Why is Full Commerce the salvation of industries in digital marketing?

The Brazilian digital market wasn't born with the structured manuals and courses we have today. In the early 2010s, the scenario was one of pure exploitation: there was no literature, tools were scarce, and learning happened "by force.".

To understand where the market is going, we need to look at where it came from. Recently, on the TrendOff , expert Denis Strum , one of West Wing's first employees in Brazil and a veteran of the Rocket Internet ecosystem, shared his journey, analyzing the paradigm shifts in marketing, the rise of full commerce , and the central (and human) role of Artificial Intelligence.

In this article, we delve into the key insights from this conversation, exploring how the essence of marketing remains alive, even in times of extreme automation.

The birth of e-commerce in Brazil and "pioneering marketing"

In 2012, the startup ecosystem in Brazil was dominated by Rocket Internet, which brought operations such as Netshoes, Dafiti, and West Wing. Denis Strum recalls that, at that time, even basic concepts like UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) were unknown to most local professionals; there was no information available on Google in Portuguese about how to track the origin of an access.

The West Wing, specifically, faced a triple challenge:

1. Market education: Brazilians were still hesitant to buy online.
2. Disruptive business model: it was a shopping club that required mandatory registration and daily newsletters to generate desire.
3. Reverse logistics: the consumer would buy the product and only receive it 30, 60, or 90 days later.

This phase was the school of "grassroots performance marketing," where customer acquisition was fueled by massive newsletters and the transition from desktop to mobile was still a bet on the future.

B2B vs. B2C Marketing: The concept of authority is universal

Many managers try to drastically separate strategies for businesses (B2B) and for end consumers (B2C), but Denis Strum argues that the root cause is the same: building authority .

• In B2C, marketing often spans the entire customer journey, being directly responsible for generating the final sale on the website.
• In B2B: the role is focused on branding and demand generation . Branding helps the sales team have less work and close deals faster, as the client already recognizes the brand's value before the first meeting.

Regardless of the model, the modern marketing professional must be able to think about the entire funnel and, above all, know how to communicate with the sales team to ensure that the machine of interest transforms into recurring revenue.

What is Full Commerce and why does it solve the industry's pain point?

After venturing into digitally native brands (DNVBs) like Jack the Barber , Denis Strum migrated to the world of services, focusing on the Full Commerce .

Many traditional industries and brands fail when trying to sell online because they get lost in conceptual or operational issues. Full Commerce emerges to outsource 100% of this journey to a single partner, covering:

• Technology and platform (VTEX, Shopify, etc.).
• Back office and ERP.
• Logistics operation, distribution centers and delivery.
• Customer service and sales marketing strategies.

The goal is to allow the brand to focus on what it does best, the product , while the full-commerce partner ensures that the digital machinery runs smoothly without the communication noise common between multiple agencies and logistics providers.

The age of artificial intelligence: returning to the human factor

The biggest change right now is undoubtedly Artificial Intelligence. However, Strum offers a provocative perspective: AI will not replace the need to think; it will expose those who do not think .

In a world where it's easy to ask an LLM (like ChatGPT) to write a LinkedIn post, the market will become saturated with superficial content. The standout will come from those who possess:

1. Logical reasoning: knowing which questions to ask the machine to obtain unexpected results.
2. Power of persuasion: the human capacity to convince and create connections that technology, by itself, cannot replicate.
3. Depth: the effort to study beyond the surface, to connect points from different sources, and to avoid the immediacy of social media.

"The human factor will become increasingly important. The most human thing is to think." — Denis Strum.

Conclusion: study, do, and persevere

The final message for those entering the marketing field or seeking to reinvent themselves is clear: avoid superficiality . Success in a highly volatile technological environment doesn't come from memorizing tools, but from understanding people and processes.

Marketing has changed dramatically in terms of tools and channels, moving from the era of magazine covers and TV commercials to AI algorithms, but its roots, based on experience and authority, remain the same.

Want to check out the full conversation?

If you want to hear all the behind-the-scenes stories about Rocket Internet, the successes and failures of entrepreneurship, and more details about the future of retail tech, don't miss the full episode!

🎧 Listen to TrendOff with Denis Strum now on Spotify

Written by Skyone