Ecommerce managers are responsible for the success and growth of an eCommerce business. They do this by identifying and implementing the right technology stack, overseeing the day-to-day operations, and developing marketing strategies.

Ecommerce managers need to work with people from various backgrounds and organize different teams around a common goal: growing sales.

Product management is one of these areas that can benefit from EpiProdux productivity solutions!

At EpiProdux, we believe that data is king. Therefore, we created a productivity solution that helps eCommerce managers maximize the potential of their data by allowing them:

1. Compile their data in one place,

2. Analyze it via an interactive dashboard and

3. Use it to make decisions that will improve performance.

The good news is there are plenty of ways to improve productivity, streamline processes and boost sales. One of the most effective methods is identifying and implementing the right technology stack.

Here are steps that will help you get started:

1. Determine your long-term business goals.

2. Break out your long-term goals into subgoals.

3. Determine which tools can help you achieve your goals. Once you’ve identified the steps required for success, start researching tools to help achieve these subgoals. For example,

4. Build a team to help you implement your new strategy and tools.

5. Define key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor progress toward your subgoals and determine how to adjust as needed.

6. Create a timeline for implementing new tools and processes, including training for all staff members involved in the project.

7. Measure and document the results of each tool or process change. You can identify best practices for future projects and evaluate whether to continue with a given device or process in its current form or make changes to improve its effectiveness.

P&L Management

Suppose you’re wondering what an eCommerce manager does? In that case, it’s all about P&L. As the person in charge of an e-store, the eCommerce manager is responsible for ensuring everything from the pricing and packaging of products to the ordering and shipping processes are carried out smoothly.

The P&L is a complex beast. For an e-store to be profitable, the eCommerce manager needs to look at every part and ensure that each one is functioning correctly.

For example, let’s say that a product was priced too low. It would mean that although sales were brisk, the store was not making any money on it. If this situation continued, the item would need to be repriced; the store would eventually go out of business.

But there are other considerations as well. Does the store have enough stock? If not, why not? Perhaps the manufacturer has supply problems, or bad weather conditions have delayed delivery. Whatever the reason, delays always have a knock-on effect on sales. Now imagine that scenario repeated across several different products, and you can see how complicated things can quickly become!

It’s no wonder that many eCommerce managers turn to software solutions like EpiProdux. Update your eCommerce management plan regularly to reflect new best practices and lessons from previous projects and tasks.

Product Catalog Management

The product catalog is a vital part of an eCommerce website, as it enables your business to communicate what you sell and offer customers the opportunity to purchase the products. Managing product catalogs is a large responsibility that includes keeping current products relevant and up-to-date, adding new products, removing old products, and maintaining product attributes. Some of the tasks associated with product catalog management are:

Product Listing Management – This includes product page layout and content, using SEO best practices. Product listing management includes integrating products with related content for cross-selling or up-selling purposes.

Adding/Removing Products – To keep your business website relevant, you must have good processes in place to add and remove products as needed. For example, if you sell clothing online, you must add new items as they become available and remove those that are no longer available.

Product Data Management – When you sell goods online, you must manage important data points related to each product to make informed buying decisions. Product data can include images, descriptions, prices, color options, and size charts – to name a few examples.

For example, if you were an e-commerce manager for a store selling productivity solutions, such as EpiProdux, you may want to display more high-rated products than others because they are more in demand.

With EpiProdux, you can filter which items to display on your website. Let’s say you have decided to sell an item that is consistently highly rated by your customers. You can choose to feature it more prominently on your website than other products.

Analytics, Reporting and Business Intelligence

Companies need a dedicated manager (or department) handling everything from strategy and analytics to reporting and business intelligence in today’s fast-paced eCommerce industry.

Ecommerce managers are responsible for ensuring that a company’s online presence is successful, whether through organic search traffic or paid ad campaigns. The goal of most companies is to increase online sales while also increasing brand awareness.

Here are some of the many responsibilities eCommerce managers have:

Analytics. Ecommerce managers should be able to analyze consumer behavior and run tests to determine what works best for their company to boost sales. This includes having an in-depth understanding of Google Analytics and other analytical tools necessary for tracking data (e.g., EpiProdux productivity solution).

Reporting. Ecommerce managers must understand how different metrics can impact the performance of their digital presence and create reports related to these metrics. They should also know how to use this information when creating forecasts and budgets.

Business Intelligence. Business intelligence refers to the process by which e-commerce managers use data collected about their company’s customers, competitors, markets, and employees to make informed decisions that will help improve its performance on all fronts (not just eCommerce).

Customer Service and Call Center Operations

The customer service department of an e-commerce business handles customer questions, product returns, and complaints. The manager in charge of the department must use customer feedback to improve customer service and product design.

For example, if customers keep complaining about a certain aspect of a product’s design, the manager may need to ask the product developers to re-design the product. If customers complain about poor quality or reliability, the manager may need to ask for better quality control procedures at the company’s factories.

Some companies use call centers staffed with freelance professionals who work from their homes. Virtual call center agents may work for several companies at once, taking calls from home over the Internet through the software on their computers.

E-commerce managers responsible for customer service must also solve technical problems in the department. For example, if the software is used for telephone calls or if agents have trouble logging on to their computers, she must solve these problems herself or make sure they are solved quickly.

Integrations with internal systems and 3rd party

Ecommerce managers are an essential part of many businesses and can help you run your eCommerce business more efficiently. The goal of an eCommerce manager is to use their experience and knowledge to help you successfully integrate your eCommerce business with your internal systems and 3rd party solutions.

