In our latest Introducing article, we spoke with Marko Rytkönen about his appointment to the role of Country Manager (Finland).
At Vaimo, we help brands, retailer and manufacturers across the globe to drive success in digital commerce. Marko’s appointment and the growth of our Finland office allow us to continue on our trajectory of helping clients to succeed across the globe.
Let’s listen in to what Marko had to say about his journey to the role of Country Manager and what’s happening in the Finnish eCommerce space…
Can you tell us about your past experience and what led you to this role at Vaimo Finland?
I’ve had the privilege of being a part of the Vaimo Finland story since the very beginning in 2013. In my previous job (at a company that became a part of Vaimo in 2013), I had already been working as Project Manager for eCommerce projects and so I spent my first years at Vaimo as a PM as well. Around 2015 I became a business unit manager and our unit grew to become the largest unit in the group in a few years’ time.
What’s the current progress with the Finnish office and what’s next for the team there?
It’s been great to see how our team’s passion for developing our operations has never slowed down, but rather we have been continuously developing our services and competences. Lately, we have put a lot of effort into our strategy and consulting services and developing our product information management offering. This year we will focus our efforts around increasing the sales and services of Adobe products, Progressive Web App interfaces as well as InRiver and Akeneo product information management systems. Our job is to help our clients succeed in eCommerce, relying on a wide set of tools.
Tell us a bit more about yourself: what’s been your proudest achievement at Vaimo and away from Vaimo?
I’m most proud of having been a part of growing Vaimo Finland from a team of ten people to a company employing over sixty people. We have also increased our revenue tenfold and helped our clients grow as well. The great feedback I get from both our clients and own people motivates me and helps me put in my best effort at this great workplace.
Outside of work I am happiest with my family. We have two great little guys (4 years and 8 months) and it’s been wonderful to watch them grow.
What does your family think you do all day?
That’s funny, my wife probably knows quite well what I work with, but if you ask my 4-year-old, the answer will depend on the day and have to do with computers and the Internet in some way.
What does a typical day actually look like?
I usually get up at six as I like slow mornings. While enjoying my coffee on my sofa, I normally work on sorting out my inbox a bit and setting the day’s priorities before leaving for the office. My days are very varied and what I enjoy most is getting to work with great professionals on several different fronts. A greater share of my time at this point is dedicated to developing our newest business areas and our partner network. I also quite often support our teams in client projects.
The eCommerce landscape, in general, is awash with new technology and buzzwords, and it can be hard for businesses to know what to prioritise for digital growth. From your own experience, what’s the current state of eCommerce in Finland and what should businesses be focusing on?
Producing a great customer experience online is not always easy or straightforward. It requires putting yourself in your customers’ shoes and walking through the different steps and phases they actually go through while making a purchase. A digital service should cover all the stages that are necessary from a business point of view, while at the same time assisting the customer in acquiring all the products they want, as effortlessly as possible.
Once the basics are done right, it might be a good time to consider using personalisation tools (such as Adobe Target or Nosto), tracking customers with the help of a platform that facilitates 360-degree marketing automation (such as Adobe Analytics + Target or Custobar). Customer service can always be improved by integrating a live chat or an AI-based chatbot into the service. An intelligent, learning search function can be built with the help of Klevu or Elasticsearch. Login through Facebook is easy for the customer and Yotpo can be used to improve conversion through building loyalty programs, publishing user reviews and by supporting social shopping. Content can be shared through blogs, Instagram and Facebook marketplace. And finally, heat mapping and A/B -testing are a great help for improving content and optimising the user experience.
To wrap this up, please can you describe Vaimo to us in just 3 words?
Professional, international and agile.
Thanks to Marko for joining us in our latest instalment of ‘Introducing’. Stay tuned to hear more stories from Vaimoers across our offices!