The Ecom Show

#119 Tyler McCourt: Wearable NFTs and eCommerceHave you hopped onto the NFT bandwagon yet? If not, would the idea of being able to wear your NFT persuade you to purchase one?Today’s episode is all about what happens when the internet spills over into the real world. We’ve got Tyler McCourt, the founder of Dott, here with us today to uncover the world of wearable NFTs.Dott is an e-commerce company that enables you to create wearable merchandise using the NFTs and GIFs you own. It was founded by Tyler McCourt, who’s a serial e-commerce entrepreneur and visionary.This episode is sponsored by Budai Media. Budai Media is a retention marketing agency that helps e-commerce stores increase their customers lifetime value through the power of email and SMS marketing.This episode of The Ecom Show talks about:✅ Tyler’s Journey As A Serial Entrepreneur✅ The Easiest Way To Start A Customized Apparel Store✅ NFTs And E-commerceTyler’s Journey as a Serial EntrepreneurTyler double majored in college in marketing information systems and finance—and landed straight into a corporate desk job. Realizing that he wasn’t passionate about a career in corporate, he shifted gears and found himself working with a small apparel company that designed clothes for wrestlers. Working there with a small team of just 5 employees helped him discover his interest in e-commerce and marketing technologies, and he left soon after to start his own venture.Tyler and a friend of his started a venture called Emblem Athletic, where they helped e-commerce apparel stores automate their systems. They were able to grow this to generate a steady 7-figure revenue in a couple of years, and Tyler then proceeded to sell his shares back to his co-founder to pursue other ventures.After exiting this space, Tyler pursued his vision of creating wearable NFTs and GIFs and launched his latest venture, Dott. He also launched Teamtime, a fully custom apparel store.The Easiest Way to Start a Customized Apparel StoreStarting your own online e-commerce brand can be difficult when you don’t have a big team. Between production, design, inventory management, marketing, sales, and accounting, there are a dozen different hats entrepreneurs need to wear to get the show-up and running.Tyler McCourt’s latest venture, Teamtime, helps individuals get started with zero upfront costs. It gives users access to a free online store and custom designs.All they need to do is sign-up and fill out a form. Users can even outsource the logistics to Teamtime, as they offer free shipping.In short, Teamtime lets users build a fully custom, automated storefront with personal team designers and unlimited customization options.How do they achieve these goals? They use a combination of developers, designers, artificial intelligence, and Shopify to create your store and products. This enables them to quickly provide you with a store with up to 10 products. They’re building a massive library of editable templates and an application that allows users to create their basic templatized custom design; users can then directly speak with the in-house designers to modify their products till they’re satisfied. All of this is connected to Shopify using APIs, making it easy to set up and edit the store as the brand scales.NFTs and eCommerceNFTs have been taking the world by storm. It’s already fusing technology, finance, and art together. Could it also find its place in the world of the apparel industry? Well, it already has! Tyler came up with this idea in college after attending several music festivals; he’d always notice people around him wearing cool shirts, which got him wondering as to why you couldn't wear a GIF.He started looking into products that could do the same, and the closest he came to this were bulky LED tee shirts. He saw an opportunity to create a new product that could reinvent wearable technology, but he just didn’t have the funds to start developing it. However, he noticed the rising popularity of NFTs after he cashed out of Emblem Athletic, and he jumped at the opportunity to bring his old idea to life.That’s how Dott was born. Dott is an e-commerce apparel store that connects with your wallet and allows you to create a personalized item of clothing with your NFT or GIF on it. Dott gives you the ability to wear your NFT out and then show off your NFT in a way that you couldn't before. It’s also great for artists because they’re able to promote the NFT in a way that they couldn’t before.Dott is changing the way that customized e-commerce apparel stores work, and it could open a huge opportunity for artists, designers, and other NFT enthusiasts looking to fuse NFTs with a physical wearable product.Listen to this episode of The Ecom Show to learn more about Dott and the world of wearable NFTs. It also contains information on the best automation tools and systems e-commerce stores can use to streamline their operations.If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to check out episode 96 of The Ecom

#118 Steve Dennis - Retail vs. eCommerceHey Budai Nation!Welcome to episode 118 of The Ecom Show. This episode is a showdown between the world of retail and e-commerce. We’ve even got a celebrity guest on board to make things more interesting.We’re beyond thrilled to share that the bestselling author, consultant, and keynote speaker, Steve Dennis, will be joining our founder and podcast host, Daniel Budai, for this incredibly stimulating and insightful conversation about the future of shopping in a rapidly evolving digital world.So, listen in to learn more about:✅ Professional Journey of Steve Dennis✅ #1 Reason Why Retail Businesses Fail✅ Takeaways From Successful Retail Businesses✅ Retail vs. eCommerceProfessional Journey of Steve DennisSteve Dennis is a consultant, keynote speaker, and author specializing in retail and innovation. He made a name for himself in the retail space after climbing up the corporate ladder and becoming a senior executive at two major Fortune 500 retailers. He’s also the writer of the best-selling book—Remarkable Retail: How to Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. He is also an esteemed consultant whose thoughts on the future of shopping are frequently shared in his role as a Forbes Senior Contributor.Let’s backtrack to the beginning, though. Steve initially set out to pursue an education in law. However, he changed course after starting a small business with marketing guru Seth Godin during their junior year in college. Bitten by the entrepreneurial bug, Steve decided to pursue an education in business.After this, he started working for a big consulting firm where he developed a special interest in food companies, so he got a job working in retail for “Sears, Roebuck and Company” in Chicago. Ever since, he’s continued to stay in the world of retail. Fascinated by consumer psychology, Steve has made a flourishing career for himself in the retail industry with over 30+ years of experience.He’s currently the president of Sageberry Consulting, a strategic advisory firm that provides consulting services to the retail, fashion, and luxury industries. He’s even got his own podcast called Remarkable Retail.#1 Reason Why Retail Businesses FailWe’ve shifted to a more digitally connected world which has greatly affected consumer behavior and the way we shop. In the past, consumers were used to going to a physical store, and you know, having to gather information largely from salespeople, or their friends, or maybe a magazine, but you know, very traditional media, to see what was available. This meant that consumers had to physically run around if they wanted to explore a lot of choices.But over the last 15 or 20 years, we’ve shifted to this world of abundance where there are almost infinite choices at the tip of our fingers. So, in a world of this abundance of choice, the abundance of information to be merely very good is no longer enough. Retail businesses need to be remarkable to survive.The number one reason for retail businesses failing is mediocrity. In other words, businesses that don’t have a competitive edge or differentiating factor that makes them stand out often fail to succeed. This edge comes from offering competitive pricing, exceptional customer service, understanding the blend between the retail and digital world, and using it to enhance consumer interactions.Businesses that fail to actualize this and evolve are often stuck in the boring middle and lead to failure.Takeaways From Successful Retail BusinessesThere are a lot of wildly successful brands that are almost synonymous with the word retail. Here are some quick takeaways and learnings that Steve Dennis shared from observing these real-life retail champions:Apple: One of the most aspirational and popular technology brands in the market, Apple has succeeded by selling a lifestyle rather than a single product. They’ve built an entire community around their brand ethos, which shows how important community building is; and they provide excellent customer service, which shows the value of cultivating a nurturing customer experience.Restoration Hardware: They’re not a very digitally driven company, but the lesson from them is to focus on solving problems for a niche. Restoration Hardware is really focused on a fairly narrow set of customers, and they try to meet their needs in a very direct way. This is one of the key ways to be remarkable. When a business can understand their customer and give them what they value, they’re able to retain customers even if they’re charging a premium price.Target: They’re one of those brands that beautifully blend digital and physical in a much more profound way. Not only have they improved their e-commerce capabilities, but they’ve also recognized that there’s really no such thing as the e-commerce channel and the brick-and-mortar channel. It’s all just shopping. So, their focus has always been on how to best take care of the customer across a spectrum of needs and a spectrum of

#117 JB Kellogg: These Tips Have Helped Over 20,000 Small Businesses GrowHello Budai Nation!Today’s episode of The Ecom Show is for all the small business owners out there.Running a small business is not an easy task; there are always 360 different things you need to do and 360 different directions you’re being pulled in. Which is why, we’ve got the co-founder of Marketing 360 here to give us his expert advice on helping small businesses scale.JB Kellogg is the Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Madwire, a tech company that’s helped over 20,000 SMBs grow with this singular tech platform called Marketing 360. He founded Madwire when he was just 28 years old.In this episode, JB Kellogg and our founder and CEO, Daniel Budai, will share business tips, real-life success stories, and learning experiences.So, tune in and learn more about:✅ JB Kellogg’s Entrepreneurial Journey✅ #1 Advice For Small Business Owners✅ The Most Unique Thing About Madwire’s Company Culture✅ One Mistake Every Small Business Should AvoidBefore we jump right in, we’d like to give a quick shout-out to Raj, the CEO of Bloomreach. He also runs a tech platform that helps small businesses grow. Make sure to check out episode 62 of The Ecom Show for some additional tips on scaling a small business.Let’s dig in.JB Kellogg’s Entrepreneurial JourneyLike every good success story, JB Kellogg’s journey starts with a humble beginning. As a young college student with some extra time on his hands, JB Kellogg was on the lookout for new learning opportunities. This is what drove him to approach a travel magazine asking for a job opportunity.The magazine needed a website, so JB Kellogg jumped at the opportunity and taught himself everything he needed to know to build a website. This is where he got his first taste of working in the digital world. He continued learning more about digital marketing and running ads and finally took a gamble by starting Madwire.In 2009, JB Kellogg teamed up with his father to start Madwire. A tech company that offered businesses help to grow. He founded Madwire when he was 28 years old and helped grow the company to a run-rate of over 100M+ in revenue and 500+ employees in under 10 years.Madwire is technically really one company, but they have a number of brands. Marketing 360 is their biggest brand, which enables small businesses to set up an account that takes care of all their business needs under one umbrella. They can have everything from managing their leads and customers with the CRM to sending emails to managing social media and beyond, so everything they need to manage and grow their business can be done through one login.However, a lot of these small businesses don't have time to do their own marketing or the resources to keep hiring experts to help them figure it out. This is why Madwire also offers additional services where businesses can hire expert consultants to help them with executing projects as well.#1 Advice For Small Business OwnersWe asked JB Kellogg what’s the number one advice he would give to small business owners in 2022. Here’s what he had to share:“I think the most important thing to think about is, what is the world going to look like in the next two to three years for your particular industry. And, you know, put a lot of thought and counsel into that, you know, get feedback from other people and then try to develop, you know, your vision for the next three years.”Once you’ve figured that out, you need to reverse engineer your way to build a strategy that helps you reach your mission. Basically, businesses need to figure out how their industry will evolve and find ways to adapt to these changes.This involves researching and adopting new systems and processes to help you achieve your goals. So if you’re in e-commerce, you need to ask yourself, what are the new platforms or processes I can work on to improve my payment process? Or, how can I use AI to provide my customers with a better experience?This is essential because if you’re not thinking of the future, you will get passed up.The Most Unique Thing About Madwire’s Company CultureBuilding a business with over 500+ employees teaches a man a thing or two about hiring and people management. We asked JB Kellogg to share the most unique thing that’s helped him create an inclusive and positive work culture at Madwire.Here’s what he said:“Madwire has always lived by the motto, execution excellence. And what this means is that you don't, you know, try to make the same mistake twice; it doesn't mean that you're perfect. But it means that you're constantly trying to get better. And it also means you step outside of that job description.”So, if there's a piece of trash in the hallway, when you're walking down the hall, pick it up, if the sink is messy, clean it up, if your neighbor's phone's ringing, answer it, and don't let it go to voicemail just because it’s out of the job description. Execution excellence basically fights the mindset that convinces employees to b

#106 Adam McDonald: 3 Things Every E-Com Business Needs For Success Hello Budai Nation! Your favorite e-commerce podcast is back with a brand new episode on how to create a successful e-com brand.This week we've got serial entrepreneur/growth strategist/angel investor/e-commerce genius Adam McDonald, with our founder and podcast host, Daniel Budai.Adam has successfully sold 4 businesses and is now investing in several e-commerce projects. His achievements include building the largest sport surface advertising company in Australia, producing a TV show that he sold to Disney, building Australia's largest outdoor event company, and investing in several e-commerce projects.In this episode, Adam will reveal the 3 things that every e-com business needs for success! So, tune in to The Ecom Show to find out more about:✔ Adam's Entrepreneurial Journey✔ How To Grow Your Business Without Returning Customers✔ How To Improve Your Customer Experience✔How To Nail Organic MarketingAdam's Entrepreneurial JourneyAdam's been a serial entrepreneur throughout his life. He first dabbled into selling products online way back in the early 2000s by reselling American shampoo and conditioners in Australia. He did this for a while before the company expanded and decided to take their selling in-house. You couldn't really call this e-commerce, though—it was more of an online brochure to sell the products to other brick-and-mortar stores in Australia.Things changed when Adam received a call for help from his dad. Adam's father had run into some taxation issues, which led to him having to sell the business. Adam stepped in and managed to find his father a buyer who owned a big sports advertising agency. As a part of the contract, Adam worked with the buyer to revive the business. However, this contract was short-lived because Adam discovered that the buyer was involved in wrongful business practices and bought back his dad's business and all the equipment.He then continued growing the venture for the next 3-4 years. He managed to successfully grow it to an 8-figure valuation. He used his wealth from this venture to produce a TV show, which was acquired by ESPN.Since then, Adam has had a successful and colorful business journey, which ranges from building Australia's largest event company centered around fun to acquiring a physical pet collar business and growing it online. He's currently freelancing as a growth strategist, investing in several e-commerce projects, and building his own picnic rug e-commerce store.Let's move on to discuss the three things that have helped him find success in all these different ventures.How To Grow Your Business Without Returning CustomersCLV (Customer Lifetime Value) and returning customers are pivotal in growing a sustainable marketing plan for your e-commerce brand. It's what ensures that your brand can survive and scale without solely depending on ad spends. But, what do you do if your product's lifecycle is too long to have returning customers?Adam faced this problem with his pet collar business, where his products often outlived the pets themselves! However, he discovered a great alternative to returning customers: referrals!If you're selling a product that doesn't have the scope of generating returning customers, focus your energy on converting your existing customers into brand advocates! When you provide an excellent customer experience, your customers are inclined to talk about your brand, which leads to organic word of mouth.Both returning customers and brand advocates have one thing in common; they need to be happy customers first! Customers will only trust your brand enough to keep purchasing or advocating for you if they are satisfied. So, focus on your customer journey, engagement, and referral programs to create a strong base of brand advocates.You know your brand is on the right path when your customers are willing to sell your product for you!How To Improve Your Customer ExperienceThe one thing that can help every business become a brand is a genuinely strong network of brand advocates, which only comes when a business can provide a good customer experience.Between new technology, changing customer preferences, emerging trends, and competition, businesses have to constantly work on redefining their customer journey and experience to ensure that their customers are satisfied.Adam strongly advises every business owner to conduct a self-audit of their brand to help them consistently improve. He diligently orders through his own business to experience everything from the user experience on the website, to entering the flows, to getting the delivery. This activity helps him discover what needs to be tweaked. After one such audit, Adam realized that their shipping partner provided a terrible delivery experience; this pushed him to find a more reliable shipping service and helped him improve his customer journey.Conducting a self-audit even once every quarter can help business owners understand

