Derek Gaskins

Analytical skills are first and foremost. This includes proficiency in financial modeling for assessing investment viability and forecasting. Mastery of valuation techniques is crucial for determining fair investment value. A keen ability to conduct comprehensive due diligence is essential, covering financial statements, legal aspects, operational risks, and market dynamics. Evaluating and quantifying risks, understanding specific industries, and conducting market research are vital. Clear communication is crucial to best convey these complex analyses.

Analytical skills are extremely important, but don't get lost in the weeds (it's too easy). Your primary KPI's will depend on what you are selling and the organization's overall goals for that product/service. Gain managerial buy-in on 2-3 macro-KPI's that are most important to the org and that provide an overall measurement of health & success. Then find another 7-10 KPI's that are the real drivers of those macro-KPI's. Now, how can you positively move the needle at that level. Focus there and let that feed into the macro KPI's. The smallest things add up quickly in eCommerce. One change has the power to grow revenue/profitability overnight. But, tread lightly, as it can also trigger devastating results. Split (A/B) testing is key.

Not only is it crucial to keep your customer happy, they yield the greatest opportunity from a marketing perspective. You have a real-time feedback loop from which to iterate. Monitor a high level NPS-like number to ensure macro customer satisfaction, but lean even more into the actual inquiries, responses and reviews within your CRM. Lean on AI to evaluate trends, if high volume. You can quickly expose areas to improve.

Shopify is leading the way. Go nowhere else - Magento is awful, Woo is a security nightmare waiting to happen and Big Commerce is scrambling to play catch up. With a basic technical understanding, you can accomplish almost anything with their platform. Their integrations with external software solutions for order management, inventory management, customer service and more are a breeze to implement. The more challenging technical skillsets lie within the interoperability of external utilities like analytics, advertising, attribution modeling, forecasting/planning and more. Spend time understanding those pieces and you can add greater value to your organization.

In e-commerce, you may find that digital strategy is quickly becoming commoditized. That said, what's most crucial is messaging and creative as that is what will help you stand out in the crowd. Performance creative is often overlooked as marketers feel their digital strategy can conquer any creative shortcomings. While this is true to some degree, it will drive up costs and hinder your marketing efficiency. While the foundation is key, incessant testing of messaging and creative is equally crucial to achieve success.

If you're seeking a career in ecommerce, then understanding merchandising is key. It's important to put yourself in the shoes of the consumer while imagining you're walking the aisles of a physical store. If you can embrace that vision and can relay that digitally, you can find success in ecommerce. To do that, however, you need to know your product(s) like the back of your hand. That's first and foremost.