Here we discuss the role of the Performance Marketing Director – how this marketing role evolved historically, the challenges that today’s Performance Marketing Directors need to face, and the qualities they will need to succeed in today’s digital and ecommerce industries.
The grandparents of performance marketing businesses were the first mail-order companies. You spend money on a mail-drop and then you get orders. If your orders multiplied by gross margin are more than the cost of your mail-drop then you are winning. You can then invest any profit into more mail-drops. At some point you will stop gaining more customers profitably.
The challenge of measuring performance in ecommerce
The whole system depends on measurement and modern-day direct marketing and it is much more complicated. There is a bewildering array of channels that may or not give you a direct ROI – PPC, Display, Affiliates, Social Media and soon, the Metaverse! Typically a company will have a mix of in-house and agency resources dedicated to running these channels. Some have all their teams in-house and the biggest and most sophisticated will be running their own DSPs.
Digital promises much but sometimes delivers less. Attribution models are key to understanding what spend is working where with what kind of customer but beware anyone who claims that they are 100% accurate. They are a guide to trends and are an important but partial view.
What makes the best Performance Marketer stand out from the rest?
The best Performance Marketers will have a good balance of right and left brain; an analytical AND a creative mind. They will have an excellent ability to handle and question data.
Find Performance Marketing leadership talent
If you need a world-class Performance Marketing Director to make your digital ecommerce business thrive, we can search for candidates and select the best for your requirements. Get in touch with us today and let us know what you need.
