Anna Titova, Consultant for Antal Russia’s Marketing department
Companies rarely make online marketing a standalone marketing function. Instead, knowledge of online marketing and promotion tools is considered very much a part of the skills requirement for general marketing candidates. Online marketing therefore is often included in the responsibilities of marketing professionals such as content manager, PR manager, marketing manager etc despite the fact they often o not have the dedicated experience required. Alternatively this activity is instead outsourced to a specialist agency.
Meanwhile a raft of companies and sectors, notably retail, FMCG, media and travel companies have come to realise that transacting business through the internet has a huge potential. As they turn to exploit e-commerce they are increasing looking for those people with strong experience in positions such as Internet Shop Director, E-Commerce Director, Internet Portal Director, Internet Project Manager etc. In short as Russia realizes the vast potential of online business, so the demand in sales managers for internet portals has grown noticeably.
There still remains however a lack of strong professionals and managers in internet marketing in Russia. There are many people gaining invaluable e-business experience in the other, more traditionally advanced, geographical markets, and these individuals are increasingly being sought after in and enticed back to Russia to fill this gap. Not only is the demand here, but so it seems is the willingness of such professionals to return to Russia and develop this field locally. The owner of a successful web-agency based in New-York who applied to return to Russia through Antal to do just that is just one example of how Russians are grasping the huge potential offered by e-commerce and online marketing right now to help define this nascent niche marketing area. Along with these “experienced returners” this rapdly developing world of internet marketing is also being fed by young managers moving from specialised web-agencies into these roles in companies, bringing with them the instinctive knowledge gained simply from growing up with the internet and its development, and offering a high level of professionalism and competence in understanding and working with it.
The bigger and wider impacting internet projects meanwhile often require strong managers with an all-encompassing experience, offering not only deep technical knowledge, but also are aware of both online and off-line business processes (logistics, finance, legal etc.) These individuals have a huge role to play forging the future as they combine technical and commercial skills, are good in marketing and can predict the behavior of their audience in the future.
Although online marketing is not generally considered a function of marketing in its own right in Russia right now, it has huge potential and is becoming an increasing important consideration for companies as an area to attract dedicated and talented individual players to. Those companies with the foresight and strategy to harness this young area will be the first to pull in the dividends of e-business and marketing.