#115 Rakefet: Outsource Your Marketing With MaypleThis podcast is about marketing, but it isn’t about marketing techniques, SEO, paid ads, or any of that other technical stuff. Instead, it’s about how you can and should outsource your marketing.Today, we’ve got Rakefet, the CMO of Mayple, to talk to us about the easiest way to grow your business.Mayple is a vetted professional marketplace that connects marketing experts with businesses looking to build their brands.Tune in to this episode to hear our podcast host and CEO, Daniel Budai and Rakefet discuss:✅ Rakefet’s Journey With Marketing✅ How To Hire The Right Talent✅ Mayple Vs. Other Gig MarketplacesSo let’s jump right in!Rakefet’s Journey With MarketingRakefet has always been in the field of marketing. In fact, prior to Mayple, she worked as a marketing consultant for over eight years. She’s assisted over 100+ CEOs, CMOs, and business managers with their business and marketing strategies. In addition, she’s worked with various consulting firms and helped both B2B and B2C businesses grow with her strategies.However, Rakefet soon realized that building a strategy is only half the job. It’s usually the execution phase that companies struggle with. She came across Mayple and realized that this business could help bridge that gap between planning and executing. Three and a half years ago, Rakefet took a leap and joined Mayple; the rest is simply history.Mayple began with the mission of solving all the trust issues that come with working in the marketing industry. But, they soon realized that this was a very broad statement to follow. So, they focused on one of the most common pain points: building a brand’s strategy.Mayple connects businesses with marketing experts that build brand strategies and facilitates the team a business would require to execute this to achieve their desired result. They do all the groundwork so that businesses are able to find the perfect expert with the help of a simple click.How To Hire The Right TalentMarketing is a complex field. There are a dozen different platforms, all kinds of data, and a million other things to do, which is why it’s never a one-person job. Businesses that want to grow need to hire a team and get an extra set of hands to help them create and execute strategies flawlessly and, most importantly, to keep up with ever-changing algorithms and trends.As a business owner, your execution is based entirely on the people you work with, and finding the right kind of people isn’t the easiest of jobs. The industry is fragmented; with everyone claiming to be the best freelancer, the best agency, or the perfect candidate out of the lot, it becomes difficult to find the right fit. Especially because there’s nothing stopping people from calling themselves an expert. And unfortunately, this leads to many businesses seeing bad results and losing trust in the marketing field.Conversely, the vetting process isn’t easy on candidates either. Around 40% of anyone’s time when you’re a freelancer or run an agency goes into managing the account and maintaining your business rather than doing their professional work. So, there are a lot of pains for the marketer side as well.Vetting is the most critical process of hiring or finding work. Both professionals and businesses should weigh and assess their opportunities before starting any new project. A robust vetting process can help reduce the number of negative experiences and also streamline work processes. However, vetting can take time and cost businesses a lot of money. Mayple vets the experts so that businesses can get straight to work.Mayple Vs. Other Gig MarketplacesThere are plenty of websites that connect businesses with freelancers and experts to help get the job done. What’s so special about Mayple, and how is it different from platforms like Upwork or Fiverr?Platforms like LinkedIn, Upwork, and Fiverr connect businesses with freelancers or agencies, but the onus of vetting their work still lies on the business. Mayple isn’t an open platform. They have a network of only 600 expert professionals. This is because they’ve taken the time and energy to interview, assess, and personally handpick the best of the best in marketing.Mayple not only offers a curated list of highly trusted and qualified professionals, but also guarantees satisfaction by acting as an intermediary between a business and the professional. Their alliance guarantees that businesses benefit from the strategies that professionals create. Mayple also has a vast network of experts from different fields of marketing, providing businesses with an agency-like roster to horizontally expand their marketing efforts in a seamless fashion.Interested in learning more about Mayple? Click here to check out their website.You can also follow Rakefet on LinkedIn by clicking here.Thanks for tuning in to this episode of The Ecom Show!We come out with new episodes every Thursday.Follow Daniel Budai:Daniel's LinkedInDaniel's Facebook

#114 Joey Coleman: Build Lifetime Customer Loyalty In 100 DaysWe're back, and we're in conversation with Joey Coleman, the famous author of the bestselling novel "Never Lose A Customer Again."Behind every successful brand, there's an army of loyal customers, and Joey Coleman is an expert when it comes to turning any sale into lifelong loyalty. Joey has been helping businesses build customer loyalty for almost 20 years now. He's a bestselling writer, teacher, advisor, and incredible speaker.Tune in to this episode of The Ecom Show to hear Daniel Budai and Joey talk about:✔️ Joey Coleman's Eclectic Career Path✔️ The 8 Phases of A Customer Journey✔️How to Analyze Customer FeedbackJoey Coleman's Eclectic Career PathJoey had a unique career path. He studied international and national security law in college and went on to serve the nation by working in the United States Secret Service. He also worked in the Central Intelligence Agency and eventually made his way up to serving as counsel to the US president himself.From working as a salesperson to a criminal defense lawyer to teaching in a postgraduate class and eventually starting his own ad agency, Joey's worn several career hats over the years. But what's interesting is that he found a common thread that connected the experiences he gathered from all his jobs over the years. And the thread that connects all of them is, in each of those positions, the way you advanced or were rewarded was by having a keen understanding of the human condition. Why do humans do the things they do? What can we do to convince them or persuade them or encourage them to do the things we'd like them to do? And so as all of those experiences and kind of different career paths meld that together.Joey found himself really focusing on human psychology as it related in a business context to customers. He applied this to his own ad agency and began researching how he could help his clients retain the customers he worked so hard to acquire for them.This search led him on a decade-long journey in uncovering why customers leave and what can be done to convince them to stay. This search has formed the foundations for his book, business consulting, and speeches over the years, and he's now a well-renowned customer retention expert.The 8 Phases of A Customer JourneyIn Joey's bestselling book, "Never Lose A Customer Again," he talks about the 8 phases of a customer journey. These phases show businesses how they can convert any customer into a lifetime buyer. Here's a quick run-through of these phases and how they relate back to e-commerce:1. Assess: This is when a prospect is assessing whether or not they want to become a customer. In common parlance, we think of this as marketing and sales. They're looking at your website and your marketing materials; they're in some sales conversations with you. They're in the decision-making process to figure out if they want to become a customer.What do e-commerce businesses need to look out for in this phase?E-commerce businesses need to ensure that their website checks all the boxes a customer would look for. Have ample reviews, product information, a variety of photos, links to social media, and helpful resources to make your customer feel comfortable with your website.2. Admit: This is when a prospect admits that they have a problem or a need that they think you can help them solve. They sign on the dotted line, and they hand over their hard-earned cash. This is day one of the first 100 days process.What do e-commerce businesses need to look out for in this phase?This is where customers are on your checkout page. E-commerce businesses need to focus on providing an easy checkout process. This means giving customers a choice to sign up through social media, providing guest checkout, and making sure there are enough payment options available.3. Affirm: In common parlance, we call this buyer's remorse, where they begin to doubt the decision that they just made to work with you. Now in most businesses, we're celebrating because we got a new client, we're really happy. Meanwhile, at the client's office or at the customer's home, they're saying, Ooh, did I make the right purchase? I was looking at a couple of options. And I chose this one. But what if it's not right? Well, I'd be able to get my money back when I get in trouble. How will I do this? And that difference in our emotional high in the customer's emotional low or uncertainty. If we don't address that, we're in real trouble.What do e-commerce businesses need to look out for in this phase?This phase involves keeping customers in the loop! It involves sending out order confirmations and shipping updates.4. Activate: This is the first real moment of truth when they receive the product. We want to energize the relationship. We want to let them know that doing business with us is going to be unlike any business experience they've ever had.What do e-commerce businesses need to look out for in this phase?In thi

#113 John Burgess: Start Dropshipping With $0Everyone thinks it takes a LOT to start your own eCommerce business. And it does take a lot, a lot of effort, creativity, patience, and perseverance! But thanks to dropshipping and businesses like Shine On, what it doesn't take is a lot of money to get started!John Burgess, the head of global accounts at Shine On, joins our podcast host and CEO, Daniel Budai, in an interesting conversation about starting your eCommerce journey through dropshipping.Shine On is a dropshipping store that specializes in producing personalized viral accessories. They empower new businesses across the globe with their easy-to-sell platform that allows individuals to start selling with zero upfront payments.Tune in to this episode to learn more about:✔️ John's Background With Dropshipping.✔️ How Shine On Empowers Businesses✔️ Scaling A Dropshipping Business✔️ Expanding Your E-Commerce Store With Dropshipping.John's Background With DropshippingJohn Burgess heads the global accounts team at Shine, a leading dropshipping business that enables thousands of sellers across the globe with their personalized viral line of products and easy-to-use platform.But his journey didn't start there! In fact, his story begins in early 2006. Right out of college, and having learned textile design and merchandising, John decided to take a leap and pursue his interest in the internet to see how he could make a career out of it. John combined his knowledge of merchandising with his self-taught skills of C plus to start his own consulting/print shop business.John basically helped businesses build their own e-commerce stores using the platform BigCartel, and also doubled up his services by providing them with in-house print-on-demand service to create graphic tee shirts.Unfortunately, due to the market crash, John was forced to sell his business. He then got into digital marketing and learned the ropes of paid advertising, social media marketing, and building e-commerce stores and apps using platforms like Magento. This experience gave John the exposure to working with brands of different sizes, which helped fine-tune his knowledge of the eCommerce industry.John eventually got an offer to join Shine On and decided to jump ship after seeing the potential in dropshipping. When John joined Shine On, they were fairly new and operating with a small team of only five employees. They've now grown and have a team of over 130 employees, with factories in both the USA and Europe.How Shine On Empowers BusinessesShine On is a dropshipping platform that removes the biggest barrier to entering e-commerce: dealing with products! Sellers can simply create an account, connect it to their own website, or sell using the Shine On the marketplace and start selling in under thirty minutes.The idea behind Shine On is that there are zero upfront costs. With Shine On, you can start taking orders and pay only once it's time to fulfill them. Basically, Shine On takes care of the manufacturing and supply chain so that you can focus on brand building and selling.Shine On attracts two kinds of customers. The first are new customers that need help starting from scratch. The second is existing eCommerce businesses that want to expand their product line or sales revenue. Since Shine On offers personalized accessories, brands can customize items based on their niche and still cater to a whole new audience with virtually no upfront costs for testing a new market.Shine On has over 10,000 active sellers in the US market alone, and they've also expanded with a new factory in Europe. Shine On caters to sellers across the globe and has helped generate over $152,500,914 worth of products to date.Scaling A Dropshipping BusinessThere are a lot of people that say that dropshipping is a dead end. However, the truth is far from it! Dropshipping is simply a choice of how you choose to handle your logistics as a business. How well your e-commerce store does still lies in your hand and on how well you treat your customers.Dropshipping is a very viable and profitable business model for those that focus on brand building. A big part of this involves picking the right kind of suppliers/platforms to help you dropship. You need to move away from Chinese suppliers like Alibaba and find localized platforms that offer reliable and timely fulfillment and quality of products.Another important thing is to establish your own USP through your service by doing all the things that a brand does to be successful. This involves building lifetime value and brand loyalty.Advertising platforms like Google, Tik-Tok, and Facebook all have advanced algorithms that see how legitimate your business is, which is why it's crucial for dropshippers to focus on brand building.Another good way of scaling your dropshipping business is through a horizontal approach. You've got the products and the content ready. Research how local markets in different countries operate and expand your reach

#112 Boyuan Zhao: E-Commerce Agency CEOs Share Their Best TipsWelcome back to The Ecom Show! Today's discussion is special for anyone with their own e-commerce store because we've got the founder of not one but two e-commerce agencies to talk about everything Ecom!Our guest for today is Boyuan Zhao. He is the founder of the e-commerce email marketing agency PLTHORA. Apart from this, he also has his own Youtube channel where he shares tutorials on how to master Klaviyo, and he's got professional investments in cryptocurrency as well.In this episode, Boyuan Zhao and Daniel Budai, podcast host and CEO of Budai Media, will be discussing everything that goes into growing an e-commerce brand.Tune in to hear more about:✔️The Key To Designing A Viral Product✔️Be A Content First E-Commerce Brand.✔️ Boyuan's Advice For E-Commerce Entrepreneurs.The Key To Designing A Viral ProductThis one's important for anyone that's looking to enter the e-commerce space or to even expand their product line. There are two things that can make any product go viral. The first is coming up with something quirky. Take the brand Oodie for instance. Oodie is an apparel brand that creates oversized hoodies that double up as blankets. This Australian apparel brand has built a nine-figure business by creating a unique and quirky product that stands out. In fact, one of our previous guests, Jason Williamson, runs an SMS marketing agency that handles Oodie's SMS flows, and he shed more light on this brand in episode 105.The second is to create hyper utility. Products that can find a unique solution to a very specific problem have the potential to go viral. The Shark Tank legacy brand, Scrub Daddy, is a perfect example of this. There is a sponge that helps clean out every corner of a dish. Similarly, any product that solves a specific problem has viral potential because those types of products are great for ads. You can create simple direct videos that drive customers to purchase your product.If you're looking to enter the e-commerce space with a new product, start by finding a problem and find a unique way to create a solution for it. A lot of people do it the other way round. They create their product and look for a USP after. However, the best way to beat market saturation is by creating a product that can easily stand out.Be A Content First E-Commerce BrandWith the explosion of social media, everyone's a content creator! It's no longer enough to just have a good website. In order to create a successful brand, you need to have a great social media presence. This includes being omnipresent on channels like Tik-Tok, Instagram, Facebook, or even Youtube; based on what you sell. Social media platforms help you build a community that can drive your sales even if your website isn't great!For example, there's this company called Ancestral Supplements. This company's founder markets himself as the Liver King. Their products sell extremely well despite having a simple website, high prices, and a high shipping fee. This is because they have great marketing in place. Being a content-first brand helps in building social capital in the form of trust. The more your customers trust you, the more they're willing to shop from you, despite your brand's shortcomings.Boyuan's Advice For E-Commerce EntrepreneursE-commerce agencies interact with entrepreneurs from every walk of life and solve problems by coming up with innovative strategies on the regular. We asked Boyuan to share some of his biggest learnings and takeaways from his experience in the industry. Here's what he had to say:What has been your biggest learning from running a business?"My biggest learning has been understanding the value of time. People are constantly advertising how they achieved success in very quick timeframes; this can mess with your perception of how well you're doing something. But it's important to understand that things just take some time, especially if you're pursuing more high-leverage activities.For example, when I first started out, I was doing cold email outreach. So, it'd be about a two-week delay between me putting in the effort and seeing the return. But then, when I started pivoting towards content, it was actually like a three to a six-month time period before I got my first big client. But the thing is, cold outreach is linear in the sense that you just send the email, and that's it. And it's forgotten about, whereas content is more or less evergreen, so it's higher leverage. So, it took me a while to understand that exponential growth can take time to build."Hiring is extremely crucial for agencies because, in an agency, you're selling a service. And the quality of your service depends on the people in your team. Could you walk us through your hiring process?"I'm pretty proud of my team at the moment; I'm working with some really great people. I usually hire from within my own community. I get several inquiries about job openings from my YouTube follower base. The se

