Key Roles & Responsibilities for Crafting a PX Strategy

Today, consumers are seeking more than just products; they are craving memorable interactions across numerous touchpoints from companies they can trust. This paradigm shift in consumer expectations has give rise to the need for dedicated professionals and teams who can champion the cause of implementing a Product Experience (PX) Strategy.

But what exactly does it take to build a successful PX Strategy, and who are the individuals who drive it forward? We’ve answered the former in this blog post here, but let’s dive into the latter and outline the instrumental roles and responsibilities of the jobs that make up a PX ecosystem through a fictional fashion retailer, Ziggy Corporation.

About Ziggy Corporation 

Ziggy is a visionary and globally recognized fashion retailer, redefining the way people experience fashion. With a robust in-store and digital presence, we curate cutting-edge fashion to inspire individuals worldwide.Our commitment to innovation, sustainability, and customer-centricity drives us to continually push boundaries in the retail industry. At Ziggy Corp, we believe that fashion is an art form, a statement, and a means of self-expression, and we invite you to join us in our journey of style, creativity, and global influence.

At Ziggy, our teammates are the driving force behind who we are and where we want to go as a company. We work every day to shape a first-class work environment and culture, which is rooted in our core values of Humility, Benevolence, Openness, and Innovation We want our people to help us grow and to grow with us, and that’s why we do whatever it takes to equip our employees with everything they may need to ›make a tangible impact on themselves, the business and the company. 

1. Chief Product Experience Officer 

Job Description

We are seeking a visionary and strategic Chief Product Experience Officer (CPEO) to join our dynamic retail brand. As the CPEO, you will be responsible for shaping and executing our Product Experience (PX) Strategy, ensuring our products delight customers, and driving innovation and excellence across our entire product portfolio. You will play a pivotal role in defining the overall customer experience and strengthening our brand’s position in the fashion industry.

Responsibilities:

• Product Experience Strategy: Develop and articulate a comprehensive PX Strategy that aligns with the company’s objectives and customer-centric values.
• Innovation Leadership: Lead the charge in identifying market trends, emerging technologies, and customer insights to drive product innovation and differentiation.
• Product Development: Oversee the end-to-end product development process, from ideation to launch, ensuring products are high-quality, customer-centric, and meet market demands.
• Customer-Centric Approach: Champion a customer-first mindset across the organization, ensuring that customer feedback and preferences are at the forefront of product decisions.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including design, marketing, engineering, and sales, to ensure alignment with product experience goals.
• Data-Driven Decision-Making: Utilize data and analytics to make informed decisions, track product performance, and continuously improve the customer journey.
• Brand Consistency: Ensure that the product experience aligns with the brand identity and messaging, maintaining brand consistency throughout the product lifecycle.
• Omnichannel Integration: Lead efforts to seamlessly integrate the online and offline customer experiences, ensuring consistency and continuity across all touchpoints.
• Customer Engagement: Develop strategies to engage and retain customers through exceptional product experiences, loyalty programs, and post-purchase support.
• Team Leadership: Build and lead a high-performing product experience team, providing guidance, mentorship, and professional development opportunities.
• Financial Oversight: Manage and allocate resources effectively to maximize return on investment in product development and customer experience initiatives.

Qualifications

• Proven track record of success in a senior leadership role within a retail or consumer-focused organization.
• Strong understanding of retail industry trends, customer behavior, and market dynamics.
• In-depth knowledge of digital technology, e-commerce platforms, and digital marketing strategies.
• Exceptional strategic thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and drive collaboration.
• Proficiency in leveraging data and analytics for decision-making.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Degree in business, information technology, marketing, or a related field (Master’s degree preferred).

Preferred:

• Familiarity with MACH (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, Headless) and/or Composable Commerce.
• Experience with Akeneo Product Cloud 

2. Product Experience Manager 

Job Description

Join our dynamic retail brand as a Product Experience Manager, where innovation and collaboration drive success. In this role, you will be responsible for executing our product experience strategy by ensuring customer satisfaction, fostering innovation, and driving operational improvements across the Product Experience Management (PXM) process. You will help define the overall customer experience and play a pivotal role in strengthening our brand’s value within the fashion industry. 

