We are excited to present the result of our virtual chat with Jon Marks, Head of E-commerce at Polaroid Originals. Find out what is Jon’s experience in e-commerce and how does his team improve the customer journey.
How have your past experiences in different jobs led to the role you are in today?
Very unexpectedly! Around the time I was looking to leave my career in law, an opportunity arose at a startup called Fab.com. I joined the buying team, but it was such a fast-scaling growth environment that we all got a crash course in building an e-commerce business much more broadly. I moved from NY to Berlin to help Fab expand internationally, and after the business wound down, I took a couple of different leadership positions at e-commerce startups. They were pretty lean organizations, so it was another chance to learn a lot, fast. Getting that broad scope hands-on experience helped prepare me for the role at Polaroid.
Do you ever get inspired by different e-commerce trends, or do you tend to come up with your own ideas?
I’m always inspired! You don’t want to just follow trends, but it’s good to keep your finger on the pulse. Sometimes that even inspires your own ideas, too.
How has your education and studying Intellectual Property helped you in the e-commerce industry?
As a former IP lawyer, I worked in-house managing business affairs for a brand management company, so that helps me understand a lot of foundational elements of retail and brand building. In e-commerce specifically, it could mean anything from negotiating the terms of a licensing agreement related to product development to trademark management in paid search strategy, to understanding the IP implications in content creation.
What are the top trends at the moment in e-commerce?
A relentless focus on customer experience! It’s not new, but it’s still a huge driving force for a lot of what you see now.
Since you work for such a prestige company like Polaroid, what are some of the biggest challenges you face?
I think a lot of people don’t realize we’re a relatively small, passionate team doing this now. Polaroid’s an iconic brand with an incredible history of innovation, and it’s exciting to be bringing it back, but in many ways, we’re just getting started. There’s a lot of work ahead!
What are the key elements you focus on when it comes to user experience?
As the head of e-commerce, I’m of course focused on the digital elements first – offering an inspiring and emotionally engaging consumer journey, a frictionless buying experience, best in class customer support, and all the elements that make for a memorable experience online. But my team is also a big champion of a more holistic, comprehensive user experience across all brand touchpoints, both on- and offline. That could mean anything from a user-centric product development roadmap to optimized post-purchase operations and unboxing experiences. We’re always looking to improve the entire omnichannel experience for our audience.
Thank you for your insights, Jon!
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