#111 Antoine Gagné: Media Buying Secrets To Achieve Hyper-Growth!TGIT! Thank god it’s Thursday because that means it’s time for another new episode of The Ecom Show!In this episode, Antoine Gagné, the founder and CEO of J7 Media and Pure Commerce, joins our podcast host and CEO, Daniel Budai, in an interesting conversation about media buying. J7 Media is a Facebook advertising agency that turns companies’ growth into hyper-growth.This episode of The Ecom Show deep dives into:✔ Antoine’s Experience With Media Buying.✔ Is Facebook Still Relevant For Media Buying?✔ How To Take Your E-Commerce Business International.✔ Antoine’s Advice For E-Commerce Entrepreneurs.Antoine’s Experience With Media BuyingAntoine started J7 Media almost ten years ago. They started as an agency that helped businesses in the hospitality industry manage their organic Facebook and Instagram marketing. The change in the Facebook algorithm in 2017 is what pushed Antoine to shift his agency’s focus on media buying.Since then, they’ve positioned themselves to take over media buying and focused on how to scale e-commerce agencies from growth to hyper-growth. Currently, J7 Media manages over $30 million a year in Facebook advertising for e-commerce brands and are experts when it comes to creating ad funnels for direct-to-consumer companies.J7 Media may have started from Facebook advertising, but they’ve grown immensely ever since. They expanded into Google Ads and other media buying avenues by acquiring a knowledgeable Google Ads agency.Antoine has also acquired several e-commerce brands, which has added to his understanding of what e-commerce clients want, as he is now on both ends of the spectrum. Antoine recently launched his second agency, Pure Commerce. Pure Commerce is a specialized e-commerce marketing agency that covers all the marketing needs an e-commerce brand would have.Is Facebook Still Relevant For Media Buying?The world of e-commerce keeps changing, and there are a ton of different avenues that business owners can choose to spend their money on. With the ever-changing Facebook algorithm, it can get hard for e-commerce businesses to nail down a strategy that works for their brand. And with other more economical options like Tik Tok Ads, a lot of e-commerce businesses have been wondering if Facebook is still a relevant medium for running ads?The answer is yes. Facebook is still relevant even despite hurdles like their stock going down, the iOS 14 changes, and the emergence of newer ad spaces. Because despite all these factors, Facebook is still a very powerful tool.The key to nailing your Facebook marketing is to keep testing. Facebook keeps changing its algorithm, which is why as an e-commerce business, it’s important that you keep testing different campaigns and adjust your plan based on the results. You should also diversify your media spending. Focus on driving business through email marketing, SMS campaigns, TikTok ads, and Facebook. Don’t just rely on one medium to drive your sales! Double down on different avenues to increase your customer’s lifetime value, and use media buying to engage with your customers and build a community.How To Take Your E-Commerce Business InternationalThere are two key things that every business should keep in mind before taking their store international. The first is understanding trends and culture. It’s easier to expand to countries that have similar trends and cultures. For instance, it’s easy to run ad campaigns in England if you’re already selling in US markets. This is because both countries have native English speakers, and trends hit the US markets first.The second is to align your expectations. There are several barriers to entry like language, price sensitivity, understanding of the local culture, and more that will affect the success of your campaigns in newer markets. Give your business the time to learn and adjust to newer campaigns. Also, research which markets would be easier for you to expand into. For example, it’s much easier for American brands to enter any other global market, this is because their market is way ahead of the curve. On the other hand, it’s far more difficult for international brands to enter the US market because of how crowded their existing market is.So if you’re looking to expand your business globally, ensure that you do your research about different markets, test and adjust your ad campaigns, and align your expectations since expanding into any new space requires persistence and patience.Antoine’s Advice For eCommerce EntrepreneursWe asked Antoine about what his biggest challenge as an entrepreneur has been, and if he could only share one piece of advice for e-commerce business owners, what would it be? Here’s what he had to share:What was your biggest challenge?“My biggest challenge has been to actually learn what it means to be in business, which I think a lot of people don’t understand. A lot of people think it’s cool to be an entrepreneur. Like, it’s

#110 Alvin From Relab Studios: Designing The Perfect WebsiteToday's episode of The Ecom Show is special because it's the first time we'll be diving into the intricacies of product design.We have Alvin Hermanto from Relab Studios here with us today to talk about everything that goes into designing the perfect e-commerce store. Relab Studios is a specialized design agency that helps e-commerce businesses design products like websites and applications by combining design thinking with UI/UX capabilities.Daniel and Alvin met through YouTube as they're both YouTube entrepreneurs that share expert tips and strategies specific to their field. Daniel talks about his experience of running Budai Media, an e-commerce retention marketing agency, on his Youtube channel; he also shares tips and strategies to help other businesses scale. Similarly, Alvin Hermanto also has an active Youtube channel, where he teaches businesses about design thinking and product design.Tune in to this episode to find out more about:✔ How Relab Studios Began✔ The 6 Stages of Designing A Website✔ Design Tips From AlvinHow Relab Studios BeganRelab Studios is Alvin Hermanto's first business. It's a design consultancy firm that provides digital product design and solves design problems for e-commerce clients. They build and work with websites, applications, and other portals.Growing up in Indonesia, Alvin had always been interested in design. Unsure about what to specialize in, he went to Malaysia and studied graphic designing since it was a broader field of study. His university gave him the opportunity to complete his course in Australia, which is where he earned his degree in graphic designing with honors.Alvin began offering his services as a graphic designer almost 15 years ago. He worked with several brands and transitioned to becoming a digital designer during the time of the e-commerce boom.It's been over nine years since Alvin started his own UI/UX design consultancy firm Relab Studios. They focus on an intersection between business and UX design or user experience design. Alvin's firm designs software websites and applications; they also share their expertise and techniques on their growing Youtube channel.The 6 Stages of Designing A WebsiteAlvin has devised a six-stage design process to create the perfect website for his clients. These stages blend design thinking and agile design methodologies to create a website that truly represents their client's brand. The idea is to pay equal attention to strategy and user empathy to create a user-friendly experience through a collaborative process. Here are the six stages to perfecting your design:Understanding: Stage one is understanding the user, which is the end-user itself. But you're also trying to understand the business. And the way you would do this is by conducting interviews with different stakeholders of the business in the room. You do this to understand the vision of the business, future plans, needs, and expectations from the product. This is the most crucial step, as it forms a base for the rest of your decisions.Defining: You've understood the problem; now it's time to sit and define the goal of the product. This is done by outlining the premise to create a user strategy template, or a set of design principles, success metrics, the value proposition canvas, and solutions that will define all the needs established in the understanding phase.Ideating: This is where you start sketching solutions and start putting down ideas on what you want your product to look like. This stage is the most collaborative as it involves both the clients and the design team sitting together to put down ideas that they'd like to see in the product. It's basically a visual representation of all the thoughts and ideas that will frame the website.Deciding: The ideation phase involves jotting down all the ideas and thoughts that could go into the product. Stage four is where you narrow your focus down and shortlist the solutions you like the most. This stage involves voting on ideas and finding a winning solution. By the end of this stage, you usually have a blueprint of what your website would look like with your website flow and user journey outlined.Prototyping: This is the stage where you create your storyboard by sketching out what your product would look like on different screens. This can be done in a variety of ways. If you're comfortable with Adobe, you can create your entire prototype using tools like Figma or Adobe XD. If you're not a designer, you could use tools like Canva or even Powerpoint to illustrate what each page or part of your website would look like. This step helps you see what your end product will look like, and the perks of using Figma or Adobe XD is that your UI can directly be given to the UX designer to implement.Validating: The last stage is to conduct a round of objective user testing to weed out any kinks in your design. This step allows you to see how smoothly your user jou

#109 Shep Hyken: Building A Memorable Customer ExperienceWe’ve all heard that the customer is king, but today let’s hear from the king of customer experience himself! We’re honored to welcome Shep Hyken as a guest on this episode of The Ecom Show.With over 39 years of industry experience and over eight bestselling books under his belt, Shep Hyken is a master at building a memorable customer experience, and today he’s going to let us in on some of his bestselling secrets. Make sure to check out hyken.com to know more about him and get access to bonus research materials to enhance your knowledge of customer experience.This show is sponsored by Budai media , which is a fully remote eCommerce retention marketing agency. We, at Budai Media, have worked with over 100+ eCommerce clients and generated $30M+ additional store revenue in the last 3 years.In this episode, Shep Hyken and Daniel Budai, our podcast host and CEO, will talk about:✔️ Shep’s Journey With Customer Experience.✔️ How To Win Your Customer’s Confidence.✔️ Finding Balance With Customer Automation.✔️ 6 Steps To Master Customer Experience.Shep’s Journey With Customer ExperienceShep’s story starts just like Harry Potter’s, with a little bit of magic. Young Shep ventured into the world of business as a magician back when he was just 12 years old. He would book gigs performing magic for kids at birthday parties, and that’s where he got his first lesson in customer service. His parents taught him all the basics like sending out thank you notes, following up for feedback and finding out areas of improvement, and basically just everything related to the art of talking to people.This art was finessed by a series of odd jobs that he’d picked up during his years in college.From nightclubs to corporate events, Shep had done it all. However, his true passion for building a career in the world of customer experience was fuelled by his time working in a gas station."I was working in a gas station, and it was a very cold, cold day, and I pumped a woman’s gasoline for her. And a very elderly woman, probably in her 80s, I didn’t want her to get out of the car and get cold. And my manager actually yelled at me for helping her. I learned two things that day that has stuck with me ever since. Number one, people like me are all over the place; we want to take care of people. So when we’re talking to our clients about customer service, and hiring people for the right experience in the right culture, just know that you need to find someone who likes taking care of people.The second thing I learned was that your experience of how to treat your customers comes from the people training you and the people in charge. But just because someone is in a high position doesn’t mean they know how to treat customers right. You need to hire based on qualities that complement the role you’re trying to fill."Shep started out working in customer service and soon started using the term customer experience to define his role because he was told that it’s just a fancier term for customer service. But, he soon realized that customer experience goes far beyond customer service; it includes every touchpoint of a customer’s journey that affects their perception of the brand.With over 39 years of experience, Shep is now a well-known keynote speaker and the bestselling author of several valuable books that talk about customer experience.How To Win Your Customer’s ConfidenceIn e-commerce solutions, you have to recognize that you won’t always have the opportunity to interact and create a relationship with your customers. So, you need to find other ways to make that customer say, they are the ones I want to go back to again and again. Basically, find that one thing that drives your customer to keep returning.And that one thing is confidence! Creating confidence means the customer will refer to you with the word always followed by something ideally positive. You never want your customers to be confident about having a negative experience. Now, I’m confident when I do business with them; I will love what happens. That’s what we’re looking for.And this is what a confident customer would sound like: “You know what, it’s always there when I log on, it’s always easy. They always have what I want. They always answer my questions; they always get back to me quickly.”The key to gaining your customers’ confidence is very simple. Focus on how you can create positive experiences for them throughout their customer journey. As long as the customer recognizes that whenever they reach out or interact, they’re always going to have a positive experience, they’ll keep coming back.You can create this positive experience by leveraging automation tools, creating self-service resource libraries, having a quick response team in place, and providing a seamless customer journey from pre to post-sales.Finding Balance With Customer AutomationAutomation is a great tool that can enhance customer experience if implemented in the r

#108 Jure Knehtl: Growth Hacks for Ecommerce BusinessesOne episode was nearly not enough to share all the golden growth nuggets that Jure Knehtl offers, which is why we’re so excited to have him back on The Ecom Show. Jure Knehtl is an expert in growth hacking, and he’s the founder of the successful growth marketing agency, WeScale.In episode 49 of The Ecom Show, he walked us through some of the key pointers of starting and scaling an e-commerce business. Today, we’re going to dive deeper into strategies to pivot and quickly scale your business in a fast-paced world.This show is sponsored by Budai Media. Budai Media is a fully remote eCommerce retention marketing agency. In the last three years, Budai Media has worked with over 100+ eCommerce clients and generated $30M+ in additional store revenue. If you’re interested in knowing more, check out our website, or feel free to directly contact our founder and podcast host, Daniel Budai.Join us on the latest episode of The Ecom Show to hear more about:✔️ Navigating Your Business Through iOS Changes.✔️ How To Take Your E-Commerce Business Global.✔️ The Formula To Building A Multi-Million Dollar Business.Navigating Your Business Through iOS ChangesThe latest iOS privacy changes hit eCommerce stores around the world like an earthquake—shaking the ground right from beneath them. It’s changed the way businesses advertise; and forced everyone to regroup and find more creative ways to adapt.Jure works with multiple e-commerce brands from across Europe, and it’s interesting to note his observations on how different brands were affected to different degrees based on their location, audience demographic, and marketing channels.This update hit the US markets much sooner than it started affecting European markets, but European countries started seeing a downfall between May and July. You could notice a bigger data loss in countries like Germany and France, where the majority of the population is young and in between 25-34, as compared to countries like the Czech Republic, where the majority of the population uses android phones.These new privacy regulations were causing huge data loss and majorly affected the way that applications were reporting their analytics. Jure and his team used their expertise in CRO to pivot out of this situation by changing the way they analyze data. They used a three-prong strategy where they’d take data from the Shopify dashboard and the attribution platform that can actually stack all the marketing platforms together. And in some cases, use apps like Iris to have a more visual and real-time view of the performance. The focus shifted away from numbers and more towards understanding consumer behavior.DIversification of digital marketing efforts is another tactical strategy that’s helped businesses perform better in these testing times. Utilizing a mix of email, SMS, social media, influencer marketing, and paid advertising diversifies your risk to changes. It also helps in community and brand building alongside paid marketing.How To Take Your eCommerce Business GlobalDavid Ogilvy, also known as the father of advertising, has famously spoken about the power of localization, a philosophy that Jure strongly believes in. The idea is that you need local employees to connect with local communities and customers. Each country you expand to has its own cultures, traditions, and ways of living. You need local people to bring in their local expertise on customer experience and consumer behavior to successfully operate in a foreign country.Going global also works well when you take your time to understand each market. It’s easier to expand to countries with similar mannerisms; for instance, when you look at English-speaking countries or countries that are neighboring each other and have some similarities in culture.The key to taking your business global comes down to finding the right people to help you navigate the new territory, taking time to understand the new culture, and incorporating strategies that are specific to the new countries you’re expanding to. For instance, Tik Tok is huge in the USA, but it’s banned in India and many other Asian countries.The Formula To Building A Multi-Million Dollar BusinessJure and his team helped a brand scale their e-commerce business to generate over 42 million euros annually in the span of two years. This isn’t the first multi-million brand he’s helped build. Prior to this, he’s helped scale several other brands to a multi-million dollar empire. Here’s the winning formula he attributes this success to:You need to have an amazing product where there’s a high potential for the return customer rate. Businesses that can generate a return rate of between 30-40% experience a great amount of success. In order to do this, you need to invest a lot of time in actually understanding your customers. Talk to them and understand why they actually want to buy your products, their dislikes, and hopes from your future collections.The

