Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Recruiting the Digital Director

Julie Hembrock Daum, Greg Sedlock and Dana Wade
October 2011
 
As digital technology continues to shape Americans’ daily lives, corporate boards have taken notice of the undeniable shift in how consumers interact with both businesses and one another.
To get a sense of the impact that digital and mobile technologies and social media are having on business, consider the following:
  • Nine out of 10 U.S. Internet users now visit a social networking site each month.
  • Online retail sales are growing at five times the pace of traditional retail and are projected to overtake traditional retail sales in less than 10 years. (Gridley & Company. “Billion Dollar Babies: Trends & Opportunities in the New E-Commerce World”)
  • Global e-commerce sales are growing at 19.4 percent a year and are expected to reach nearly $1 trillion by 2013.
The implications of these trends for business strategy, distribution, the competitive landscape, customer relationships and the type of talent and leadership companies need are profound, and the stakes are highest for consumer-driven businesses. Digital has become a priority at the very highest levels of corporate leadership. In fact, one study concludes that nearly 60 percent of final decisions on e-commerce technology spending are made by CEOs or e-commerce leaders, rather than operations, marketing or financial officers.

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