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LONDON, United Kingdom — Katie Foster is the e-commerce manager at House of Hackney, a British interiors and design label founded by husband-wife team Javvy M Royle and Frieda Gormley. After studying politics at Newcastle University, Foster moved to London and entered e-commerce, joining travel agency Black Tomato, where she was involved with the redevelopment and launch of four of the agency's websites. From there, Foster moved to Lulu Guinness, becoming the brand's online marketing and e-commerce executive. The role saw her work on the accessories brand's website re-launch, and the roll out an overall digital strategy across all Lulu Guinness channels. Foster joined House of Hackney in July 2014.

BoF: Please describe your current role.

As House of Hackney's e-commerce manager I am responsible for nurturing and developing the online presence of the brand. Working directly with the founders of House of Hackney, a large part of my role is working towards key company plans and initiatives, translating the offline message online. Using various online marketing channels, I’m always looking at different ways to attract new customers, whilst courting our current ones, with the overall objective to growing sales online. It’s an incredibly varied role in the sense that each week my focus changes.

BoF: What attracted you to the role?

House of Hackney was born as an online brand, however, they didn’t have a dedicated website team in place to spearhead the much needed changes online – and there was a huge opportunity to reflect the beautiful in-store experience online – so when the opportunity came up, I jumped for the role. There were lots of things that I was keen to change immediately and others that required more consideration. Whether it’s looking at a new area of website re-development, planning the campaign around a new product range or brand collaboration, or launching a new service online, there is always something new to explore.

Websites are constantly being viewed, clicked and crawled by customers, competitors and search engines, so getting something wrong can be very exposing.

BoF: What is the most exciting project or initiative you have worked on?

There is a really exciting buzz around the brand, which definitely gives us the energy to continue pushing forwards. It’s been amazing working somewhere where there isn’t a prescribed way of doing something. If you have a good idea, and can support it with good reason, you’re allowed to test it and that fosters such a real, individual, sense of ownership over the work that you do, which I love. I am working at the moment on some exciting new projects, including a new website, but I can’t give away too much at this stage.

BoF: How is your role changing? What are the forces driving that change?

In my sector, I believe the customer is the most important force for change online. The customer is changing, and the services that are expected online are growing exponentially. Giving customers what they want, when they want it, is key. Online personalisation is growing hugely. Consumers are cottoning on to it; no longer do they want marketing messages from brands, with generic emails and advertising about products they will never buy. Customers want a bespoke online experience and it’s up to the brands to give it to them.

BoF: Tell us about a time you failed and how you learned from it.

Launching websites is tough work. The lead up to launch is utterly consuming and it’s the first few weeks that are the hardest. New websites require constant attention and before you even realize it, you’ve become obsessed with every single little pixel. When things go wrong online, which occasionally they do, it can be very stressful. In the online space we don’t have the luxury of just switching the website off, working away in the background, getting things sorted, ready for the following day of trade. Websites are constantly being viewed, clicked and crawled by customers, competitors and search engines, so getting something wrong can be very exposing.

BoF: What advice do you have for people who are interested in doing what you do?

You always try to learn from your mistakes and that experience has taught me some key lessons. Firstly, own up when you’ve made a mistake. It’s so important to be honest with your customers and personally reach out to them if they’ve had a bad experience online. As e-commerce manager, it’s important to get to the root cause of the customer’s issue and try and fix it, so it doesn’t repeat itself.

Secondly, don’t presume that just because you like the design or functionality of a new website that it will work. Test, test and test some more. The more work you put into the pre-launch testing phase, the easier your life will be.

And lastly, be adaptable. Don’t be afraid to have an opinion, and be open and honest with your colleagues. Always flag any issues or concerns you have, as last minute changes online are expensive and can cause delays. Don’t ever be afraid to ask a question – even if you think it’s a silly one – because there is always someone else in the room that will be thinking something similar.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

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