#107 Steven Van Belleghem: Best Customer Experience Strategies For E-CommerceWe’re delighted to welcome Steven Van Belleghem, bestselling author, YouTuber, and co-founder of nexxworks, to this episode of The Ecom Show.Steven is the author of the bestselling book, The Conversation Manager. He also has a very helpful YouTube channel where he speaks about customer experience strategies. Steven has successfully founded several ventures like Snack Bites and Nexxworks. In recent years, his primary focus has been towards educating entrepreneurs about customer experience through webinars and YouTube.In this episode Steven and Daniel Budai, our podcast host and CEO, will discuss:✔ Steven’s Youtube Journey.✔ Building An Emotional Customer Experience.✔ Customer Experience Trends To Watch Out For.✔ Why Businesses Need To Deep Dive Into Data.Steven’s Youtube JourneySteven started his Youtube channel back in 2010, back then it was more to promote his newly launched book, The Conversation Manager. He had created an animated infographic video, a style which was really trending back in 2010, and he received over 50,000 views on his first videos.Post this, he took a hiatus up until 2014 and realized that he needed consistency to grow. Steven created an entire series of value based videos to help businesses better their customer experience. However, these videos didn’t receive much traction. Instead of getting demotivated, Steven decided to push harder, and he now has a strong and growing community of over 20,000 subscribers.“It's slow. The hardest thing is the first 1000 subscribers, and then you're starting to have a community you start to feel it. It took me I think two or three years before it really took off. Now, I have a pretty active group of people who watch my content, and I enjoy it myself. I make a few videos each month.”So, the key learning for anyone looking to start a career in YouTube is to be persistent and patient through the entire journey. It takes time, but eventually it’s worth the payoff.Building An Emotional Customer ExperienceCustomer experience has changed a lot over the past few years. The past 10 years were really about making things very convenient. But after the big digital jump forward from COVID, convenience has become a commodity. It’s no longer a differentiator. We live in a world where there's almost zero tolerance for digital inconvenience, people are not willing to waste their precious time on the digital incompetence of an organization. So, it's no longer a positive differentiator, it's a negative differentiator.Being very convenient is very cool, but it’s only creating a transactional relationship. So, the goal to differentiate yourself in the next couple of years will indeed be to make it more emotional and there are two main ways to create a more emotional bond with your customers:The first one is what Steven calls, a partner in life strategy, where you try to understand the human behind the customer. This involves learning more about the interests, ambitions, and tastes of your customers. The better you understand that from each of your individual customers, the more value you can add to their life. So to become more emotional, it's not about optimizing the customer journey, it's about creating positive change in the life journey of people.The second one is about society. If you look to the world today, there are a lot of challenges on our plate, we have a fight against racism and discrimination, we have more geopolitical tension than we had in the last seven years, we have a climate crisis that is becoming more and more urgent, and we're still in the biggest healthcare crisis of our generation. And more and more customers expect organizations to make a difference to become part of the solution. Having a strong brand philosophy that works towards making the society a better place is a great way to emotionally connect with your customers. Everyone loves to support a brand that’s genuinely trying to do good for people and the world around them. This applies to businesses at all levels! If you're a small local company, try not to change the world, try to change your world, look at things in your own local community, where there's a challenge, where there's a problem, and see how you can contribute towards solving it. And if you do so, people will recognize that, and you will build a stronger emotional relationship.Customer Experience Trends To Watch Out ForThere are basically two key evolutions that will play a big role in transforming customer experience: The first one is everything related to technology. Technology is evolving, and because of that the expectations of customers are evolving. The second dimension is the human part. As technology evolves, what does that mean for human customer service, human customer experience?There are three technology trends that can heavily change the way businesses and customers react. The first is artificial intelligence. AI will help us to automate

#106 Hannah Gardner: Etsy Is Like E-Commerce For BeginnersWelcome back to The Ecom Show! Let’s talk about Shopif, no wait! Today, we’re going to focus on the niche marketplace Etsy for a change!Etsy is a global marketplace for e-commerce businesses focused on handmade or vintage items and craft supplies. In addition, it’s a great platform for individuals looking to start selling online or even expand their online presence by having an omnichannel presence.In today’s episode, YouTuber and entrepreneur Hannah Gardner and our podcast host and CEO, Daniel Budai will deep dive into the world of Etsy and E-Commerce. Hannah has built a successful seven-figure eCommerce business using Etsy and Shopify. She also has a YouTube channel where she shares her journey and tips to run an Etsy business.Tune in to find out more about:✔️ Hannah’s E-Commerce Journey.✔️Benefits Of Having An Etsy Store.✔️Talking About Your Business On Social Media.Hannah’s E-Commerce JourneyHannah’s first real job in the digital marketing space was for an electric surfboard start-up. She worked with a small team of three, including herself, and spearheaded the marketing campaigns for this company. She picked up various skills like media buying, how to create marketing funnels, website optimization, and much more.Encouraged and intrigued by e-commerce, she then started working on her own e-commerce ideas. After several failed experiences in e-commerce, she decided to gain some agency experience. After working with several e-commerce brands, Hannah was confident about her skills and started her own swimwear line from scratch.She started small by sewing her own swimwear pieces but soon expanded into having an entire production line for her collections. Her swimwear Etsy store was successful and thriving. However, she realized that the swimwear business had a very intensive production process which would eat up her profits when she tried to scale. She then steered away from swimwear and aligned her focus with the fashion accessories niche. Currently, Hannah runs a successful seven-figure Etsy and Shopify store.Benefits Of Having An Etsy Store“Your cheapest and fastest line of traffic is from third-party platforms.” If you have a product that fits in the world of Etsy, which means that you’re either making it yourself and designing it, or designing it and then getting it made by somebody else, or if you’re selling a digital product or print on demand product, you need to be selling on Etsy!People coming on your website are either directly searching for you or your product, or have found you through your ads. On the other hand, these people visit platforms like Etsy, eBay, or even Amazon to search for products in general. By having a store presence on Etsy, you increase your chances of getting discovered by newer customers.Unlike Amazon or Shopify, Etsy is an incredibly easy and straightforward platform to get started with. It’s perfect for people who are just looking to get their feet wet in the world of E-Commerce. Etsy also gives you some wiggle room in building your customer base. The platform has its own customer base that allows you to advertise your products with a budget as low as $10 per week. You can also set up email automations within Etsy to engage with your Etsy customers.Etsy is a great place for eCommerce businesses looking to attract niche customers. Their seller community offers sellers an open forum to interact and collaborate with other Etsy sellers, and overall it’s a simple platform to get started with. However, Etsy is not a scalable marketplace. If you’re looking to build a giant global eCommerce store, you need to be looking at bigger marketplaces like Amazon and Shopify.Talking About Your Business On Social MediaHannah isn’t just an entrepreneur, she’s also a popular YouTuber who documents her entire entrepreneurial journey on this video streaming platform. Her channel covers all her wins and losses, including the story about how she had to start from scratch after getting her YouTube channel banned, and deep dives into real-life strategies that have helped her scale her Shopify and Etsy stores.Hannah isn’t using YouTube as a medium to promote her brand. In fact, she doesn’t even reveal her brand name on her channel. This is to protect her content from getting stolen. A lot of competitor brands steal content ideas and assets like product images from brands. She’s instead used her entrepreneurial experience to create a personal brand for herself on YouTube.Hannah’s built a growing community of fellow business enthusiasts using YouTube. She’s also got her own TikTok channel called HowToHannah. Seeing the positive response to her value-based YouTube videos, Hannah compiled the best of her learnings and strategies to create an all-inclusive masterclass on Etsy stores. If you’re interested in learning all the ins and outs of Etsy, check out her Masterclass.If you’d like to learn more about getting started with Etsy, get your hands

#105 Jason K Williamson From E2 - SMS Marketing Can Blow Up Your E-Commerce SalesWe’re beyond thrilled to welcome Jason K Williamson, the founder of E2, as our guest for this episode of The Ecom Show.E2 is an email and SMS marketing agency that helps Shopify eCommerce brands scale. They create tailored automations to help boost sales and revenue and help businesses profitably scale.Today’s episode is special since we’ve got two email and SMS marketing experts, Jason and Daniel Budai, our podcast host and CEO, to break down everything e-commerce businesses need to know about SMS marketing.If you’re an eCommerce brand looking to learn more about SMS marketing, tune in to this episode and uncover:✔ Jason’s Background In Digital Marketing.✔ The Crash and Rise Of SMS Marketing.✔ The Trojan Horse Method Of SMS Marketing.✔ How SMS Marketing Can Skyrocket Your Sales.Jason’s Background In Digital MarketingJason’s story starts far from the world of digital marketing. He’d completed his schooling and apprenticeship as an electrician and was just one step away from getting his fully qualified license when he decided to switch gear and start afresh in the world of sales and marketing.Jason had always been interested in lead generation, and he’d been avidly following Russel Brunson, the famous digital marketer, to see how he could apply his learnings to generate more leads as an electrician. Jason poured in all his savings and then some to attend an event where Russel was a speaker. At the event, Jason met several other speakers in the field, and after receiving some advice from one of the speakers, he decided to pursue email marketing.Jason taught himself email marketing and provided his services to a teeth whitening clinic for free; this helped him kickstart his career. Three months after setting up Klaviyo campaigns and experimenting with popups using OptinMonster, Jason was able to generate $60,000 extra revue for his client. Not only did he start getting paid for his services, but he also received several referrals that kickstarted his email marketing agency.One of Jason’s clients, Joshua Tatum, offered him an incredible opportunity to scale his operations, and that’s the point where everything pivoted in his career. Here’s how he describes his journey taking off: “So he says to me, 'Look, you can be an electrician for the rest of your life, or you can come work with me; I’ll give you a couple of months to get your stuff together. And then you can go ahead and do your business.' So I threw all my stuff in the back of a bag and drove like 18 hours to Sydney to stay with a guy I’d only met online to start my business. And literally, whilst I was driving to Sydney, I got about four phone calls and landed three or four new clients. So it was kind of like that massive action, I put everything into plan A, and my plan B was to make plan A work, and it just kind of took off from there.”The Crash and Rise Of SMS MarketingJason had several years of email marketing experience under his belt when the founder of Oodie approached him to take over their SMS marketing. Jason helped the brand set up Postscript, which is the SMS marketing equivalent of Klaviyo, and began running campaigns. Oodie already had a large volume of website visitors, and in the early days, they were easily able to capture both phone numbers and email ids.In just six months, Oodie was able to capture over 100,000 subscribers and generate $500,000 in sales from abandoned cart recoveries each month. However, SMS marketing keeps changing, with new compliances being frequently introduced. It became increasingly difficult to capture leads as compliance became stricter, and Jason suddenly saw a drop from $500,000 a month to just $50,000.New compliances made it compulsory for brands to have the visitors knowingly subscribe to receiving promotional SMS via a separate check inbox; this deliberate extra step is what led to the crash in the growth of SMS marketing. Jason realized they needed a new strategy to pivot out of this situation and fell back on one of the most powerful tools in email marketing - Pop-ups!But there needed to be a careful strategy to execute this because while you want to grow your SMS marketing list, you don’t want it to hurt your email marketing campaigns. And not to forget, phone numbers are far more private than emails. You can’t just walk up to a stranger and ask them for their phone number; chances are they’ll say no! However, people are more open to sharing their email IDs. This is where the Trojan method was born.The Trojan Horse Method of SMS Marketing.“I was going through a drive-thru one day to order a regular meal, and the lady at the cash register asked me if I’d like to upgrade for just $1. I agreed without a second thought because my buyers’ resistance was already so low. I realized that because they had broken through that wall by already getting me to spend, upgrading my order was much easier. And that’s the exact same thing we d

Paul Cunningham From Notch: How To Create A Socially Responsible E-Commerce BrandWelcome back to The Ecom Show! Today, instead of focusing on the world of eCommerce, let’s take a look at the world in general. For example, did you know that globally over 5.7 million children under the age of five are at risk of starvation each year? And this number, like our global population, is only increasing!As humans, it’s our responsibility to make the world we live in a better place. In this episode, we will explore how businesses can do their part to make a difference with our podcast host and founder, Daniel Budai and Paul Cunningham, the CEO of Notch, a socially responsible apparel brand.Notch is a headwear apparel brand specializing in creating hats that don’t interfere with your glasses. Committed to resolving world hunger, they’ve managed to put food on over 600,000 tables through the revenue from their sales.Tune in to hear Paul and our podcast host and CEO Daniel Budai discuss:✔ The story behind Notch.✔ The key to creating a socially conscious brand.✔ Paul’s advice for eCommerce business owners.The Story Behind NotchIf you’re a fan of Shark Tank, you’ve probably noticed that the most successful pitches are by entrepreneurs that identify problems and create a product to solve them. Notch started the same way.Paul has always been an inventor. One fine day, as he sat at home watching a game of golf on his television, he stumbled upon a problem that changed several lives along with his own. The need to prevent his eyesight gave him the foresight to create the perfect hat, one with a notch on the side that allows you to comfortably wear your sunglasses along with your headgear.After researching, Paul and his wife realized that their product was a one-of-a-kind solution to a very common problem. They perfected their design and immediately applied for a utility patent. After five years of hard work, their patent was finally approved! Notch is now a patented eCommerce headwear apparel brand with a wide global reach.Paul and his wife Terra have always believed in giving back more than they receive. Hence, since its inception, Notch has been proudly affiliated with Children’s Hunger Fund, where they contribute to resolving the issue of world hunger with every hat they sell. Let’s explore this more deeply in the next section.The Key to Creating a Socially Conscious BrandEvery human has one thing in common: We all live on the same planet. Sharing this planet also gives all of us a sense of shared responsibility to treat it kindly and do our part to make things better. In the last couple of decades, there’s been an increased awareness of creating socially conscious brands. But, what are socially conscious brands?Socially conscious brands are for-profit organizations that provide products or services to consumers while maintaining a not-for-profit objective that aids the welfare of society. These include brands that promote ethical and slow fashion, greener production practices, and brands that contribute a part of their revenue to NPOs.Giving back to the community is an act of goodwill that will positively impact your customers. However, it shouldn’t be used as a marketing gimmick. Paul and his wife Terra deeply believe in giving back to the community and hence have donated a part of their revenue towards the Children Hunger Fund. Through the course of their business, they’ve been able to sponsor over 600,000+ meals to hungry children across the world. Their purpose has always been to help the children that need these meals the most, and hence their funds go towards sponsoring kids on the brink of starvation.Social welfare is something that should be woven into the culture of a business. While businesses can increase or decrease the amount they choose to contribute towards goodwill, making it a practice from the start is more impactful than waiting for your business to reach a certain level. You can start smaller than you’d like and increase your donations as your brand grows.Social entrepreneurs should also practice transparency. Partnering up with a verified NPO and disclosing your contribution helps your customers know how authentic your cause is. For instance, Notch has partnered up with Children Hunger Fund since they know that this NPO donates most of the proceeds towards the meals themselves. If they contribute $100, they know that $99 will end up towards children’s meals. Sharing this information with their customers not only makes the customers trust Notch more but also incentivizes them to look up more about Children Hunger Fund in general.Paul’s Advice for Ecommerce Business OwnersPaul has always been in sales. He started off as a real estate agent and used his savings from real estate to build his eCommerce business from the ground up. As a successful business owner with ten plus years of eCommerce experience, we thought it’d be interesting to get his take on several common hurdles all eCommerce entrepreneurs f

