What are the main responsibilities of your role?

Regan: As the head of digital product marketing and e-commerce at Vertu Motors, I am responsible for achieving sales growth across our digital platform through launching and maintaining new products with a leading user experience, targeted marketing activity and ensuring we have data to track, review and learn.

With the team, I am also responsible for ensuring our digital product offerings are constantly evolving and improving to match our customers’ requirements and expectations.

 

What are the most significant challenges ahead in your field of work?

Regan: The automotive industry is only just embarking on its e-commerce journey, particularly within the used car market, as consumers become more familiar with researching and purchasing significant big-ticket items online.

The challenge now is to ensure the purchasing journey is one that the customer can trust, delivering a service where consumers can purchase a product, potentially without test driving.

 

How might these challenges be overcome?

Regan: Convenience plays a huge part in why we, as consumers, buy online. By ensuring we have the right user journey, which provides confidence, having well priced and clearly displayed used cars, along with great customer service, we are hoping to build the trusted, convenient service that customers are seeking.

 

What attracted you to this area of expertise?

Regan: Digital marketing isn’t the job I had in mind when I left school, but it was an area I very quickly fell in love with while in my first sales and marketing role. Over the past 10 years, my passion for digital marketing has only grown by working in a variety of digital roles from account management, SEO, PPC, CRO and e-commerce, while working across a number of different clients and sectors.

Automotive has always been an interest, but now I’m working in a sector which is embarking on its e-commerce journey and for a company who is leading the way, with the first used car e-commerce platform. What could be more exciting?

 

What’s the most important thing you’ve learned in your career, and how have you made use of it at your company?

Regan: To test and adapt. There is no magic formula for digital product marketing. Although all of the basic principles are the same, each sector, brand and audience performs differently depending on the channel and messaging. It’s important not to make assumptions of how consumers will act, but to test and adapt based on their behaviour.

Digital marketing and technology is moving forward at a fast pace, but consumers aren’t always moving at the same speed. Without testing, opportunities and entire audiences can be missed.

 

What drives you?

Seeing a positive impact – knowing that the effort you and the team are putting in is paying off.

 

What’s your favourite app?

Untapped – an app for checking in and rating beers. It’s simple, geeky and encourages me to try new beer – need I say more.

 

How do you relax?

British Military Fitness three to four days a week – there is nothing better than being thrashed around a park in the rain and mud after a hard day’s work. And it burns off some of the calories, which I gain from using my favourite app.