Paul Geraeds, ceo of Bakker.com, explains during the Cross Border E-commerce Event how Europe's largest garden specialist delivers directly to millions of consumers in nineteen countries. Twinkle asked him some questions in advance.
Bakker.com, formerly Bakker Hillegom, is one of the last mail order companies to make the swing to online. How is it going?
Work in progress or, in other words, we are in the middle of it. The business analysis is finished, the brand positioning crystal clear, personas defined and the three-year plan has just been completed. These are the strategic or positioning choices. In execution, we have finally been able to properly launch Bakker. com now that, after more than a year of preparation, we have the completely new website live - at least the first three of the nineteen countries. It feels like almost halfway there.
What have been the main changes in the organizational structure to enable the transition to an e-commerce organization?
'The biggest change is integration around the customer. Before, there were Chinese walls between the different departments. E-commerce, crm, dm and catalogue management operated completely separately, each with their own line of communication that was not synchronized. We are now working with product management from one overall marketing calendar with monthly themes and weekly offers running through the channels; at least that is what we are working hard towards now. The crm department is migrating from the print analysis and selection department to a marketing intelligence department for both off and online. In addition, we actually had to create two marketing teams: one for the current traditional print customer and one for our new younger online savvy customers. Bigger than the structure- has been the culture change; we're still in the middle of that.
What challenges do you run into when creating and rolling out an e-commerce strategy when you operate in so many countries?
'Plenty. Fortunately, Bakker was already very well set up to make extremely fast translations to the nineteen countries in a combination with the central marketing team and the eleven local offices. For example, we very consciously chose to centralize search together with iProspect. This is based on the belief that you always have to centralize first, even if in time you would like to put down another piece locally. The reverse is not possible. That meant terminating the local agencies that provided sea and seo in the countries. That is not done without a struggle and of course there was resistance in the country teams. You notice that although you have a good overall view and control right away, you often miss nuances that are immediately seen in the country.'
What is the role of the catalog still at Bakker.com? Are there countries that will stick with the catalog for the time being and are there countries that could do without it altogether?
'That depends more on the type of customer than on nationality per se. We have also noticed that. I really believe in the mix between online communication and forced exposure through print. We know from focus groups that the catalog is still very much appreciated - and kept - even by younger customers. We do see huge differences between countries in the share of online purchases and orientation; from 3 percent in Slovenia to 60 percent in Norway.'
What are the main changes/implementations on the roll now?
'First, the rollout of the website to the other countries with conversion optimization. Then the segmentation for emailing with an onboarding program. A new customer model. At the same time we are working in the call centers, logistics and product development to optimally meet the different needs of our new type of customer. And further content, content and content.'
What tips do you have for companies that want to sell across borders (online)?
'First make sure that you have the organization in order centrally before you start rolling out. Think carefully about what you do domestically and what you don't: centrally where you can and locally where you have to. Don't be too cheeseheaded and don't think of everything imperceptibly from the Dutch perspective. Scandinavia and Italy are literally miles apart, also in customer needs and channel choice. The cultural border already starts at Hazeldonk so don't even think the Belgians are like the Dutch.'
Paul Geraeds speaks at the Cross Border E-commerce Event on Sept. 7 in Utrecht. Other speakers are Sarah Hennecke, country manager Mister Spex for the Netherlands and Great Britain and Kijo Oudshoorn, head of sales at VidaXL.
This post appeared earlier on twinklemagazine.nl