#103 Adam Brown from Sircle Media: How To Organically Build Your Brand Using Social MediaSocial Media is the most powerful tool that businesses have at their disposal. It enables them with the power to go from being a business to a brand. Social media has erased the divide between consumers and brands. Brands can now have conversations with their customers and create a strong and loyal community of like-minded people that resonate with their business.Today we’ve got Adam Brown, the CEO of Sircle Media, here with Daniel Budai, our podcast host and CEO, to discuss how businesses can use organic social media strategies to build their brand.Sircle Media is a social media agency that specializes in helping CPG and beverage brands dominate their online and in-store sales through organic social media strategies. They focus on content creation, social media management, and community engagement.In this episode, we will discuss:✔ Adam’s Social Media Story.✔ How To Stand Out On Social Media.✔ Social Media Mistakes Brands Need To Stop MakingSo let’s get started!Adam’s Social Media StoryThe year was 1999, and it was the age of the “.com Boom.” Adam had just finished graduating from college and was starting out life as an early twenty-something in the world of advertising in New York.He spent his initial years switching between multiple ad agencies trying to grasp all the knowledge that he could and found himself at 24/7 Media; which was one of the first two ad networks—it was a DoubleClick and 24/7 Media represented websites and sold their advertising for them.He also worked at the first pay-per-click search engine called GoTo.com, which predated Google back in 2000. This is where Adam got introduced to the world of digital marketing. It took a hiatus from working in the financial sector for Adam to realize that his true passion lies in digital marketing. He founded Sircle Media in 2012, and since then, their focus has been on brand building through organic social media management and content creation.Sircle Media focuses on helping high growth brands in the CPG and beverage niche scale their business through.How To Stand Out On Social Media"How can my brand stand out on social media?"This is one of the most common questions asked by brands when it comes to digital marketing. And the answer is honestly quite simple: By representing their brand in an authentic way!You don’t need to be selling a one-of-a-kind product, you just need to have an approach that’s unique to your brand to find your USP! Shoutout to Oatly, an oat-based beverage company, that’s managed to create a cult following through its humorous social media presence.If you really want to stand out as a brand that’s built to last, like an Oatly, you have to have memorable content that makes people want to share it.Nik Sharma, the king of D2C brands very popularly, once tweeted out saying:“Create content that makes people want to screenshot and share it in their group chats.”When we say create memorable content, we mean to create content that’s valuable to your audience! And don’t be afraid to mix it up; focus on a mix of high-quality photography, graphics-based content, videos, and user-generated content to keep your social media fun and engaging.Engagement is another vital part of building your brand organically on social media. Social media platforms allow for two-way communication for a reason!Your audience won’t feel like they’re a part of your community if you don’t engage with them and create content that is tailored to their interests. The best way to do this is by asking yourself: Would you want to consume the content you create?Be quick to act! Social media changes by the second, so you need to be quick to act, adapt, and learn to keep up with social media. This involves consistently researching trends, auditing and reworking your strategy, and conducting multiple trial and error campaigns to see what’s working for your brand.Creating memorable content, engaging with the audience, and always being on your feet are the foundation of building your brand on a digital platform. If you can crack this code and stay consistent, you’ll see some remarkable results.Social Media Mistakes Brands Need To Stop MakingLet’s debunk some of the most popular misconceptions brands have about social media. Here are some of the most common mistakes people make:Hiring an expensive social media expert: If you’re a small business looking to find someone to manage your brand’s social media presence, don’t spend all your money on one resource! Social Media involves a plethora of roles like designing, copywriting, running paid ads, engagement, and management. While you might find a professional who’s experienced in multiple roles, it’s not practically possible to be great at everything. Instead, allocate those funds to hire multiple digital native junior resources with different acumens.Trying to be everywhere: Spreading your brand’s presence is great, but don’t spread yourself

#102 Greg Howlett from Cobblestone Trade: How Logistics & Fulfillment Affect Your Customer ExperienceThere’s a lot of talk about marketing and brand building surrounding eCommerce. However, that’s just one side of things. In today’s podcast, Greg Howlett from Cobblestone Trade and our podcast host and CEO, Daniel Budai will unbox the behind-the-scenes operations of an eCommerce brand. This episode will highlight the importance of logistics and fulfillment in enhancing customer experience.Cobblestone Trade is an intelligent logistics company that delivers custom eCommerce solutions like warehousing and logistics, website development, customer service, Amazon specialist services, and end-to-end eCommerce consulting to increase a brand’s customer lifetime value.This episode of The Ecom Show takes us through:✔Greg’s journey into Logistics.✔The different kinds of logistical solutions for eCommerce businesses.✔How to enhance customer experience through logistics and fulfillment.Let’s dive right in!Greg’s Journey Into LogisticsGreg started his career as a software guy, working for Delta technology. It didn’t take long for Greg to realize that he didn’t enjoy software, and he quickly made the move to starting his own eCommerce store in 1999. He started by reselling retail products through his own online platform. Over the years, Greg has successfully built and sold multiple companies.He also built an eCommerce brand from scratch and successfully exited it within the span of six years. That experience in particular made him realize that his strength lies in logistics and fulfillment, which is what drove him to start Cobblestone Trade.Cobblestone Trade is an intelligent logistics solution for eCommerce brands that are looking for help in fulfillment and increasing lifetime customer value. They take over the day to day operations of a company by assisting with inventory management, customer service, fulfillment, brand management, price management, and advertising.Different Kinds of Logistical Solutions for eCommerce BusinessesLet’s start by discussing how logistics and fulfillment can affect your brand before we jump into the different kinds of solutions available out there. There are several things involved in running your business. While having a good product and great marketing is essential, you can’t miss out on logistics and fulfillment when you look at delivering excellent customer experience.Quick deliveries, great customer support both during and after sales, product availability, and brand transparency are qualities that all customers look for when they’re shopping online. This is precisely why Amazon is one of the most famous brands across the world.As an eCommerce brand you have three options when you look at outsourcing your logistics and fulfillment:Third party logistics: These are third party brands that offer warehousing and shipping solutions. They usually charge a monthly membership for warehousing, and charge a per order fee for providing shipping solutions. eCommerce brands can easily create an account and get started. This is ideal for brands looking to get their inventory out of their basement, and outsource without heavy investment costs. However, third party logistics often have hidden costs, and brands rely heavily on the service of their third party provider. The brand has to take accountability for order delays, and lost shipments.Amazon: Amazon provides eCommerce brands with a listing spot on one of the busiest websites on the internet. Brands can leverage advertisements to secure higher search volume on the website. They also offer fulfillment and shipping options which make it convenient for sellers to get started in the world of eCommerce. Customer retention is the main issue with Amazon. They don’t provide the sellers with information about the buyer, this means that it is much harder to get repeat customers on Amazon.Cobblestone Trade: Cobblestone Trade goes beyond the traditional duties of logistics and fulfillment. They partner up with businesses and take over the end-to-end operations of an eCommerce brand. They assist with everything from optimizing the website, to setting up systems and processes for scaling eCommerce logistics, and customer service. How to Enhance Customer Experience Through Logistics and FulfillmentLogistics and fulfillment are the two pillars that all eCommerce businesses rely on for smooth operations. It’s no secret that having smooth daily operations will help you create a trustworthy and credible brand in the long-term. Both of these terms cover a broad range of elements ranging from product availability to deliveries and after sales support.It basically comprises all the backend work that goes into providing customers exactly what they need, such as:On-time delivery: If you’re a brick and mortar store shipping out of your basement, handling even 10 orders a day can seem time consuming. This gets even more complicated when you add express deliveries, and

#101 Josh Dittrich from Branded Seller: How To Sell Your Business For Millions Of DollarsEntrepreneurs put in their blood, sweat, and then some to scale their dream business. But, there comes a time and point in every business owner's life when they decide to take the next big step - cashing in. However, too many online business owners leave the game too soon and miss out on their big payday because they lack a good exit strategy!Today we've got Josh Dittrich, the Founder and VP of BrandedSeller, here with Daniel Budai, our podcast host, and CEO, to discuss how businesses can maximize their value before exiting.Branded Seller is full-service management and consulting firm that helps e-commerce businesses grow and plan their exit strategy. Josh Dittrich founded BrandedSeller after successfully selling both his e-commerce ventures for millions of dollars. Josh is also the writer of "Aggregator Navigator: The Ultimate Playbook for Selling Your Amazon Brand Successfully."In this episode, we will discuss everything from why businesses should sell to planning your successful exit strategy. Tune in to find out:✔ Josh's multi-million dollar success story.✔ Why sell your business.✔ When to sell your business.✔ How to prepare your business for a sale.Josh's Multi-Million Dollar Success StoryJosh's story begins in a sales job where he ran into someone that worked at Amway. Fascinated by the prospect of generating recurring revenue without any glass limit, Josh was determined to get a job at Amway.After two/three failed attempts to get a job working at Amway, Josh decided to try an alternate route that led to him dabbling into eCommerce. He started by reselling products he'd purchased from China on channels like Amazon and eBay.However, he realized that he wouldn't go too far without a good strategy. Josh then joined forces with a growing startup to get some industry experience before venturing out on his own again. In the short span of three years, he moved his way up the ladder from being a salesperson to managing their business development and advertising. He helped the company grow from a 3 million dollar business to a 50 million dollar business.He achieved this by focusing on multi-channel growth. As a result, the business started selling everywhere, from Amazon to eBay. He also onboarded the help of experts to nail down their advertising campaigns and SEO.During his time there, he learned eCommerce; end-to-end technology, supply chain inventory management, tech, digital marketing, eCommerce, and the whole nine yards in private label. After seeing what an enterprise-level eCommerce organization looks like, he was inspired to leave and start his brand.Josh then started two e-commerce ventures; Essential Values and Sniper's Edge Hockey. The first business provides a versatile range of liquid homecare products and follows a multi-channel strategy. The second caters to the hockey niche and dominates its sales through specialized Amazon marketing. Within six years, Josh has built and exited both brands with a multi-million dollar valuation.While this may appear like a short time to build and exit a company, it took Josh 15 years to acquire the knowledge and experience that helped him successfully scale both his ventures.Why You Should Consider Selling Your BusinessBefore we jump to how you can sell your business, let's cover why an entrepreneur might want to give up their corporate child. Every entrepreneur is aware of the risk and rewards of running a business. Cashing out means you eventually reap the rewards of your hard-earned labor.Change is the only constant, and every product has its lifecycle. So if you can sense changing regulations or restrictions that will affect your business, it's a smart idea to consider selling out.Your personal life is another great reason to consider calling it in. Sometimes the reason to sell can be driven by your personal circumstances. For instance, if you're looking to retire, spend more time with the family, or even if you want a new challenge to chase after.Growth is one of the most common reasons entrepreneurs consider selling their business. There comes a time when you need to stop and ask yourself if you're satisfied with not taking money out of business. If you find yourself in a constant crunch with cash flow each time you try to grow, it's a sign that you should be considering selling your business, especially if it's stopped giving you personal joy and returns.When To Sell Your BusinessYou've decided to sell. That's great! But, how do you actually know when's the right time? There's never a clear perfect time to make these decisions. However, there are certain factors that can help business owners make a more calculated decision.You have to start by evaluating and being truthful about yourself and your business. And it's really important because if you cannot answer why you want to sell, your buyers will get skeptical.You also need to ask yourself if you have the bandwidth

#100 Ezra Firestone from Boom, Zipify, and Smart Marketer: Wealth Strategies for Creating Wildly Successful BusinessesWelcome back to The Ecom Show. We're extremely excited because this marks our 100th episode, and we've got a special guest, Ezra Firestone, here with us today to celebrate this milestone.Ezra is the founder of three highly successful businesses, Boom, Zipify, and Smart Marketer, that generate over $40M+ in annual sales revenue. He specializes in e-commerce, digital marketing, flipping businesses, and wealth creation.Join our founder and podcast host, Daniel Budai and Ezra Firestone in a very interesting conversation where they discuss:✔️ Ezra's early years in online marketing✔️The power of content marketing✔️SMS marketing 101✔️ The 3 steps to creating a wealthy businessEzra's Early Years in Online MarketingEzra first stumbled upon online marketing in 2005. He began his journey as a freelance consultant, offering services he was interested in learning more about to other brands and professionals. His first client was an online life coach who needed assistance with paid marketing. Ezra assisted him in generating millions of dollars by marketing his e-books and course through optimization of his landing pages and google ads.However, he was more interested in a product that consumers could physically consume, pushing him into the world of e-commerce. So, he started his journey through drop shipping, all kinds of things. As this was before the existence of Alibaba, he had to source directly through American manufacturers. His first big success was in 2007 with costume wigs like, Elvis wigs, clown wigs, and troll wigs, which worked out well in the early years.Dropshipping was still in its nascent years, and Ezra identified that this model had many problems. For example, there weren't proper systems for tracking inventory, order status, and quality control. So seeing a better business potential in making products on his own, Ezra founded his e-commerce brand called Boom!The Power of Content MarketingContent marketing is huge in today's world. Social media has given each brand the power to build its own narrative surrounding its products. Let's look at how Ezra created a cult following for his skincare and makeup brand Boom using content marketing.Ezra launched Boom back in 2010; however, his business generated its first multi-million only in 2016. He partnered up with his friend, who was a makeup artist, to create an organic skincare and makeup line catered to women from every generation. Drawing from his experience of working with the life coaching business, Ezra implemented the influencer or newsletter business model."The idea behind that is that you are talking to a group of people about a collective experience they're sharing and creating content about an experience that is helpful to them. And then eventually, you're going to say, Hey, if you like me, check out my products and services."Boom has always been a philosophy company. And their philosophy has been:"You're right the way you are, you're beautiful, just as you are, you don't need to change, you don't need to try to hide, you don't need to, you know, use cosmetics to cover up. And we have products that support that idea."Boom started a blog back in 2011. And that blog grew into the reason why they now have a 50% repeat customer rate. Through their blogs, they've created content that resonates with women of all ages.As a D2C brand, you're only going to make it in the long run if you coalesce a community through content to create repeat customers.The key takeaways from Ezra's experience would be to leverage content and create a community based around your products. This way, you can engage with your customers.And always remember the three C's of creating content: creativity, consistency, and composure. Boom has generated multi-million-dollar revenue in annual sales because they've been consistent and composed with their efforts to produce creative content over the years. It took them six years to establish themselves as a credible brand in the makeup and skincare industry. So if you're an e-commerce entrepreneur, be patient and don't lose hope!SMS Marketing 101SMS marketing is a powerful tool that all e-commerce businesses should be using. Instant messaging can help recover sales and push your customers to shop more. It's an essential marketing tool that you should incorporate into your multichannel strategy.SMS marketing doesn't need to be complicated. You can make the most out of your SMS marketing by following three simple steps.⭐ Build your database: Add phone numbers in your store pop-ups as a criterion. A two popup approach where you offer additional discounts for signing up with your phone number can help you increase your opt-in popups. Also, make sure to have a popup when customers try to abandon your website or check out while shopping.⭐ Set up automated flows: Once you've got your database, use a good tool to create automated f

