Navigating the Digital Landscape with Ramona Ungureanu, Partner at Digital Kitchen

In a world where the intersection of entrepreneurial spirit and corporate challenges meet, Digital Kitchen emerged as a beacon bridging the gap. With a blend of consultancy and hands-on implementation, they’ve redefined project management, crafting strategies and executing complex projects for the digital era. Insights into their journey, unique services in the eCommerce market, and their pivotal role in shaping digital literacy and growth make for a compelling conversation with Ramona Ungureanu, Partner at Digital Kitchen.

Could you provide some insights into the history and founding of Digital Kitchen? What inspired the company’s inception, and how has it evolved over the years?

Having experienced both the entrepreneurial environment as well as the “corporate world”, we realized that there are some similarities between both worlds. They both sometimes struggle with the lack of resources when it comes to running complex projects and or/ new digital product ideas, delaying project development or implementing a digital marketing strategy due to missing knowledge, expertise, or simply a thorough understanding of the connection between business strategy, objectives and required digital actions.

When it comes to the entrepreneurial world, it is hard to find the right mix of resources that would cover both the strategy, as well as operations of the different streams: website development, product management, and digital marketing, while maintaining a coherent and cost-oriented approach. There are a multitude of agencies that can serve one or another need, but there are few of them that can support the business to approach the entire business systematically looking at both the business goals, objectives, and needed actions, advising and supporting the entire business in their digital goals.

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The bigger companies, on the other hand, are struggling with sometimes rigid structures, lots of resources involved in day-to-day operations, knowing extremely well the company insides and outsides, but missing the resources that could coordinate and implement e2e a new product, providing both the bird’s eye view, while having a hands-on approach on project implementation.

Mixing the expertise, knowledge, the lessons learned in all the years, we identified a need that is currently underserved, a mix between consultancy and actual implementation, taking the burden of both management and/or entrepreneurs of understanding what and how digital can support them, defining the strategic actions as well coordinating and implementing them.

We called this “project management as a service” and incorporated both the management of several operational streams (product management as a service, digital marketing as a service), as well as project management per se, where we support the companies in launching new business lines, new sales channels, or other complex projects such as digital transformation projects.

What unique services or approaches does Digital Kitchen offer in the eCommerce market that set it apart from other agencies in Romania?

While there are several agencies engaged to serve the company’s interests, the missing piece, as we see it, is connecting the business strategy with the digital marketing strategy and/or digital projects, as well as harmonizing all internal and external operations.

Companies often employ resources (internal and/or external) for digital marketing paid media (ex: Google/ Facebook ads), SEO (search engine optimization), and website development, but do not coordinate all the services together. They don’t have a clear strategy, why and how they should work together, how these should be connected with the business strategy, what are the KPIs they should look at, and last but not least which are the needed actions required.

Digital Kitchen is supporting the business in first assessing the current status quo: from market, customer profiles, sales figures, and marketing performance to the customer experience with the brand and its digital properties. Starting from this point, together with the client we define the goals and objectives and clear actions that should be taken.

This forms the fundamental framework for our collaboration. Once we have defined the necessary steps, we proceed with their implementation. This may involve utilizing the client’s in-house capabilities if available or leveraging our pool of resources to assist them in achieving their goals.

From new business setup (business case and business objectives to coordinating and delivering the website development/ migration to new ecommerce platforms) to coordinating all digital marketing operations and implementing them (digital marketing campaigns, social media management, email marketing, product management, content marketing etc), to ensure the fulfillment of the actions designed to support the business objectives.

What sets our services apart is that we don’t position ourselves solely as another digital marketing agency. Instead, our orientation is project and operations management, where we focus on assembling and integrating all relevant elements, both internal and external resources, while aligning them closely with the business strategy and objectives.

You mentioned the importance of having a clear business strategy before allocating budgets to digital marketing. Can you elaborate on the key elements of a successful eCommerce business strategy, and how does Digital Kitchen assist clients in developing these strategies?

A successful eCommerce business strategy is essential for achieving sustainable growth and profitability. It serves as a roadmap that outlines how a business will achieve its objectives in the online marketplace.

We support the client in understanding first their value proposition, their target audience and buyer personas, their competitors, product proposition and defining clear business objectives that will serve as guidance for all actions.
After having a clear understanding on the business objectives, we deep-dive on the current status and define the needed actions to reach those objectives: it can be launching a new sales channel, improving or migrating to a better performing/ scalable solution, a new market/ new clients, or simply optimizing the product assortment and or pricing model, or optimizing certain operations or costs (logistics, other third party providers)

All these actions are actually the strategy the business should follow and each of them can be elaborate in a dedicated project, with clear steps, responsibilities and timelines, as well as KPis.

The successful ecommerce business strategy is the one that is created based on the company’s goals, market, customers as well as current and future capabilities. Most of the companies fail in setting up business objectives that are relevant and achievable for them. Setting a target of increasing sales by 30% in the upcoming year without establishing and ensuring the execution of specific actions, is unlikely to lead to any significant result.

