4 Easy Steps to Build an eCommerce Team from Scratch
Why do I need to build an Ecommerce team and what roles should I hire? I thought I’d be able to launch and manage my own eCommerce store.
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ECommerce has become a significant part of the retail industry in recent times. According to a ThriveMyWay study, eCommerce will amount to $6.5 trillion in sales by 2023.
eCommerce businesses should invest in the right infrastructure, software tools, and human resources for growth. But, building an eCommerce team can be challenging in the initial days of business. To gain success in hiring, you need to identify the key business functions and chalk out a hiring plan.
In this post, we’re going to outline how to build an eCommerce team from scratch without any hassles.
6 Roles You Should Hire to Build Your eCommerce Team
Before we get into the details of the hiring process, let us explore the job roles that make up a successful eCommerce team.
#1. Marketing Manager
A marketing manager handles the promotion of the eCommerce business. With the help of the right messaging strategies, businesses can attract new customers as well as retain existing ones.
A typical day for marketing managers includes a plethora of promotional activities ranging from advertising, social media marketing, email campaigns, company events, and product launches. To succeed in the roles of marketing managers, candidates should possess an excellent understanding of the eCommerce business model and deep knowledge of target audiences.
They should be aware of how your products can help customers solve their problems or challenges. Understanding the customers via market research, observing their behavior, and planning effective campaigns are the primary responsibilities of marketing managers.
In addition to this, marketing managers should also possess excellent analytical skills for evaluating the performance of marketing campaigns.
#2. Content Writer
Clear and appealing copies that attract people to your business may be produced either by a reliable essay writing service or by a professional content writer. Content writers plan, write, edit, and proofread content for marketing purposes.
This includes writing the following types of content.
- Blog posts
- Articles
- Website copy
- Video scripts
- Scripts for podcasts
- Email newsletters
- Case studies
- eBooks
The candidates should have experience in writing content for the eCommerce and B2C industries. They should have a thorough knowledge of SEO, email marketing, social media marketing, and other digital marketing tactics.
#3. Graphic Designer
A graphic designer is responsible for creating visually appealing designs to communicate the brand’s message to the audience. These graphics support the brand’s content-related activities in informing, inspiring, engaging, and persuading customers to purchase the products.
Graphic designers are responsible for designing website layouts, landing pages, product pages, as well as mobile apps. Further, designing marketing assets like social media posters, website banners, product labels and packaging, email newsletters, and others is also done by graphic designers.
To succeed at hiring an excellent candidate, ensure that the graphic designer has excellent graphic designing skills with a streak of creativity and imagination. Being aware of various design principles and guidelines as well as the latest design trends is a must for graphic designers.
#4. Inventory Manager
As the name suggests, an inventory manager is responsible for overseeing the inventory levels of eCommerce businesses. Keeping a track of orders and their deliveries, receiving and updating the new stock in inventory, and managing the warehouse are some of the primary responsibilities of an inventory manager.
An ideal candidate for this role should have excellent record-keeping and analytical skills. Besides, the candidate should determine the stock levels and predict inventory shortages.
#5. Accounts Specialist
Like every other business, eCommerce businesses also need dedicated personnel to manage finances. Their primary responsibilities include maintaining accurate records of financial data for invoices, receipts, and ledgers. Further, the accounts specialist also ensures that payments are received and clients are paid on time.
Verifying the records of all transactions is also one of the many responsibilities. Any candidate with a strong financial background and accounting experience would be ideal for this role.
#6. Customer Support Specialist
Customer service is a must for the success of eCommerce brands. According to this study by Microsoft, 47% of customers have switched brands because of poor or bad customer service experiences. That is why having a customer service specialist can prove to be a great asset for eCommerce brands.
A customer service specialist enhances relationships with customers by
- Answering their queries
- Resolving complaints
- Assisting customers with product recommendations
The candidates should have impressive verbal and written communication skills. Having the ability to multi-task is also an excellent quality a customer service specialist must possess.
4 Easy Steps to Build an eCommerce Team from Scratch
Step #1 – Determine Hiring Requirements
Before you start hiring for your business, it is ideal to understand your business needs and identify the job roles. Evaluate the existing operational processes to understand the challenges you face while running the business.
Write down the candidate must-haves and craft an excellent job description. Make sure you state job requirements, responsibilities, skills, and a short introduction about the company in the job description. Decide on a salary range and other benefits for the said roles.
Once this is done, you will be ready to advertise your jobs on leading job boards and social media networks.
Step #2 – Invest in Tools Required for Recruiting and Onboarding
Hiring is a complex process. Having the right software and tools to manage this process will certainly save you a lot of time. It helps you streamline the recruitment processes and collaborate to hire the best candidates.
Here are some of the best tools you can use to quicken the hiring process.
- Job boards – For advertising job openings and reaching out to a larger talent pool
- Interview scheduler – For scheduling interviews seamlessly without having to make numerous phone calls or send multiple emails
- Chatbots – For providing candidates with automated responses to commonly asked questions about their job applications
- Applicant tracking system – For tracking and managing candidate applications across various stages of recruitment
- Social media scheduling tool – For advertising job openings on leading social media channels and attracting the best talent
- Employee onboarding software – For making your new hires feel welcomed to the company and helping them get settled in their new roles.
Step #3 – Interview Candidates in the Right Way
Gone are the days when questions about strengths and weaknesses ruled the interview domain. Today, the best way to gauge whether or not the candidate is a right fit is by asking behavioral and situational interview questions.
These questions help you understand how well the candidates relate to the job requirements. It also throws light on their achievements and shortcomings in their previous roles.
Here are some of the best behavioral and situational interview questions for you.
- Tell us about the time when you handled a challenge in the workplace.
- Tell us about the time when you accomplished your tasks under a tight deadline.
- How do you manage your time when there are many tasks on the to-do list?
- Do you set personal goals? Tell us about the time when you achieved one of the goals. How did you manage it?
- How do you manage to work with someone who has poor communication skills?
- Narrate to me a situation when you handled a difficult customer.
- How do you motivate a fellow team member when he/she cannot complete his/her tasks?
- How did you manage your team?
- Tell me about the time when your weaknesses helped you achieve your career goals.
- Narrate to me a situation when you successfully fixed a problem at work.
The next step is to create a custom test for each of the job roles for evaluating the candidates’ skills and knowledge.
Step #4 – Hire the Right Talent
Once you have evaluated the candidates’ responses to the tests, shortlist the best ones who would be an excellent addition to the team. Speak to them once again to understand them better and then, make an offer.
Devise an exciting onboarding process to welcome the new hires to the company. Craft an exciting hamper containing an employee handbook, branded company kit, and nutritious snacks along with a custom handwritten welcome note.
Wrapping Up
When you build an eCommerce team with the right candidates, you will be able to expand and scale your business successfully. It will improve the efficiency of the operational processes and help you build a lasting bond with customers.
We hope you will follow the above-mentioned steps to build an eCommerce dream team for your online business to take it to the next level.
