Chinese consumers have embraced e-commerce. China now has the largest online retail market; in 2015 1.3 yuan out of every 10 was spent online and this will continue to rise in 2016. Managing the user experience for the online consumer in a burgeoning market is a challenge for the modern marketer.

With new platforms and business ecosystems taking over from the antiquated buying economy and defined industry boundaries of the past, we are now well and truly digital. Many companies have embraced the digital challenges but some continue to fall short. These underachievers resort to the “spray and pray” approach and this is understandable because it is often difficult to know where to start.

Marketers need to begin the process by asking: are the metrics that matter to marketing aligned with the key metrics of the board? E-commerce is transparent; every click, every basket and every site exit can be monitored therefore the marketer must ensure that they know what the consumer needs from a strong site.  Campaign objectives to build brand awareness, drive leads, customer retention, engage new customers begin with understanding ‘ground zero’.

Key metrics can be divided into two main camps, early and later stage metrics. Later stage metrics such as revenue and leads are as important to the marketing team as to the CEO and CFO. However, early stage metrics such as “likes” and “shares”, may be of more interest for your marketing team to gage the campaigns success as well as the customer needs to have a fluid and enjoyable experience.

Proving value is fundamental for any marketer and by establishing key deliverables this will allow you to begin that journey.

If you are interested in developing your career in marketing or are looking to hire the best talent into your existing team, please call us today: Elinor Lara for permanent opportunities or Karl Ramsaran for interim opportunities.