We assist the client in not only formulating the strategy, actions, and necessary projects but also in their implementation and coordination.

All in one it is important to have a clear value proposition, to know your audience, the buyer personas, linked to a very well targeted product selection, that resonates with your customer base, to have an adapted pricing model. These elements synergize to create a more refined and effective marketing strategy, nurturing customer retention and loyalty. All these should be matched to a very cautious and well adapted budget allocation.

With eCommerce becoming increasingly competitive, how have you seen the demand for integrated digital marketing and strategy services change in recent years? What are some common challenges that businesses face in the Romanian eCommerce market?

The demand for integrated digital marketing and strategy services in the eCommerce sector has indeed evolved significantly in recent years, not only  due to the increasing competitiveness of the market, but also because of the disparity of the resources, focus and management of the project.

Many challenges revolve around the “how” aspect of business development. Businesses might have a clear vision of their goals, but they struggle with the execution. They know they want to expand, but questions arise, such as whether they should revamp their website design, incorporate email marketing into their strategy, or how to maintain customer engagement and loyalty.

The challenge comes from both the increase in competition, but also due to a lack of comprehensive understanding of the overall budgeting, a clear understanding of the revenue and costs structure. Consequently, businesses may employ various services without adequate budgeting or a complete understanding on how to assess, monitor, or manage them effectively.

Can you share some examples of successful eCommerce projects that Digital Kitchen has been involved in? What were the specific challenges and solutions in these cases?

We have coordinated replatforming projects for major retailers in Romania, supporting the ecommerce division with a hands on approach in managing the migration of the ecommerce platforms with all associated actions: from design to integrations and redesigning some of the operational flows that would be impacted by the new change.

We have several clients that externalized the entire digital marketing coordination and operations.

The projects we like the most are those involving the implementation or revamping of the entire e-commerce business, as we take an end-to-end approach, including P&L analysis, market assessment, growth perspectives, goal definition, strategy development, and finally, the most beautiful part – the actual implementation. The biggest challenge lies in changing customs, habits, and current business processes within a company, even though the client has engaged you precisely to bring about this change.

As the market matures, how do you perceive the level of digital literacy and readiness among Romanian entrepreneurs, and how has Digital Kitchen contributed to the education and growth of digital expertise in the region?

In the past years we have seen significant progress, thanks to the evolving landscape and the efforts of the digital and ecommerce focused agencies. The digitalization of business processes and the increasing reliance on online platforms have driven entrepreneurs to adapt and enhance their digital skills and understanding of the digital market.

We have tried to keep a balance between knowledge sharing, by actively sharing industry insights, trends, and best practices through our online platforms and digital channels with personalized consultancy and guidance, helping them develop and refine their digital strategies. This hands-on approach enables businesses to tailor their digital efforts to their specific needs and goals.

Digital Kitchen assisted businesses in their digital transformation journeys. This includes helping entrepreneurs assess their current digital capabilities, identify areas for improvement, and implement strategies for growth and innovation.

Digital Kitchen mentioned its intention to expand internationally, with a focus on Spain and the UK. What opportunities and challenges do you anticipate when entering these markets, and how does this fit into the company’s long-term strategy?

Entering new markets presents a mix of opportunities and challenges for us, and these factors play a crucial role in shaping a company’s long-term strategy.

Entering new markets often means access to a larger customer base and the potential for significant business growth. This can be a key driver of revenue and profit expansion. We have chosen the UK and Spain as we already have some links to potential partners from there and we are working with several platforms, implementing them for local Romanian companies.

Also in terms of diversification, expanding into new markets signifies a commitment for knowledge exchange and an enhancement of both our customer base’s diversity and revenue streams. This move also reduces our dependence on a single market, increasing our exposure and selling proposition which is somehow different from what the market is offering. Implementation, not only consulting, view across all the departments and business,  a right hand for the client, particularly when their own resources are limited.

Looking ahead, what trends or developments do you foresee in the Romanian eCommerce market for the next few years, and how is Digital Kitchen preparing to address these changes?

We anticipate a market that becomes increasingly informed, with companies showing a stronger inclination toward digital transformation initiatives. These initiatives encompass internal operations, processes, and customer interactions with the business.

While cost-consciousness is growing among businesses, there remains a need for a deeper understanding of the importance of data and analytics in the decision-making process. Companies must understand the connection between costs and overall business outcomes and explore alternatives for optimizing costs.

Having a more strategic approach on running and implementing ecommerce businesses, will have an impact on a more thorough selection of the tools and channels companies are using for sales and marketing activities, from new sales channels to alternative digital platforms and channels, selecting those options that are meaningful and relevant for the business and its customers.

We plan to support the businesses further through consultancy and guidance, similar to on the job training. Our aim is to empower businesses with the knowledge, skills, and strategies they need to not only survive but thrive in an ever-changing business landscape.