Know-How Exchange : E-Marketing

Thanks for asking this question. Makes us think a bit about how we'd go about it.

I have a few thoughts:

1. I'd ask for a few examples of challenges he faced in e-marketing and how he solved them. Probe the PROCESS he used, not just the problem/solution.

2. Ask him what he would want to know about a candidate if he were in your position. What does HE think are the important considerations for you as you select a person to fill a position that hasn't existed before?

3. Let him teach you about what's important in e-marketing. It will give him a chance to show how he thinks, how he communicates, and how sensitive/respectful he is when interacting with people who don't know as much about his topic as he does. (Example: Does he start by understanding the objective, or does he just start trying things? How eager is he to have results measured by objective criteria? Etc.)

4. Because this is new for your company, maybe you'd want to consider a consulting relationship for 3-6 months first, then hire him if it works out. This will also give him a chance to see if the job is one he really wants.

I suspect there will be other good suggestions, but these are a few that will get you started. When is the interview?

you might ask your candidate what they do to keep current with developments and trends in technology and marketing.

You might also ask some questions about ethics in marketing. What kinds of activities does the candidate feel might be cost-effective and have reasonable ROI, but might be poorly received or inappropriate for your target market? Where does this candidate draw the line?

For the e-marketing aspect: Ask for ROI for past campaigns they've worked on. How much time was spent? How much money? What was the baseline? How did they measure how the campaign affected their bottom line? What worked (and didn't)?

As far as webmaster role: The major cost for a website isn't in building it, but maintaining it. Ask how they keep the costs down, and allow distribution of information (so that they're not the only guru who knows how to do the "basic" things - like add content). Ask them about the various technologies in use (for example, Flash, CMS, HTML5) and which is best for what tasks.