ROTWILD Insights: Jonathan Zimmermann

How did you come to ROTWILD?

Already in my school days I financed my downhill bikes and races by programming websites. During my studies, I then also worked for Canadian and American companies in the bike industry and made many friends. There I was able to combine my programming skills with my marketing knowledge, which was an exciting time. When I saw that a German company was looking for reinforcements, I jumped at the chance. My network from back then is also still a great help to me.

How can one imagine your daily work in Digital Marketing at ROTWILD?

A daily routine doesn't happen as often as you might expect. That brings with it a certain tension and variety that I like very much. You often have to react quickly to certain problems and find solutions - and it often helps to think outside the box.

Basically, I take care of all digital communication and sales channels at ROTWILD and, of course, also the buzzword digitalization. Due to my position and tasks, I often have one foot in sales and the other in marketing - the boundaries are very fluid.

In terms of marketing, together with my colleague Ole Wittrock, I mainly take care of the ROTWILD website, customer and dealer communication, and of course the social media channels and their monitoring. But also the organization of in-house events, such as the factory tours, or the planning and implementation of our participation in festivals are an exciting part of the job. Here you get to know many new places and have direct, unfiltered customer contact. This always serves as an important anchor when we discuss campaigns and measures on a day-to-day basis that are designed to reach our customers in the best possible way.

Jonathan Zimmermann at the ROTWILD warehouse in Dieburg.

A personal highlight this year was definitely working on our action photo production in the Italian Alps. We had decided to rely on ROTWILD employees and team riders for the photo riders, since we are all enthusiastic bikers here, of course. A great detail, I think - so if you look at the pictures on our website or in the catalogs now, the pictures show not only our bikes, but also us employees and thus 100 percent ROTWILD.

Of course, with the often very complex tasks these days, it's no longer possible without external help. In view of the many challenges associated with digital topics, collaboration with external agencies is of great importance. Supporting and managing these agencies is also a recurring item on my to-do list. Here, on the one hand, it is extremely important to keep various projects on track in order to maintain an overview. On the other hand, it is important to understand the needs or problems of our customers and employees with digital issues. This is the only way to then formulate solvable tasks for the agencies.

That sounds like a lot of variety indeed. Are you at the head office in Dieburg every day?

I work both in my home office and directly at the Dieburg site. I think this freedom that ADP Engineering gives me is fantastic. I enjoy every day in the local office, knowing that I may not be as effective in an open-plan office as at home, where the environment is much quieter and more focused. If I have important tasks ahead of me that require a great deal of concentration, then it sometimes happens that I don't come to the office in Dieburg for an entire week. However, it is essential to maintain contact with colleagues in order to stay in touch with the big picture.

ROTWILD on Instagram @ROTWILDBIKES

So what sales tasks fall within your purview?

In terms of sales, I initially support my colleagues in communicating with our dealer network. This mainly concerns the regular information emails that I create and circulate. However, the main task here is clearly the maintenance and support of the ROTWILD online store. This involves, for example, populating the system with product information, images, descriptions or prices. Once the relevant data for the store has been created, I am also responsible for the continuous transfer of master data to our business partners and their connected systems.

My programming skills are used here again and again practically. In order to solve special problems, it is very helpful to write one or the other program or script that takes care of this work and possibly also speeds up processes in the future. One of these current projects, for example, is a web app that our dealers will be able to use in the future to quickly and easily obtain sales information that would otherwise require writing e-mails or making phone calls.

Jonathan's job is as versatile and varied as a good downhill trail.

How big is the team in marketing at ROTWILD, and which colleagues do you work closely with?

There are three of us in marketing at ROTWILD. Together with Maud von Hoff and Ole Wittrock, we work on the perception of the ROTWILD brand. I also work closely with Frederik Lankeit from Production Planning regarding product data.

What is the biggest challenge in your job?

Often, several complex and new tasks come up at once. Of course, not when it suits you, and usually when you already have a lot to do.

