The greatest perk is that every day is different. You never get bored.

You both joined Deloitte fairly recently. What did you do beforehand? What brought you to Deloitte?
Tijana: Before joining Deloitte I was part of Toshiba Electronics Europe as a marketing communication specialist focused on digital marketing. I supported projects at the global level and gathered experience in campaign management, performance marketing, marketing automation, and data analytics. Nevertheless, I wanted to do projects with more focus on data technology and data analytics, so I applied for a position at Deloitte Digital. The new job has been a perfect match, and a perfect environment for learning new skills.

Valerie: Before starting at Deloitte I worked for a digital marketing agency while completing a PhD on crowdfunding behavior. The international scope of my previous experience and research made me interested in working for an international consulting company. Deloitte Digital seemed to be the best fit for personal growth in a flexible and dynamic environment.

Tijana, you are in digital marketing, and Valerie, you are in digital commerce. How do the two areas differ? What do they have in common?
Tijana: Both fields focus on the digital domain, are based on customer data, and pursue the same purpose: that is, helping clients to make the customer journey as smooth as possible. The technologies behind them may differ, but the fields overlap.

Valerie: In today’s world, digital commerce is a “hot” topic, but digital marketing supports it by making sure that customer data allow clients to meet customers at each touchpoint along the way.

What is your everyday work like? What are your specific tasks? Do you ever work together on projects?
Tijana: The best thing about consulting is that it is never static: every day is different from the next. Topics differ from project to project – one day you might be implementing customer data platforms or finding out the best-fitting vendor for a client, and on the following day you might be analyzing current operating models or recommending the best approach to new market challenges. Daily tasks include identifying the maturity levels of a client in different fields, determining optimization points, sharing best practice techniques, supporting the search for different vendors, and pitching processes. There are many slide decks, Excel sheets, brainstorming sessions, and discussions with clients.
We haven’t worked together yet, but maybe we will soon – and I look forward to it.

What are your current projects and challenges?
Tijana: Currently, I’m on a project where we are defining and developing a consistent attribution model which will be later used to design an E2E Sales Dashboard. The project is global and, next to Germany, includes our colleagues from multiple countries. The scope of the project also makes it challenging and exciting – different countries will opt for different systems and approaches.  Nevertheless, they are all sharing their support and knowledge and together we can offer variety of expertise. We know we will all be proud of the end result.

What do you find most interesting about market-related topics?
Tijana: The dynamic nature of the market – new solutions show up every single day. The learning curve never stops. In a world of rapid digitalization, it’s exciting to keep up with cutting-edge solutions, behavioral changes, new shopping habits, and improvements to the customer experience.

Valerie: It’s been fascinating to see the rapid transition from offline marketing to online marketing and to recognize that we need completely different strategies for approaching customers. Due to the enormous amount of available data, learning which channels can best address potential target audiences and optimize conversion rates is a never-ending process.

Our society is constantly changing. How do you see your work developing over the next five years?
Tijana: Again, a rapidly changing environment makes for much uncertainty. From a digital marketing perspective, the continuing shift to online channels and enhanced customer data analysis tools is all but certain. Though many companies still prefer to silo their data and emphasize “offline” sales, new technology is going to make online customer engagement and improvements to the customer experience inevitable.

Valerie: Online shopping has increased significantly during the pandemic, and new features mean that potential buyers can shop on social media as well. Companies have been forced to improve their digital presence. As screen time has skyrocketed, commerce tools and social media use have become a constitutive part of our daily lives.

What do you say to graduates who are thinking about a career in digital commerce and marketing?
Valerie: We really like our work. There are many opportunities to develop personally as well as professionally. Moreover, it provides an opportunity to meet super interesting people and expand our network. The in-house initiatives at Deloitte are fun and compelling, too. The greatest perk is that every day is different. You never get bored.

Tijana: If you’re willing to learn each day, then commerce and marketing is the right place to be. It offers a great team atmosphere, lots of support, and the freedom to be who you are.

Would you like to learn more about career opportunities in digital marketing or digital commerce? See our careers page.