Responsibilities:

• Digital Commerce Excellence: Lead efforts to enhance the digital commerce experience, ensuring a seamless and user-friendly online shopping journey.
• Supplier and Retailer Collaboration: Cultivate strong partnerships with suppliers and retail collaborators to streamline data exchange and enhance accuracy.
• Product Taxonomy and Governance: Oversee and refine product taxonomy and governance to ensure the correctness and consistency of our product experiences
• Customer-Centric Approach: Help implement a customer-first mindset across the organization, ensuring that customer feedback and preferences are at the forefront of product decisions.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate cross-functionally with design, marketing, engineering, and sales to align with product experience goals.
• Data-Driven Decision-Making: Utilize data and analytics to make informed decisions, track product performance, and continuously improve the customer journey.
• Brand Consistency: Ensure that the product experience aligns with the brand identity and messaging, maintaining brand consistency throughout the product life cycle.
• Omnichannel Integration: Lead efforts to seamlessly integrate the online and offline customer experiences, ensuring consistency and continuity across all touchpoints.

Qualifications

• Proven track record in digital commerce strategies and optimizing online shopping experiences.
• Strong change management skills with a track record of implementing process improvements.
• Expertise in building and maintaining product taxonomies and data governance 
• Proficiency in leveraging data and analytics for decision-making.
• Experience collaborating with suppliers and retail partners within the fashion retail industry.
• Exceptional strategic thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Degree in business, information technology, or a related field (Master’s degree preferred).

Preferred:

• Familiarity with MACH (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, Headless) and/or Composable Commerce.
• Experience with Akeneo Product Cloud 

3. Technical Product Experience Manager 

Job Description

Join our dynamic retail brand as a Technical Product Experience Manager, where innovation and collaboration drive success. In this role, you will be responsible for executing the technical components of our product experience strategy by leading the overall solution design for our product experience applications including system optimization, data management, and integrations throughout the Product Experience Management (PXM) process. You will help design, build and maintain the technical solutions that provide exceptional product experiences to our customers and strengthen our brand’s value within the fashion industry. 

Responsibilities:

• Technical Strategy: Define and drive the technical architecture strategy to meet business goals, ensuring alignment with our business objectives, industry best practices and emerging technologies.
• Solution Design: Collaborate with cross-functional teams to design robust and scalable digital solutions, including front-end and back-end systems, databases, and third-party integrations.
• System Optimization: Continuously assess and optimize system performance and capabilities to meet evolving business needs.
• Data Management: Oversee data architecture and data management strategies, ensuring data governance, availability, and compliance.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate with various teams, including product management, IT, marketing, ecommerce, and others to ensure technical alignment with business goals. 
• Integration: Manage the integration of various systems, including PIM, PLM, ecommerce, ERP, DAM, third-party APIs, and other tools.

Qualifications

• Proven track record in technical product management within the retail or related industry.
• Experience with building and maintaining system integrations and ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) processes.
• Strong understanding of data management best practices around building and maintaining product taxonomies and governance 
• Proficiency in data analysis and the use of technical tools for decision-making.
• Familiarity with Product Experience Management software ecosystem (ERP, DAM, PIM, CMS, Ecommerce, Syndication systems)  
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Degree in computer science, information technology, or a related technical field 

Preferred:

• Familiarity with MACH (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, Headless) and/or Composable Commerce.
• Experience with Akeneo Product Cloud 

Paving the Path to a Bright PX Future

Here at Akeneo, we understand that the journey towards PX excellence is not without its challenges; in fact, many corporations may find themselves ill-equipped to support the full spectrum of these roles at the moment, and that is more than okay.

However, we firmly believe that every organization, regardless of its current stage of PX maturity, can start implementing a PX Strategy today. Even just incremental changes that enhance the customer journey, like improving the completeness and accuracy of your product information, is a step in the right direction.

You also don’t need to immediately go out and hire for all of these roles, like the Ziggy Corporation has. Your current team may already possess the skills and passion needed to support a PX Strategy, so it may make sense for you to harness their potential and provide them with the necessary tools and resources first.

While the roles we’ve outlined today are undeniably critical for PX excellence, their full integration may take some time. But with a customer-first mindset and a dedication to continuous improvement, any organization can join the league of brands that redefine product experiences and pave the way for PX excellence.