#99 Cale Owen From Gym Launch & Prestige Labs: The Secret Sauce to Building a Multi-Million Dollar BusinessEveryone starts their business with the dream of it becoming a multi-million dollar empire someday. Today, we’re going to be jumping in on a real-life success story of how you can scale your business to achieve limitless success.We’re so excited and honored to have Cale Owenhere with us today. Cale is the CEO of Gym Launch and the Prestige Labs. Gym Launch is a wildly successful fitness coaching business that simply put, “helps other gyms make an ungodly amount of money.” After transforming the fitness industry one gym at a time, the co-founders of Gym Launch started, Prestige Labs. A business focused on helping gyms provide fitness supplements to their customers.Join our founder, Daniel Budai and Cale as they discuss:✔️ Cale’s Journey to Becoming the CEO of Gym Launch & Prestige Labs✔️ The Secret Sauce to Building a Multi-Million Dollar Business✔️ How To Create Multiple Sources of Revenue From One Successful Business✔️ Advice for EntrepreneursCale’s Journey to Becoming the CEO of Gym Launch & Prestige LabsCale stumbled onto Gym Launch as a client. As a proud owner of two gyms, he approached Gym Launch in 2017 for advice on scaling his business. After spending a year implementing their strategies he realized the value that Gym Launch provides, and joined their team in 2018. Cale has worked his way to the top from the ground up, starting as a salesperson, and graduating to the position of the CEO as of December 2021.Gym Launch grew from being a boutique fitness consulting agency in 2017 to a full-scale business with over 30-35 coaches. Currently, they’re present in both the USA and Canada. After successfully establishing a network of gym distributors, the co-founders Alex and Leila started their second successful venture, Prestige Labs.Prestige Labs is a health supplement business that creates premium and GMP-certified supplements. Prestige Labs was born to provide a healthy alternative to mainstream supplements that use unnecessary fillers, copious amounts of caffeine, and blends that don’t offer any real benefits. Prestige Labs has managed to build a notable presence in the health industry through its wide network of gym owners and affiliate marketing.The Secret Sauce to Building a Multi-Million Dollar BusinessCreating one widely successful business is not an easy task, creating two is a true work of art. Let’s deep dive into how Gym Launch & Prestige Labs have grown into multi-million dollar businesses.There are a lot of factors involved in making a business successful. Number one is, of course, having a passionate founder. Alex and Leila are two brilliant co-founders who completely understood the game and the industry that they're in. They spent a lot of time flying out to gyms and helping them turn around to become successful. They must have done this over 30 times themselves, before building their wider team.Another key thing is timing. When you enter an industry it’s important to see where you’re at, and who the key players in the space are. The timing of the industry can massively impact your growth and scale as well.The final piece, of course, is learning. Both personal and professional. One of Gym Launch’s core tenants is you either grow or die. And personal development is a big piece of that. You can only grow your business if you and all your team members keep upskilling as well.How To Create Multiple Sources of Revenue From One Successful BusinessLet’s talk about how Gym Launch has taken the success of a service-led business that focuses on gym distribution channels and used that to build and navigate into a successful e-commerce business that provides fitness supplements.So when you look at businesses, and you look at helping clients, you look at things in regards to vertical spinning verticals, basically you find ways to expand into avenues where your existing clients will spend money.If a client goes into a gym, they're spending money on a service, which is the gym, right? And whether it's access or coaching, whatever it might be, that same client is spending money on other avenues related to working out such as supplements, so they're gonna go buy supplements, which in itself is a multibillion-dollar industry. And then you've got a spending wallet of apparel, right, and then you've got a spending wallet of food. And then you got a spending wall of massages or other things that happen within the health and fitness industry. Our goal is to teach our clients to be able to dip into those spending wallets so that that money isn't going somewhere else, but can stay in house.Prestige Labs was born by applying that same idea. When Alex created Gym Launch, he created the service side, where gym owners are taught how to increase service revenue and service profit, and then to look at the other spending wallets in the fitness industry.Clients often ask gym owners or their trainers

#98 Adam Kitchen From Magnet Monster: Stop Telling Your Customer What to DoNone of us like being told what to do. Especially when we’re shopping! The key to keeping your customers happy is in getting to know them inside out. But, how does one go about that? Do we stop telling customers to sign up, how and where do you listen to what your customers want?Find out in today’s episode of the Ecom show. Join our founder, Daniel Budai, in conversation with Adam Kitchen. Adam Kitchen is the founder of Magnet Monster, a UK-based agency providing experiential email marketing services to e-commerce businesses.Tune in to hear Daniel and Adam discuss:Adam’s journey with Magnet MonsterThe Success of using Lead Magnets to attract customersData-driven email marketingEffective e-commerce strategies to attract customersAdam’s Journey With Magnet MonsterAdam started his e-commerce journey quite young at the tender age of 17. He first ventured into digital marketing and e-commerce by selling nutritional supplements online. Back in the days when everything was custom-coded and built from scratch. And it was still a relatively novel thing.“I was actually really interested in content marketing and community building. And that was the main focus of my digital marketing experience for the company I was working with in the UK. And email was always involved in the mix, even back then, in fact, it was a power channel, just like it still is today. So I was always doing a little bit of email.”Ultimately, he gave up his full-time job as a kindergarten teacher and set off to explore the world as a digital nomad at the age of 25. Adam ultimately returned to the UK and started his own nutritional supplement store, however, his partner and he saw more potential in running an agency, and together they started Magnet Monster.Magnet Monster started as a company focusing on providing e-commerce businesses with beautiful lead magnets. However, over the years they transitioned into the niche field of providing email marketing to e-commerce businesses using tools like Klaviyo. With a team of 17 people, Magnet Monster is a boutique agency focusing on intricate CRM strategies to help e-commerce businesses exponentially scale their sales.The Success of Using Lead Magnets to Attract CustomersLead magnets are a strategy where businesses use a gated approach to provide customers with content. For example when businesses make you sign up to receive a discount code. Since Magnet Monster started its e-commerce journey by providing beautiful lead magnets we were curious to know Adam’s opinion on how effective they are in acquiring customers. Here’s what he had to say:"In my opinion, a lot of them have become obsolete, because gating content for the sake of generating leads, just does not make much sense. Instead, when you give the content out for free, it builds credibility and reaches a broader audience."This is precisely why we started off this episode by saying you need to stop telling your customers what to do. When you make valuable content readily available your customers get curious to know what more you have to say. Hence, they’ll more willingly subscribe to your newsletter. The key here is to chase qualitative lead generation.Data-Driven Email MarketingYou’ve got your basic setup of flows for new customers, abandoned carts, and various other segments, and you’ve got your monthly campaigns for holidays and promotional products. Is that all there is to email marketing? No, there’s so much more that needs to be done to ensure that your brand is making the most out of email marketing.Daniel and Adam discuss the role data plays in understanding consumer behavior which in turn affects your email marketing strategy.It improves the zero-party data capture fees and optimizes a brand’s front-end acquisition strategy.It also helps in automating more user-generated content, promoting brand collections, and establishing ambassador programs to build customer retention. This entire process works when data is used to create intricate flows and adjust for consumer behavior. You see the value-added when your emails trigger customers to engage in conversation and more frequent interactions with your brand.Effective E-commerce Strategies to Attract CustomersSpeaking of holistic e-commerce strategies let’s take a look at some beyond the world of email marketing. Let's talk about loyalty. How do you make customers more loyal, and keep them coming back to your brand?There’s no one formula fits all approach to increasing your customer loyalty, however, there are some best practices you can keep in mind. You need to have a good product that works. You need to have good customer service because these are the main two drivers of encouraging people to come back. Post this, you need to focus on your distribution channels. Email marketing is one, but having an omnichannel approach is what ultimately helps brands grow.Increase your presence with messenger marketing, SMS, WhatsApp

#97 Andriy Boychuk from Flowium: Using Email Marketing to Boost Customer LoyaltyThis month our focus has been on the best email marketing practices. Keeping in tune with the theme, we’ve got an exciting episode for you. Join our founder, Daniel Budai, in conversation with Andriy Boychuk, founder of Flowium.Who better to talk about customer retention and loyalty strategies, than two email marketing experts that are captains of their leading email marketing agencies.In this episode Daniel and Andriy will uncover:✔️ Andriy’s email marketing venture✔️ Best marketing practices for e-commerce businesses✔️ Effective strategies for customer retentionAndriy’s email marketing ventureOriginally from Ukraine, Andriy’s journey began with running a website for Ukrainian immigrants. His curiosity to find innovative and cost-efficient ways to promote this blog landed him in his early experiments with email marketing. Most of his early knowledge came from listening to podcasts.After spending three years as an engineer in a tech company, Andriy realized that he wasn’t passionate about his job. Determined to find where his passion lies, he quit and began to explore the opportunities that Upwork had to offer. He soon realized the untapped potential in email marketing and dove right in, to focus on providing these services for all kinds of businesses and professionals.Enamored by the result-oriented, and data-driven approach used in email marketing for e-commerce businesses, Andriy found his niche. Starting as a solopreneur charging on an hourly basis, he experimented with various payment models and structures, before landing on starting an agency with a retainership customer model.Flowium is now a full-scale email marketing agency with over 40 employees. Similar to Budai Media, they offer specialized email marketing campaigns and strategies to e-commerce businesses across the globe.Best marketing practices for e-commerce businessesHaving worked closely with various e-commerce entrepreneurs, both Daniel and Andriy are here to share their two cents on marketing practices that can help e-commerce businesses succeed.We asked Andriy if there is any piece of advice he’d like to give e-commerce businesses.Here’s what he had to share:“A lot of business owners try to act as marketing directors, but they have so many more responsibilities. Having a project manager for all their marketing can help provide direction and help agencies align with the company goals because we can deliver, but we need to know what the needs of the company are.”As an e-commerce expert, Andriy has rightfully identified how customer loyalty programs help boost sales and increase customer lifetime value. However, email marketing is just one part of this strategy, a marketing director helps enforce an overall strategy ensuring that landing pages, SEO practices, and advertisements all align with the email campaigns.In order to succeed, e-commerce businesses need to outline their goals and objectives.Effective strategies for customer retentionRunning an email marketing agency, one of the most common questions we get is about customer conversion and retention.“Businesses want us to focus on converting those one-time buyers to two-time buyers, two-time buyers to three buyers, and so on to continue increasing the lifetime value of the customers. One of the most effective retention strategies to do so is a customer loyalty program.”After conducting a case study analyzing 25,000 email subscribers, Andriy found that loyalty members spent $400 on average, whereas regular customers spent only $90. His experiment revealed that the lifetime value of loyalty members was 4X more than that of regular customers.This observation has led him to focus on enhancing customer loyalty programs through email marketing. Loyalty software like Smile enables businesses to track loyalty points. E-commerce businesses can then segment their customers to personalize email campaigns giving marketing a more targeted and goal-oriented approach.Email marketing is all about understanding your customers. Loyalty programs allow you to incentivize them as you learn more about them. To know more about best practices for email marketing do check out our previous podcasts, and case studies. On that note, we’d like to bring this episode to a close.Thank you for listening! We come out with new episodes every Thursday, so stay tuned!Follow Daniel Budai:Daniel's LinkedInDaniel's Facebook Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#96 John Terry from Ketonia: Diving into the Deep End of E-CommerceWe loved chatting to Chris and Miriam from Keto Chow so much that we’re back in the Ketogenic E-Commerce niche!Today, we’re delighted to welcome the Co-Founder of Ketonia, John Terry, to The Ecom Show. Ketonia is a bakery dedicated to followers of the ketogenic diet with low carb high fat baked goods. John runs Ketonia with his Mom and Co-Founder, Geri.Now, that’s wholesome.Tune in to hear Daniel and John discuss:✔️ John’s Ketogenic Journey✔️ Diving into the Deep End of E-Commerce✔️ Product StrategyJohn’s Ketogenic JourneyGrowing up with what John describes as delicious Texan comfort food that was ‘not always health centered’, John and his parents have had their struggles with weight.Until John finished university and began working for a pharmaceutical company in the diabetes field. That’s when John discovered the science behind low-carb dieting and ketosis. Five years later, John convinced Geri to try keto. She lost 60 pounds and began making some really delicious keto food.“Eventually I just told her, ‘Hey, I’m gonna quit my job, you quit your job, and let’s start a small business.”John and Gerry began by selling out of the back of their car at farmers' markets, selling out every single weekend. Then they began selling to local vendors who - you guessed it - started selling out every week. They had to look for new ways to scale the business.Amazon’s Prime Day coincided very well with a large keto convention John and Geri attended to launch a new product. Their coconut macaroons went to number one. These tasty treats quickly got Ketonoia picked up by Walmart.While John describes the e-commerce keto space as ‘brutally difficult’, it’s well worth proving your right to be in one of the most competitive spaces online.“Me and my Mom beat out this company that has $30 million worth of funding and 45 employees.”Diving into the Deep End of E-CommerceKetonia sources its revenue from a number of online spaces. Amazon, Walmat.com, and Shopify.John and Geri also use Shopify to get a verified account on Pinterest, where Ketonia has around 5000 followers. On Facebook, they have over 31,000.So why did Ketonia start on Amazon? John always likes to do tackle the hardest project first.“It’s one of my strategies in pretty much everything in life. If you try to knock out the most difficult task first, then it makes the rest a little easier.”This strategy certainly worked out for Ketonia, they’re now brand-registered on Amazon. Unsurprisingly, Amazon makes delivery a breeze.Product StrategyKetonia currently sells 2 products. One more is in the pipeline, and 15 more are waiting in recipe form.Bringing a new food product into the market is expensive. So John has to be pretty strategic about it. John and Geri leverage their relationships with different buyers and say, “This is our catalog, what are you interested in seeing.”Asking the buyers directly want they want is a great way to cut out the middle man and save your store a ton of money.Visit Ketonia and followJohn on LinkedIn to find out more about Keto E-Commerce and entrepreneurship.Ketonia’s delicious coconut macaroons and super handy Keto Bread Mix are available on Amazon and WalmartThank you for listening! We come out with new episodes every Thursday, so stay tuned!Follow Daniel Budai:Daniel's LinkedInDaniel's Facebook Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#95 Josh from LampHouse Films: How to Sell with Commercial FilmmakingWe’re no strangers to the art of storytelling. A few episodes ago, Daniel chatted to the master of video advertising campaigns, Benton Crane from Harmon Brothers. Today, we’re delighted to welcome renowned commercial filmmaker and video marketer, Josh Henry, to The Ecom Show!Josh is the Owner, Producer, and Director of LampHouse Films and host of the Marketing Conversations podcast. LampHouse Films specializes in film-driven marketing campaigns that sell with storytelling. If you want to get into top-tier video marketing, you don’t want to miss this episode!Tune in to hear Daniel and Josh discuss:✔️ How Josh Became a Commercial Filmmaker✔️ Josh’s Approach to Video Advertising✔️ The Difference Between TV Ads and Social Media Ads✔️ Common Misconceptions About Video MarketingHow Josh Became a Commercial FilmmakerSurprisingly, Josh didn’t grow up watching a ton of movies. He did however grow up telling stories. The first instance he remembers occurred in elementary school. Josh was riding his bike down a hill when he fell and scraped his knee. A minor injury, but a great story.“I remember the next day telling and retelling the story of me falling off my bike 10 times or more, realizing where I would get reactions and finessing the way I controlled the narrative to make it more surprising or funny. I was just addicted to the adrenaline of telling people stories and capturing their imagination.”In high school, Josh discovered film as the medium that he could tell stories most effectively. He was doing a weekly YouTube comedy show when he met Michael Schmucker, a commercial filmmaker. They partnered up 8 years ago and founded LampHouse Films - now they’re thriving together in the commercial film industry.Josh’s Approach to Video AdvertisingLampHouse Film primarily focuses on commercial film. Increasingly, much of this has been in ‘cultural videos’. Over the past two years, many companies have been struggling with growth, often finding it difficult to retain or find new employees. Increasingly, CEOs are turning to films to explain company culture.So what’s the approach to these kinds of videos?For any type of video, Josh says, you must know your audience. Who are you talking to? Imagine you’re in the room while your audience is watching your video. Are there parts you’re going to cringe at? Read your script out loud - are there parts you hate saying?The challenge is with ‘culture videos’ is that your audience is people who know the company. Unlike a product promotion, you’re not introducing yourself the first time. You cannot stretch the truth at all. Josh sees this as a great exercise in video marketing, ‘culture videos’ suggest a new level of scrutiny you have to rise to.The Difference Between TV Ads & Social Media Ads Generally, Josh’s clients with the biggest ROI are the ones who are running their ads on TV. However, these ads cost millions of dollars. Marketers with a lower budget of 100s of 1000s or 10s of 1000s are going to get a much better ROI online. It only really makes sense to go to TV, Josh explains, if you’re trying to spend a lot of money.One of the biggest differences between TV ads and social media ads is that people can’t skip a TV ad. In a social media ad, the marketer has 3 - 5 seconds to hook their audience. While Josh finds it a ‘fun challenge’, he also finds it ‘creatively stifling’. TV ads give him the freedom to explore a long setup and reveal.You also have to make sure that your video advertisement belongs on its respective platforms. TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram and very distinct styles of video advertising. TikTok, for example, is very heavy on user-generated content (UGC) and vertical video. Putting a high production style ad on TikTok will seem rather intrusive.Whatever platform he’s advertising on, Josh is passionate about making LampHouse ads as authentic and honest as possible. Manufacturing some controversy around your product could go viral on TikTok, or it could alienate consumers.“With LampHouse we’re not trying to create ads that don’t look like ads, ads that are tricking you into thinking that it’s organic content. We make ads that feel like ads, they’re not pretending that they’re not trying to sell you something. They feel like they belong where they are.”Common Misconceptions About Video Marketing Josh has met a few clients who believe that a good video advert can be spliced together with footage all around the same idea. You need to know your goals before you start filming. Understand your core need. This is integral to creating a clear video marketing campaign that your audience will understand and love.If you’re interested in filmmaking and video marketing, visit LampHouse Films, follow Josh on LinkedIn, and check out the Marketing Conversations podcast!Thank you for listening! We come out with new episodes every Thursday, so stay tuned!Follow Daniel Budai:Daniel's LinkedInDaniel's Facebook Host