For example, our EpiProdux productivity solution connects with the systems you’re already using in your eCommerce business. It works seamlessly with the platforms you’re already using, therefore incorporating it because easy and seamless.

EpiProdux can help you save time and money and increase efficiency when running your eCommerce business.

Customer Segmentation

One of the most important skills eCommerce managers can possess is segmenting perspective leads. After all, you can’t market effectively unless you have a good idea of the sales-related metrics you need.

To segment your customers, you need a solution that offers comprehensive data on your customers and prospective leads.

EpiProdux offers a productivity solution that allows you to track customer behavior from start to finish, including page views, time spent on pages, conversions, and more.

With EpiProdux, it’s easy to see your customers’ interests, preferences, and purchasing habits which encourage sales.

This allows you to categorize them into groups based on their traits:

Past Customers: These are people who have bought something from your site in the past. You can keep in touch with them by sending them special discount codes or advertising new products they might be interested in based on their previous purchases.

New Customers: These are those who have never purchased anything from your site before but still visit frequently. You might want to try emailing them promos or asking them for feedback on what they liked or disliked about their shopping experience with your company website.

One-Time Visitors: This category includes those who only came by once and never returned.

By grouping your customers into segments, you can personalize the engagement with each customer or group. Customer segmentation allows you to understand your customers and their needs better. You can then use this information to identify opportunities to improve your marketing and increase revenue.

Project Management

In a nutshell, an eCommerce manager is responsible for all processes involved in selling products online.

This includes everything from site development and product inventory to marketing, customer service, and sales.

As you can see, this is a wide range of responsibilities that includes multiple business functions.

To manage these processes effectively, it’s a good idea to use a project management tool like the EpiProdux productivity solution.

This allows you to create separate sub-teams or tasks for each process and assign them to specific team members.

The eCommerce manager can oversee these tasks by ensuring they are completed on time and within budget while analyzing results and making adjustments as needed.

Qualities of A Good Product Manager

Having looked at some of the duties of a product manager, let’s explore what traits make for a good one.

Strategic thinker. You need to think of the big picture and see the forest through the trees. An eCommerce manager should look at the existing and novel strategies and see how it fits into the larger plan.

Effective communicator. You need to communicate clearly with all organizational stakeholders, from upper management to sales, engineering, marketing, and customer service.

Empathy and intuition about customers. It would be best to have compassion for your customer’s problems and needs and intuition about how to solve these problems and conditions with the product — all without losing sight of your business objectives.

Strong technical knowledge. To create a practical roadmap for your product’s development, you’ll need a strong understanding of technology for effective communication with your engineering team and other technical staff — especially if you’re working on a B2B SaaS product.

Succeeding in 2022 As Ecommerce Managers

The world of eCommerce is snowballing, and the industry needs all kinds of professionals to keep up. That’s why aspiring e-commerce managers have a lot of exciting opportunities.

Ecommerce managers are responsible for making sure a company’s products successfully meet the needs of its customers — and it’s business. As e-commerce continues to evolve and companies look for new ways to compete, the role of an e-Commerce manager is becoming more critical.

Product managers are expected to have a vision, understand what the customer wants and needs, analyze market trends, manage a product’s development cycle, coordinate with sales teams and marketing teams, and be up-to-date on their company’s competition.

But while all these tasks are essential, the ultimate goal is always the same: to bring in the best possible returns for your company.

From industry professionals to college students just starting in their careers, this guide will help you learn how to become an eCommerce product manager or kickstart your existing career in the field.

As an e-Commerce manager, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Obtaining a Certificate of Completion Online: Many online courses will give you the eCommerce manager skills needed to succeed. Some of these include UX design and coding boot camps, which will teach you how to create engaging experiences for your customers while ensuring they have a good experience with your brand.

Additionally, it will help you get noticed by recruiters, especially if you’re applying for jobs in large companies like Google or Amazon. It is crucial to building a solid portfolio of projects and experiences that employers can evaluate.

Focus on User Experience: The best way to ensure your product is successful is by creating an optimal user experience. This means creating straightforward messaging, easy navigation, and seamless checkout processes so that customers can quickly complete their purchases.

Study the User: One of the most critical roles for an eCommerce product manager is understanding the users’ needs and developing solutions that meet those needs through research. An excellent place to start would be surveying existing customers about what they like or dislike about their current shopping experience – this will give you a better idea of how to improve it for future shoppers!

Become a Project Manager: One of the most vital aspects you’ll do is keep your team on schedule and organized. Product managers make sure deadlines are met and everyone is working towards the team’s goal. Being a good project manager is essential for success.

Learn Ecommerce Business Strategy: It’s helpful to understand the business side of eCommerce. You will need to make decisions that affect your company’s profits, so a basic understanding of finances will be helpful. Know how much you can spend on specific items and your gross margin for each item.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions! If you work for a company, ask them if they have a course specific to your role and position. This can help you understand the fundamental aspects of being a product manager. If there’s no one available, look into online courses or books that teach eCommerce business strategy.

Final Thoughts

Being an e-commerce manager is always fun and challenging because you manage the tools and features to process and fulfill orders. You are familiar with the needs of your users. Being a product manager in an online marketing environment is not easy.

You have to keep in mind the needs of others: advisors, software developers, other managers, supervisors, and your employees. At the same time, you must make decisions that may not be popular, but that can become your company’s future.

It’s time to determine if eCommerce product management is for you. Suppose you are passionate about empowering your community (online or offline), creating a friendly and engaging environment for users, and believing that your work directly impacts the company’s revenue and profitability. In that case, EpiProducx is right for you.