Convenient, if you can screw at the workplace also equal to his bike.

And how do you manage to do your job in such situations?

I then try to prioritize these tasks first: Is it an acute problem that may even affect a customer? Then it has to be solved immediately. Once I have a list of priorities, I divide the tasks into smaller, manageable packages and work through them according to the set order. To do this, I mainly use digital tools like Trello, Wunderlist or sometimes a simple code editor. I sometimes have to listen to one or two comments from my colleagues about my (supposedly) empty desk.

What qualifications should you have for your job at ROTWILD?

I think that regardless of what you do in the bike industry, it's absolutely important to have a good understanding and a great passion for the subject of bicycles in all its facets. That very often helps to put yourself in the customers' shoes, be it when solving problems or developing new products and services. In addition, you should definitely have good organizational skills for my job at ROTWILD. If there is an understanding of how digital topics work and how they are constantly changing, that is a huge plus.

Home sweet Home - Jonathan on the after-work lap.

What tips can you give to someone who would also like to work in the bike industry?

When you turn your hobby into a profession, you should be aware that there are times when it's not fun. Sometimes work comes first and, contrary to your own expectations, you don't sit on your bike every day. Then it is important not to lose motivation. On the other hand, in most cases you also enjoy more freedom and can have a much more varied daily routine than in other professions and industries. In addition, it never hurts to build up a good network of contacts and friendships. The bicycle industry is comparatively small, and paths cross several times over the course of time. So many of my friends have now found work somewhere in the industry, which is really great.

About your personal bike preferences: Downhill or Uphill?

Clearly, it has to go down rather than up for me. I used to do a lot of downhill and later enduro racing, so I'll probably never be able to get rid of that completely. But the fact that it has to go uphill first is not a problem, but part of a proper tour. We are often in a larger group on the road, since the uphills are always used for small and techtalk or even for longer conversations.

After the day in the office, it goes with the ROTWILD colleagues and the new bikes as often as possible on the home trails.

Fully or Hardtail?

I see the advantages in any case in the Fully. I gladly accept the extra weight of a damper and the bearings, if the chassis has thereby unequally more potential.

E-Bike or conventional?

I will probably remain a conventional mountain biker for many years. Nevertheless, I see the benefit and especially the fun that is made possible by E-MTBs. It would not surprise me, however, if I had both types of bikes in the garage in the medium term. For me, however, it may then quietly be an E-MTB with a smaller battery - the current ROTWILD Core models with classic IPU are perfectly sufficient for me.

Your favorite bike from the ROTWILD range?

Just because I drive one myself and am thrilled, I must mention the R.E1 Ultra here.

Jonathan's first choice from the ROTWILD range is the E.1 Ultra.

Why?

For me, this is a super enduro bike with lots of reserves and great details. With it, you can easily make endless meters in altitude, and downhill it is anyway beyond reproach.

Even with the E-MTBs, I would probably go for the enduro, the R.E+ E-MTB. The combination of plenty of suspension travel and the kinematics of the R.E1 is an absolute winner. In addition, there is the possibility here to also master technical climbs or simply tackle the home trails much more often in a row.

How many kilometers do you sit in the saddle per year?

So far this year it's been about 1,400 kilometers and 39,000 vertical meters on my R.E1 Ultra. Last year it was about 1,700 kilometers. In addition, there are various tours on the road bike or e-bike - but I do not count them here.

Do you have a favorite area for biking?

Clearly the Taunus around the Großer Feldberg! It is impressive every weekend again how diverse the landscape, the forest and the trails are. From stony and blocked to flowing and fast, there is something for everyone here - it never gets boring. Also very popular are the after-work tours with colleagues around Frankenstein Castle near Darmstadt. In a very confined space there are tens of trails down the mountain, so that you can still make numerous descents before dark. If I had to move and could choose where to live based on the trails, I would probably choose the French Alps around Mont Blanc.