ePath Consulting has published the results of the 2013 Canadian eBusiness / eCommerce Management Study. A bit of background: In 2012 ePath was tasked by University of Toronto's School of Continuing Studies to develop a certificate program in eCommerce / eBusiness Management for business professionals. The results of the survey will be used to shape that program.
The study highlights the online challenges and opportunities faced by Canadian companies, from SMBs to large enterprises. It includes insights from 69 eCommerce Managers on issues like online marketing priorities, training of eCommerce staff, and preferences in employees' skills/ educational background.
This survey was undertaken by Axel Kuhn and John Foreman, both University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies (SCS) instructors, with the goal of helping Canadian businesses better compete in an increasingly competitive online environment.
The SlideShare is embedded below and details can be found at: http://ebusinessconsultants.ca/2013/04/2013-ebusiness-canada-survey-report/
In broad strokes, the study explored critical elements of the eBusiness manager’s role, including:
- Roles and Responsibilities
- Skill Development and Career Paths
- The eBusiness Team
- eBusiness Drivers and Priorities
- Challenges and Opportunities
The results don't surprise me.
Internal development (75%) and direct hiring (67%) are the most common techniques used to bring the required eBusiness skills onboard, which suggests a corporate interest in building the eCommerce side of the business. Yet the 1:1 interviews suggest a different story.
“Although I have full control of my eCommerce group, I'm quite constrained by corporate strategy. The traditional 'bricks' part of the business still determines the overall business strategy. They set my budgets.”
Or, my favourite, “the challenge I have is getting them (corporate management) to buy into the online opportunities. Make the needed investments. Unfortunately we're typically Canadian. We don't like risk.”
When online marketing is treated as a “have to” vs. a “want to” it means that Canadian businesses will continue to lag behind the US. If you don't want to address online as a rapidly growing segment of your business, with needs and wants independent of the bricks-and-mortar side of the business, then the management conditions for eCommerce success don't exist because there's limited innovation in the business model—especially in terms of pricing and product delivery (Canada is big, we know, deal with it), opportunities are missed because customer relationship management and data analytics aren't a top priority and high-performing team members seek employment opportunities elsewhere.
I'm looking forward to how the UofT program develops and whether Canadian businesses will turn the survey findings into actionable insights.