#94 Juliana from CXL: We Need to Rethink Customer Lifetime ValueJuliana is the Product Growth Manager for CXL, a Digital Marketing Training center with up-to-date marketing courses taught by the best practitioners in the world.At CXL, Juliana handles all-things lifecycle marketing. Onboarding, post-purchase communication, user guidance, the works!Known as ‘The CLV Lady’, Juliana fell in love with Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) during her time as Head of Growth and Product Marketing at Omniconvert, a software as a service (SaaS) for e-commerce conversion and retention.So what wisdom does Juliana have to share from over 10 years in SaaS and e-commerce?Tune in to hear Daniel and Juliana discuss:✔️ Are There 4 Levers of E-Commerce?✔️ The 4 ‘P’s of Marketing✔️ Being Real About Customer Loyalty✔️ The RFM ModelThe 4 Levers of E-CommerceDaniel posits that there are 4 levers of e-commerce:Customer acquisition costConversion rateAverage order value (AOV)Customer lifetime value (CLV) What are Juliana’s thoughts?Juliana says that it’s really important to be aware of all your metrics. Your focus, however, varies according to what stage you’re at with your e-commerce business. If you’re just starting out, you’re going to be more focused on customer acquisition and conversion rate than CLV because you don’t have any CLV in the first year of your business.When it comes to AOV, Juliana says that you need to wait until you have enough transactional data to be able to use that average.On the other hand, some companies have a ton of data but don’t know how to use it. It’s all very well collecting data, but, as Juliana argues, you need someone (or a team) who knows how to analyze it.The 4 Pillars of E-Commerce are crucial to a successful e-commerce business. Each one does not necessarily hold equal weight at any one time. You need to measure and prioritize for whatever stage you’re at in your business.The 4 ‘P’s of MarketingMarketing changes all the time. Through it all, Juliana says, there are 4 ‘P’s of Marketing:ProductPricePlacementPromotion Everything is dictated by these.Often e-commerce is not about re-inventing the rule. You have to start with knowing the basics inside out.Being Real About Customer LoyaltyIn all her experience in retention marketing, Juliana says that you cannot actually grow your retention rate by more than 10% per year.If you have a 25% retention rate average, in a good year you might get 31%, in a bad year you may not get more than 20%. According to Juliana, this has nothing to do with the tools you’re using, or how smart you are, it’s about romanticizing how loyal customers are. People are eager to try new brands.Daniel recalls meeting the then CMO of Death Wish Coffee and being surprised to hear them say that their retention rate was “too high”. They were at the stage where they wanted to get back to acquiring new customers.Believe it or not, you can have retention rates that are too high. There is no exact formula for all of e-commerce. As Juliana points out, it’s about focusing on doing what’s best for your business.The RFM ModelLike all models and formulas, the RFM model doesn’t work for every business. If your e-commerce brand has at least 5 years of transactional data behind it, however, the RFM model is a great methodology to determine customer valueRFM stands for recency, frequency, and monetary value. If you have millions of customers, these three categories provide good segmentations for buyer behavior.Juliana warns against being relying solely on RFM to create your VIP tier system. Segmenting your customers into VIPs when they may not yet be loyal customers can be counter-productive. Smaller e-commerce businesses need to go further than RFM to really understand their data.Klaviyo, Juliana and Daniel agree, provide great engagement metrics and segmentation. Email flows that provide open rates, click-through rates, and conversion offer rich data on customer behavior beyond the purchase.For anything lifestyle marketing and CLV, go follow Juliana on LinkedIn!Thank you for listening! We come out with new episodes every Thursday, so stay tuned!Follow Daniel Budai:Daniel's LinkedInDaniel's Facebook Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#93 Neha and Bryan from SwitchGrocery: Building a Brand from the Ground UpIf you’re new to e-commerce, where should your priorities be? SwitchGrocery is a Canadian online health food store for keto, paleo, vegan, and gluten-free diets. And at just four years old, it’s thriving.For this episode of The Ecom Show, Daniel invites the Co-Founders of SwitchGrocery, Neha Charnaliaand Bryan Horsley, to tell us all about their e-commerce journey.Shout out to the Co-Founders of Keto Chow, Chris and Miriam Bair, for introducing Daniel to Neha and Bryan!Tune in to hear Daniel, Neha, and Bryan discuss:✔️ How SwitchGrocery Began✔️ When to Invest in Email Marketing✔️ High Converting Email Campaigns✔️ Raising Funds for SwitchGrocery✔️ Being Human with Your CustomersHow SwitchGrocery Began Neha laughs,“I don’t think anyone starts a company with a plan, and we fell into that bucket.”Much like Chris and Miriam from Keto Chow, Neha and Bryan discovered a low-carb lifestyle first. Bryan’s trainer introduced them to the ketogenic diet, and it did wonders for their health. However, at the time, there wasn’t a huge availability of keto, paleo, or gluten-free products.Neha and Bryan saw a ‘great need’ for a store that specializes in high-quality keto, paleo, vegan and gluten-free products. A store with founders that are invested in the lifestyle as well as what goes into what they’re selling.And so Neha and Bryan founded SwitchGrocery. They’re four years in and as a company that was built on social media, they have a great relationship with their customers and US and Canadian suppliers.When to Invest in Email MarketingNeha and Bryan began heavily investing in email marketing in 2021. Not doing so earlier, Neha says, was a ‘lost opportunity’. In SwitchGrocery’s first two years, Neha and Bryan underestimated and underinvested in email marketing. They weren’t collecting emails via pop ups, and they only launched email campaigns for sales and product promos.Investing in email marketing has led to a ‘significant increase’ in revenue, and strengthened their relationship with their customers. Neha can’t stress enough the importance of email marketing.“If there’s anything I would say, just stop and invest in today, it’s email. You can either spend 100 bucks a day on ads or you can nurture the customers you have.”Neha and Bryan now use Klaviyo. They’ve set up the necessary flows, (welcome flows, abandoned cart flows, new customer flows etc), and send three campaigns a week.“The flows really allow us to customize. We don’t send mass emails anymore, we really customize to our customers.”Their campaign emails now also include trust and content emails. These will include Neha or Bryan’s favorite piece of user-generated content (UGC) that week, or healthy recipes.High Converting Email CampaignsBryan says that ‘contextual’ email campaigns are highly effective. For example, when there was a snowstorm, they sent out a hot chocolate recipe for everyone locked inside. While email campaigns are mostly planned in advance, Klaviyo also allows you to quickly respond to relevant day-to-day events, such as snowstorms.For this reason, Bryan and Neha have planned emails as well as space in their campaign schedule to connect with customers in their day-to-day experience. These contextual emails tend to have higher open rates, click rates, and conversion. As Daniel points out, attribution is a surprisingly underrated topic in e-commerce.Neha says that blog campaigns also tend to do very well. She recalls an email campaign she wrote titled, ‘What Makes a Good Business’. It had a 44% open rate and around 23 responses.Founder emails are especially valuable for increasing engagement and strengthening that brand-customer relationship.Raising Funds for SwitchGroceryBryan and Neha have done a few different things to fund SwitchGrocery over the years.The first was using Clearco, a company that provides funding for ads in exchange for revenue royalties. This enabled to SwitchGrocery to grow with ad funding Neha and Bryan otherwise would not have had.From there, Bryan and Neha moved to Clearco’s angel investment program. ‘Clear Angel’. This is invested in for longer-term smaller royalty on revenue. Clearco Clear Angel, Bryan allowed SwitchGrocery to scale beyond ads and into inventory.“Growth is great, but you need the money to order the inventory to then get the growth. It gave us some funds to scale and grow to get to a new kind of level for the business.”Over the COVID pandemic, Bryan and Neha also were able to take advantage of governmental support. Funding to the Business Development Bank of Canada offered low-interest loans that Bryan and Neha quickly applied for.These funds have been used to grow SwitchGrocery’s inventory, build their customer service team, and hire developers.Being Human with Your CustomersNeha and Bryan always remind their team and contractors to:“Treat people like people”That’s been SwitchGrocery’s approach from the very beginning. Neha wrote

#92 Jim Moore from OptimizeX Inc: Why We Prioritize AttributionJim Moore has been a marketing entrepreneur for over two decades. But 2016 marked his first venture into Shopify and Facebook ads. Quickly falling in love with the world of e-commerce, Jim became the Chief Marketing Officer of Celtic Knot Jewelry the following year. Ever the serial entrepreneur, Jim is now also the CEO of OptimizeX Inc.OptimizeX Inc is a Private Equity group that develops Ad Tech SaaS for real-time reporting, attribution, analytics, automation, and AI, to drive customer acquisition and optimize customer lifetime value (LTV).Let’s see what Jim’s eclectic experiences can teach us about attribution and ensuring the best possible customer experience.Tune in to hear Daniel and Jim discuss:✔️ E-Commerce & Creating a Positive Customer Experience✔️ Facebook, iOS, and OptimizeX✔️ Why is Attribution so Important?E-Commerce and Creating a Positive Customer ExperienceBefore getting into Shopify and Facebook ads, Jim ran a 24 hour a day call center of almost 300 employees from 2009 to 2013. What’s his approach to customer support at his e-commerce store, Celtic Knot Jewelry, and within OptimizeX Inc?“We look at customer support not as an expense, but as a profit center. It’s not so much support as it is creating a positive experience.”Celtic Knot Jewelry goes the extra mile not only to ensure excellent brand-customer communication, but high-quality products, custom packaging, and gift-giving. Including a small gift bag with every order demonstrates care and attention to detail that shows a dedication to creating a positive customer experience.A positive customer experience, Jim continues, goes further than the product you’re selling, the offers you’re promoting, and the creatives you use. All these things are critical, but it’s also about the way you manage a customer experience. Not just replying to social media comments straight away, but also privately messaging them thanking them for their comment, notifying them of your public reply to their comment, and providing further contact details.“We treat every comment like a potential lead, we treat every engagement like a potential lead. This is how we cultivate the relationship with our audience.”If a site visitor abandons their cart, they’ll get a phone call from Celtic Knot Jewelry after 15 minutes. The caller will address whatever reason the visitor has for cart abandonment. If, for example, the price seemed too high, they’ll offer a discount. If shipping is too expensive, they’ll offer free shipping.Similarly, Celtic Knot Jewelry will also call a customer who has made a purchase. They’ll thank them for the order, verify their address, and confirm their order contents.If anyone leaves a positive review, Celtic Knot Jewelry will reach out to the customer thanking them for the review, then offer a discount that they or their friends can use. To further extend their reach, the reviewer can actually earn 10% of whatever purchase their friends make.All in all, 40% of Celtic Knot jewelry comes from their call center, 20% comes from email marketing, and 20% comes from SMS marketing.Facebook, iOS, and OptimizeX IncWhen Jim and his team began building Optimize X Inc, it actually wasn’t supposed to be an attribution platform. It was originally conceived as a reporting and analytics platform.Then Apple introduced their privacy updates in iOS 14.5, rendering the data inaccurate. This not only affected OptimizeX Inc, but it also affected Jim’s Shopify store. It was time for a new plan. Well, two new plans.The first plan was to create a customer call center. Following up with customers via phone calls. These work to resolve issues such as abandoned carts and develop a relationship with the customer.“Let’s go all-in on customer experience because if I can’t generate predictable results through Facebook, I’ve got to be able to recoup that elsewhere.”The second plan concerned tracking. Once Apple began restricting third-party data, Jim recognized that it was time for first-party tracking.Third-party tracking, Jim explains, means that you’re relying on a third party to track data for you. You use your script on their domain and you just get access to reporting and their dashboard. First-party tracking means that you track data on your own domain. Apple does not interfere with first-party data tracking. If they did, Shopify simply wouldn’t work.Jim and his team, therefore, launched a server on their domain, creating a subdomain that tracks site visitor activity: how long they stay for, how far they scroll, what they click on, or if they watch a video. That data is then sent back to Facebook.In developing this system, the OptimizeX Inc team realized that in order for all their tools to work, end to end analytics, automation, and AI, they needed to focus on attribution.“It’s kind of like building a house. Getting the structure up takes no time at all. But it’s once you get the structure, the thing that ta

