Electronic commerce (or eCommerce) stores and services are all over the internet. The buying and selling of products, services, and goods are fundamental to many startup entrepreneurs; these days, companies may live or die by their eCommerce abilities, online personality, and customer reviews.
Naturally, this means that eCommerce startups are particularly fragile when they are born. A bad review may tank a company overnight, but gaining good reviews becomes harder. The eCommerce startups that not only survive but flourish have two critical elements:
● Successful eCommerce startups fulfill a niche position in the marketplace.
● Dominate eCommerce stores fill their administration roles with professionals.
Concerning the former, holding a niche position in the market is important because it ensures revenue. In the most straightforward terms, a client can only get what you offer—from you. Inventive business owners can expand the best types of niche ideas into lifestyle brands; for example, an eCommerce store for jams and jelly might consider getting into the apron and oven mitt business. The following sections will speak in depth about the latter element a successful startup needs: professionals.
Determining Factors of Hiring People
As an eCommerce store owner, once the need for employees arises, you'll need to get assistance fast. Quickly filling administration positions will help ease tension in many other aspects of the business.
How to know the right manager, then, comes down to whether they are a professional. Professionals are considered experts at what they do; in many cases, their role may fishtail with others. For example, a data analyst and a finance specialist may have similar responsibilities.
The main challenge here is the ability to find qualified professionals for the business needs, and the answer is quite easy: get online. The internet is the way of the future, as your eCommerce store's existence implies. There are countless job websites that anyone can utilize as a business owner or prospective employee.
The following section is our recommendation for the most essential positions an eCommerce store should fill; whichever positions aren't filled falls on the hired professionals and the owner to figure out for themselves.
Ten Important Positions to be Filled
1. Director
The professionals lucky enough to call themselves directors are vastly important. They're typically involved with contacts, partnerships, and core operational tasks. Where a traditional director may oversee employees, an eCommerce director will oversee site administration and behaviors. Directors ensure the operation meets its deadlines, assists in partnerships, and ensures everyone works together.
2. Web Developer
Hiring a professional web developer is vital to the survival of all eCommerce enterprises; web developers create the user experience of a brand's store, including things like plug-ins or integrations with social media. Typically, there are only a few seconds before a prospective client will navigate away from a product; if the experience is bad in those few seconds, they may never return.
3. Inventory Manager
An inventory manager’s role is critical to any growing business. This department often ends up being far larger, in terms of employees, than any other department; it takes a lot of hands to sort, package, organize, and ship many goods. The inventory manager oversees the employees doing this work, but they also coordinate with the logistics manager, affecting the production flow.
4. Logistics Manager
If you've ever ordered a package last minute, then wondered how it got there the next day—the answer is these people. Logistics managers oversee incoming materials and outgoing products. They also oversee international shipments, quality control, and, yes—last-minute orders. In an eCommerce setting, the logistics manager is critical to ensure deliveries reach your clientèle.
5. Digital Marketing Manager
Possibly the most essential aspect of an eCommerce store, the digital marketing manager drives traffic to your website. They can do this in various ways, including social media, digital ads, content creation, and more. The most exciting brands online are due to the creative mind of a marketing manager. These managers also work closely with IT technicians since the site's security is paramount.
6. Customer Service Manager
In traditional businesses, this person would oversee customer returns and general public-facing relations like complaints or suggestions. In an eCommerce operation, a customer service manager is still involved with these aspects, but the latter moves online. These managers hire staff to work live chats, phone calls, and chatbots to interact directly with customers. Even better, an upset customer goes straight to them.
7. Data and Business Analyst
Data and business analysts are different in that businesses are concerned with progress and breaking into new markets, whereas data analysts review data to gain insight into a business' customers. Thus, they are both important, though in different ways. A business analyst may be the person who tells Grandma we need to sell aprons; a data analyst may be the person to tell Grandma those aprons need to be blue.
8. Finance/Accounting Specialist
Finance specialists and accountants are not always in-house positions; the work is usually given to a firm to handle. Revenue and expenditures are their primary concern, so many will work closely with the director of operations. These experts may also suggest ways to save money by cutting steps in the production process.
9. IT/Cyber Security Technician
Sixty-four percent of all small businesses do not have a website. It's safe to say they probably have limited IT assistance, too. That's particularly unfortunate because of the enormous benefits of having an IT professional on hand. Things like protecting your business from cyber threats, data storage, and efficient information transfer are just some of the features these guys provide.
10. HR Manager
Human resources get a bad rap because they are tasked with the complex parts of having a business; they can hire and fire employees, and conduct recruitment, interviewing, or counseling. They are there to protect the business from being sued and ensure that the business complies to federal state laws, mainly to the US Antitrust Law. Additionally, they are also there to ensure a comfortable and appropriate work environment. They are the best communicative link between employees and administrative persons.
Hire the Right Professionals to Get Ahead with Your Startup
The great thing about starting an eCommerce store is that there are countless options for professionals at your fingertips. For example, you can choose to hire a firm of professionals for your needs; firms may pick out the roles themselves, meaning you just have to pay the bill to get the benefits. No matter how you approach the hiring process—the one guarantee is that the right professionals will get you ahead.