Vice President of Marketing & Ecommerce
WEST COAST SAILING (Portland, OR), 2019 - Present
Since joining West Coast Sailing as the fourth full time employee in 2011, the business has grown every year and now employees 14 full time staff. Personal role has shifted and grown in tandem with these changes. In 2019, the business owner made the decision to step away from daily involvement, elevating the core three person Leadership Team to take over management of all business functions and operations. Key relationships are working closely with company President as well as Vice President of Operations to manage all aspects of sales strategy, staffing, budgets and forecasting, cash flow, along with frequent collaboration with sales and customer support teams to implement new functionality and improve customer experience. Continued ownership of all aspects of digital marketing including BigCommerce site management and curation, email marketing, and digital advertising with focus on Google Ads. Report monthly metrics and updates to ownership as part of Leadership Team obligations. West Coast Sailing is a Starting Line Sailing company.
Areas of Expertise
ACUMATICA + ACUMATICA COMMERCE CONNECTOR (ERP)
BIGCOMMERCE (Ecommerce Platform)
GOOGLE ADS (Digital Advertising)
GOOGLE ANALYTICS (Digital Analytics)
GOOGLE MERCHANT CENTER (Google Shopping Feed)
GOOGLE SEARCH CONSOLE (Domain & SEO Analytics)
MAILCHIMP (Email Marketing)
SHIPPER HQ (Cart Shipping Rules & Rate Shopping)
PAYPAL & AUTHORIZE.NET (Cart Payment Gateways)
AMAZON SELLER CENTRAL (Amazon Third Party Seller)
Projects
SITE DESIGN & BUILD : WaveFit - Shopify Ecommerce, 2022
ERP INTEGRATION : West Coast Sailing - Acumatica, 2021
SITE DESIGN & BUILD : American Kayak Supply - BigCommerce, 2019
ECOMMERCE RE-PLATFORMING : West Coast Sailing - BigCommerce, 2019
WEBSITE AND BRAND REDESIGN : West Coast Sailing - Magento CE, 2015
Need help with an ecommerce or digital marketing project? Connect via email.
Previous Roles
MARKETING DIRECTOR : West Coast Sailing (Portland, OR), 2016 - 2019
Responsible for management and execution of all aspects of day to day e-commerce and digital marketing activities across the three brands as well as long term growth strategies. Primary tasks include management of three BigCommerce based e-commerce sites, from product mix decisions to user experience improvement, maintaining an active presence across multiple social media channels, driving traffic and conversions across multiple advertising channels, creating and implementing sales promotions, content writing, and maintaining brand identity. Key relationships include sales, inventory, and customer support teams, working to resolve issues, identify new opportunities, and improve overall customer experience.
Recognizing the high management costs and instability of Magento and the negative impact on future growth opportunities, championed a successful migration to the BigCommerce Enterprise platform for two portfolio sites in 2018 and a ground up build for the third site in 2019. Served as leader and key decision maker for the entire replatforming project, working closely with development agency project managers and developers to build an industry leading online shopping experience, while advocating for and defending unique business needs. The new e-commerce ecosystem has reduced staff management time and fixed costs and increased revenue by 40%.
Member of organization's Leadership Team, a group of long time employees tasked with guiding overall direction of the business, from business unit strategy, acquisitions, staffing, and capital investments.
MARKETING MANAGER : West Coast Sailing (Portland, OR) 2013 - 2016
Transitioned from customer service to managing marketing activities, with emphasis on quickly growing online sales channels. Responsibilities included day to day management of Magento based web store and product catalog, email marketing and promotions, working with digital agency to achieve sales and ROI targets on paid advertising campaigns, and overseeing all aspects of various sponsorship and brand building activities. Developed deep understanding of key site KPIs and trends to better align web store performance with sales goals and inventory strategy. Worked closely with in house developer to optimize online shopping experience and implement web store functionality changes. Focus on high quality product listings, site functionality, and data driven advertising and promotional activities produced a 111% increase in online sales revenue during this period with a 95% increase in transaction volume.
CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER : West Coast Sailing (Portland, OR) 2011 - 2013
Developed a full time customer service department to compliment existing sales and inventory teams for niche retailer. Responsibilities included the management of all aspects of customer experience - managing customer interactions via phone and email, providing product support, assisting with order processing, and handling warranty claims - as well as additional tasks related to website content management, social media, and limited marketing campaigns. Emphasis for this role placed on timeliness, proactive responses, and anticipating customer needs.