Performance marketing executive: how to train and review the role
Runs paid campaigns for an online store on search, social and marketplace ad tools. Sets budgets, tests creatives, reads return on ad spend and works with catalogue and stock teams. Reports to the marketing head or founder and handles real money daily.
Not sure what you need? Tell us about your business in six short steps and we will come to the first meeting prepared.
Share your requirementsWho usually fills this role
Usually marketing or commerce graduates with an ad-platform course, or juniors from agencies. Some self-learned on a family business. At hiring, give a sample account export and ask what they would change, test spreadsheet comfort, and check honesty about past results.
Skills ladder
Stage 1
New joiner
- Sets up campaigns from a brief
- Reads daily spend and clicks
- Prepares reports from platform exports
Stage 2
Independent
- Optimises campaigns by product, audience and creative
- Pauses waste and scales winners with approval
- Links ad results to orders and returns
Stage 3
Senior or lead
- Plans budgets across channels and sale periods
- Mentors junior executives
- Works with catalogue, stock and pricing teams
Training path
First weeks
- 1
Account access and rules
The marketing head sets spend limits, approval steps and account security. The joiner is added to accounts with limited permission and shows understanding of the limits in a short talk.
- 2
Platform basics
A senior marketer teaches campaign structure, targeting and the reports on each platform. The joiner builds a small test campaign and the senior reviews before launch.
- 3
Reading the numbers
Teach daily and weekly reporting on spend, orders and return on ad spend using the store's own data. The head checks the joiner's report against order records.
First year
- 1
Creative testing
The executive plans and runs creative tests with the content team, noting what changed. The head reviews the test log and conclusions.
- 2
Stock and price awareness
Teach checking stock, margin and delivery time before pushing a product. The executive confirms with catalogue and inventory staff and avoids advertising unavailable items.
- 3
Returns and quality of traffic
Show how return rates and cancellations differ by campaign. The executive adds these to the report and the head discusses the effect on spend decisions.
Towards senior
- 1
Budget planning
The head involves the executive in planning budgets for sale periods with scenarios. After the event, the executive writes a lessons note.
- 2
Mentoring juniors
The senior executive reviews juniors' campaigns and gives written feedback. The head checks that mistakes decrease.
- 3
Cross-team work
The executive joins weekly talks with catalogue, stock and support teams. The head reviews actions that came out of them.
Performance review
A weekly performance talk with the marketing head, a monthly 1-to-1 on learning and a half-yearly written review. Add a debrief after each sale period.
What to measure
| Measure | How it is seen |
|---|---|
| Decision quality | Review of changes made, reasons logged and results |
| Reporting accuracy | Comparison of reports with store orders and platform data |
| Testing discipline | Test log with hypothesis, result and next step |
| Budget control | Spend against approved budget and handling of overspend |
| Quality of traffic | Return, cancellation and repeat purchase trends by campaign |
| Teamwork with catalogue and stock | Instances of advertising unavailable or wrong-priced items |
Evidence to bring
- Weekly reports
- Test log
- Spend and approval records
- Returns and cancellation reports
- Change log in accounts
Questions to ask in the review
- Which campaigns surprised you and why?
- What did you pause and why?
- How do your reports match store orders?
- Which products should not be advertised now?
- What did you test and what did you learn?
- How did you handle the last sale period?
- What platform skill do you want to build?
Pitfalls
- Reviewing only return on ad spend and ignoring returns and stock
- Giving full budget control to a new joiner
- No test log, so learning is lost when staff leave
- Not tracking account access when the executive leaves
Questions about this role
Look at traffic quality, creative tests and conversion alongside price and stock. Do not blame ads for a weak product.
Use shared admin access owned by the company with individual roles. Remove access when anyone leaves.
Yes, but keep one internal person who understands the numbers. Confirm contract terms with your adviser.