#91 Ronnie Teja from Branzio Watches: Scale Your E-Commerce to 8 Figures with SEORonnie Tejais the Founder of Branzio Watches. With over 15 years of experience in digital marketing all around the world, Ronnie knows a thing or two about building marketing strategies, building a business, and perseverance.Tune in to hear Daniel and Ronnie discuss:✔️ Ronnie’s Path to E-Commerce✔️ Discovering the Importance of SEO✔️ Is SEO Worth the Time?✔️ The Value of Email Marketing✔️ Advice for EntrepreneursRonnie’s Path to E-CommerceRonnie is a ‘self-taught’ digital marketer, leading online marketing strategies for businesses around the world. After moving to Canada, Ronnie harnessed his marketing skills in work for HSBC, BestBuy, and SoftwareKing.At 29 years old, Ronnie decided to invest his time in the watch market. Once he read that watch profit margins are ‘phenomenal’ he jumped right in!“My focus from day one was to find the supply chain, the suppliers, the ops, and run a team that is far more efficient than I could be as an individual.”Branzio Watches hire leading watchmakers and designers from around the world. Ronnie’s job is to harness global talent as efficiently as possible.“I’m a generalist who is surrounded by extremely capable specialists.”Discovering the Importance of SEORonnie learned all about SEO through networking. If you’re in e-commerce, Ronnie highly recommends going to the yearly Chiang Mai SEO Conference in northern Thailand.“You will be surrounded by some of the best people around and the friendliest people who are happy to talk about SEO.”The Chiang Mai SEO conference is especially valuable in bringing together so many perspectives on SEO from different spaces in digital marketing. Ronnie’s self-taught SEO knowledge was based entirely on Google Paid ads, but over the last 7 years, he’s acquired several websites in the affiliate space. Learning about SEO in the affiliate space showed Ronnie what he needed to scale.Ronnie favors a holistic approach to SEO. Networking with digital marketers across industries to explore how different platforms present different opportunities for SEO.Is SEO Worth the Time?To put it simply: yes. You just need to be patient.Just as you need to have a paid strategy, a social media strategy, or an influencer strategy, you need an SEO strategy.And if you’re worried about things taking too long? 4 years ago, Branzio Watches were getting 5000 visits per day, today they have around 2 million. And that's free organic traffic. That’s a lot of revenue. If you want to be an entrepreneur, Ronnie advises, you need to think of the long-term.While prioritization varies from store to store, Ronnie says that paid ads, influencers, SEO, and email should be at the foundation of any e-commerce business. No one element of digital marketing (such as paid ads) is a get-rich-quick solution. A lucrative marketing strategy uses multiple channels. And it takes time.The Value of Email Marketing“Email is basically like free sales.”Like Daniel, Ronnie is in love with Klaviyo. He’s even on their customer advisory board. 12% - 13% of total store revenue in Branzio Watches comes from email.“So always keep an eye on how to grow your email list.”A fantastic way to do that is through a quiz. If you’re looking for an example of what a great Shop Quiz looks like, Ronnie recommends checking out Beardbrand. Their quiz recruits 600 - 1000 subscribers a week.Advice for Entrepreneurs“Perseverance, man, you need to persevere, don’t give up.”Ronnie says that he truly found focus last year. He gave up drinking, started waking up at 5 am, and his life changed. He doesn't work 80 hours, he works a normal 30 - 35 hours a week, but his efficiency has skyrocketed. Ronnie isn’t a fan of the “100 hour working week” hustle culture.Ronnie advises that people often make the mistake of thinking that if they follow one golden rule they’ll get there. Everyone is different. Most entrepreneurs have two of three qualities:They’re very passionate about their idea.They’re in the right place at the right time.They put in years of work.If you’re truly passionate about your idea, you’ll see it through to the end.Check out Branzio Watches and follow Ronnie on LinkedIn for more great e-commerce advice.Thank you for listening! We come out with new episodes every Thursday, stay tuned!Follow Daniel Budai:Daniel's LinkedInDaniel's Facebook Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#90 Francis Nayan from Stories & Copy: How to Use Storytelling to Make Your Brand Stand OutCopywriting is one of the most important skills of e-commerce marketing. So let’s take a deep dive into high-quality copywriting and how to incorporate effective storytelling into your email marketing.Francis Nayan is a Direct Response Email Copywriter and Strategist for 7-8 Figure E-Commerce Companies. Francis specializes in automated behavior-driven emails that provide a steady stream of cash flow for e-commerce businesses around the world.Daniel and Francis would like to give a shout-out to Joshua Chin, Csaba Borázi, and the Chronus Creative Agency for helping them get connected. Thanks, folks!Tune in to hear Daniel and Francis discuss:✔️ How did Francis Get Started in Copywriting?✔️ How to Increase Conversions With a Personal Tone of Voice✔️ How Do You Tell Stories in Emails?✔️ How to Handle Customer Objections✔️ How Long Should An Email Be?How did Francis Get Started in Copywriting?It all began in 2017. At the time, Francis was working as an English teacher in Budapest. He’d been in this role for one and a half years, and he wanted a change. When considering his options, Francis met a copywriter and an international meeting spot. Copywriting appealed to Francis as a career choice that would allow him to work remotely and travel.From his first client on Upwork, Francis would take on various projects from emails to blog posts and website content until eventually he was hired by an e-commerce email marketing agency. Francis particularly enjoys the ‘instant gratification' from email marketing - seeing how well your work performs a mere few days after launch. That’s when began ‘niching down’ and taking on e-commerce clients.Daniel and Francis agree that taking on feedback and understanding how customers are responding to your copy is crucial to professional development and success.How to Improve Conversion with a Personal Tone of VoiceAuthentic marketing has never been more important. Millennials and Gen Zs are particularly receptive to a personal and genuine style tone of voice (TOV).“Nowadays, the buyers are smart. They know what boring templated jargon build copy looks like. They don’t have to be in marketing to know what that is. We have to give the customers credit.”It’s important for the customer to feel like they’re having a one-to-one conversation while they’re reading your copy. Francis recalls one of his most important lessons from copywriting expert, John Carlton: pretend as if you’re talking to your friend at a bar. ‘Barroom copy’ reads more like offering advice to a friend rather than hard selling.Naturally, this TOV works best with advanced segmentation, personalized automation, and top-notch design. In Francis’s words, that is ‘smart marketing’. Smart marketing for the smart consumer.How Do You Tell Stories in Emails?It goes without saying that marketing emails are shorter than landing pages. So how do you harness storytelling in such short-form content?As Francis points out, e-commerce emails are limited to fewer than 500 words. Above all, stories show the transformation. To incorporate storytelling into your emails, you need to show how your product takes a customer from point A to point B. You don’t even need 300 words to do that. Most of this involves showcasing what makes your product unique and how it works better than that of your competitors. The more you demonstrate this transformation, the more you can simplify the copy.“When I say storytelling, it’s not necessarily having that long narrative, it’s showing the transformation.”It’s not just writing emails that promote a 20% discount, it’s showing the customer why they should use your discount code.If you are going to go down the narrative route, Francis and Daniel recommend engaging your customers with a story told over a series of emails. AndréChaperon calls this the ‘Soap Opera Sequence’.The ‘Soap Opera Sequence’ works best at around 5 emails with a call to action (CTA) on the third email. Customers will lose interest if the sequence is too long.How to Handle Customer ObjectionsThe best way to handle customer objections is to be upfront about them. Don’t hide the fact that there will be certain things your customers face, but that you have a solution to it. For example, “We realize some items will take some time to arrive. That’s why you can track your order every step of the way/we only charge X - amount for shipping.”Always mention potential objections in the footer or P.S. Or dedicate an entire email to one. For example, “Worried your item won’t fit? Here’s our exchange policy.” Just make sure that your customers know that their objections are being taken care of.How Long Should an Email Be?Francis says that this all comes down to testing. Generally, don’t make it too long. Don’t have 300 - 400 words of copy with 10 - 20 product blocks.The more expensive a product is, the more copy you’ll need.Francis prefers ‘short, punchy copy’.“Peop

#89 Dale Bertrand from Fire&Spark: How to Increase Your Reach with Authority First SEOWant to increase your organic reach? Let’s talk Authority First SEO.Dale Bertrand is an SEO Strategist, Keynote Speaker, Business Coach, and the Founder of Fire&Spark. Fire&Spark is an SEO firm that helps e-commerce and B2B brands leverage Authority First SEO to double or even triple organic search revenue.So, what is Authority First SEO anyway? Tune in to hear Dale and our CEO and podcast host, Daniel Budai discuss:✔️ Becoming a Founder in Digital Marketing✔️ What is Authority SEO?✔️ Why Does Authority First SEO Perform Well on Google?✔️ Purpose Driven SEO✔️ Technical SEO✔️ SEO Advice for E-Commerce Owners?Becoming a Founder in Digital MarketingDale has a very technical background. After graduating from engineering school, Dale worked as a software developer for 20 years.In 2008, Dale decided to switch over to digital marketing. He began as a freelancer then founded his SEO agency Fire&Spark.Fire&Spark began as an office of 20 people in Boston. When the pandemic hit, they went remote and, like many agencies, never looked back. They’re now stretched across many time zones from Europe to the US.“We focus on SEO. We’re SEO all day, every day.”And many of Fire&Spark’s clients are in e-commerce. Dale and his employees especially love working with mission-driven e-commerce brands.Primarily, Fire&Spark focuses on Authority First SEO.What is Authority First SEO?Authority First SEO makes brand authority the core focus. This means improving a website’s ability to post high-ranking content. Naturally, Fire&Spark also focuses on the technical aspects of SEO, but the authority side of SEO really moves the needle. Authority First SEO can double or even triple your organic traffic.Dale identifies 3 fundamentals of SEO:Building a high-functioning website where Google can index your site.Keyword visibility: targeting the right keywords and search intent so that you’re offering information or a product that people are actually looking for.Authority: building authority on Google so that your content is relevant to search intent. The reason why Google should choose your piece of content over your competitors' content. Why Does Authority First SEO Perform Well On Google?Dale says that Google search results used to be far easier to manipulate. When he was just starting in SEO, you could just put lots of keywords in an article or blog, whether they were relevant or not, and your content would be favored in search results.Now, those manipulations are useless. Google’s AI is a lot better at understanding search queries. For example, if someone types in ‘3D printing service’, they are looking for someone to manufacture parts for them on a 3D printer. If someone types in ‘3D printer’ into Google, they’re looking to buy a 3D printer. Google’s AI is now really good at discerning between the two. In other words, understanding search intent and queries.“Fundamentally, an AI search engine like Google is about predicting human behavior.”And the Google search engine is learning. It’s not just showing us the best results, it’s learning from what we click on. If we click on a website do we stay there? Or do we come back immediately to Google and click on something else?This means that Google is better than ever at classifying web pages and ranking which ones it should show.“At the end of the day, it’s all about making sure that you’re targeting the right search intent instead of keywords.”As a marketer, therefore, you need to know what your customers are searching for. Google’s AI is excellent at understanding what people are looking for and finding the right content. That content needs to be good enough to satisfy your customers' queries and make them stay.Your customers won’t just be looking for your product or service, they’re looking for information related to your product or service. Namely any relevant pain points and problems. Knowing what your customers are searching for is what Dale calls ‘customer intimacy’.Essentially, your authority on Google is improved with awesome content that your customers engage with.What is Purpose Driven SEO?Purpose driven SEO takes a top-down approach to SEO. Bottom-up focuses on all the technical signals that Google needs to see. Top-down focuses on your overarching marketing strategy.This involves a close examination of your brand. What is remarkable about your brand? Do you have a story? Do you have a social mission? Stories are very powerful from an SEO perspective. Telling a compelling story makes for a great purpose driven SEO campaign.Having a purpose is key to building authority content. It allows you to partner with like-minded individuals and organizations. This, in turn, creates more content via content partnerships and UGC (User Generated Content) because there’s a subject matter that you all care about. UGC is not created because customers want to help you sell more, it's cre

We’re very excited to welcome Chloë Thomas to our 88th episode of The Ecom Show. Chloë is a keynote speaker, bestselling author, and Founder of the award-winning eCommerce MasterPlan podcast.Tune in to hear Chloë and our CEO and podcast host, Daniel Budai discuss:✔️ How Did Chloë Begin in E-Commerce?✔️ How Has E-Commerce Changed in 20 Years?✔️ Trend #1: Zero-Party Data✔️ Trend #2 Selling Where the Customer Wants to Buy✔️ Trend #3 Why the Message Beats the Medium✔️ Trend #4 Partnership Marketing✔️ Trend #5 The Path to Net ZeroHow Did Chloë Begin in E-Commerce?Chloë’s e-commerce journey when she began working for a UK high street and catalog retailer. Specifically, optimizing their website and digital marketing.Back in the early 2000s, Chloë led the e-commerce for a group of mail-order brands. Building their first website, implementing their email campaigns, setting up Google ads, etc. From there, Chloë created an online marketing agency that she ran for 10 years.Now? She’s a globally recognized e-commerce thought leader.“I am incredibly lucky to get to think, speak, and write, on the subject of e-commerce.”How Has E-Commerce Changed Over the Last 20 Years?Chloë has been in e-commerce for almost 20 years. So it’s safe to say that she’s seen a lot of changes!The biggest change Chloë identifies is that the software has become more accessible. While the barriers to entry are lower, this has actually made things more difficult. E-commerce owners need to do a lot more to stand out from the competition.“The successful people are the ones who work out what they should do and actually deliver on it. So in many ways, nothing’s changed. And in some ways, everything’s changed.”This year, Chloë predicts that these 5 areas of change will guide the future of e-commerce.Zero Party DataSelling Were the Customer Wants to BuyMessage Beats the MediumPartnership MarketingEmbrace the Path to Net ZeroTrend 1: Zero-Party DataZero Party Data is data collected directly from the consumer. In other words, permission-based marketing. This is usually collected via shop quizzes or surveys. And Chloë is a big fan.“It’s marketing done well. As a pure trained marketer, I love it when marketing is done properly.”Chloë stipulates that zero-party data drives results for two key reasons:PersonalizationZero-party data allows e-commerce owners to send out more personalized, content-driven marketing that resonates with their customers.Engages the customersQuizzes and surveys engage the customers. Neuromarketers have identified that if human beings feel like if they have had some input in the creation of something, they are more likely to back it. In the case of zero-party data, backing it is buying it.Trend 2: Selling Where the Customer Wants to BuyChloë describes this trend as an amalgamation of several online shopping trends.Consumers are increasingly buying online. In games, on marketplaces, on social media, Messenger chats, WhatsApp. Consumers are making purchases from pretty much anywhere you can think of online.This opens up a whole new world of processes. Understanding what it means to sell on TikTok, WhatsApp, or Pinterest, for example, requires a deep understanding of the platforms. Every one of these channels has its process that e-commerce owners need to learn about and integrate into their stores.All these marketplaces open up or tap into a new customer niche. Vegan marketplaces are very popular, for example. Net-zero marketplaces are opening up. Recently, Chloë recorded a podcast episode with a company that’s creating a marketplace for disabled consumers. This is a huge untapped market for many online businesses.Chloë’s advice for keeping up with this trend is to have a tech stack that enables you to adapt quickly. Make sure your product information is in a format that allows you to fire it out to different places quickly. Keep track of your inventory system. Have a marketing team that's ready to twist and pivot.“The biggest lesson of 2020 was that if you had the right tech stack, life was a lot easier.”Trend 3: Message Beats the MediumIn the world of the smart consumer, your marketing needs to be creative.Chloë says that there’s a consumer desire for connection. They want to know the story behind the product that makes sense to them. To know that their decision to buy aligns with their morals. Secondly, there is huge competition. To stand out, you need to be engaging with the consumer and have great creative marketing across channels. Your marketing team needs analytical creative people who understand great copy and design.Trend 4: Partnership MarketingIf creative marketing is not your strong suit, Chloë advises investing in partnership marketing.In influencer marketing, the brand owns the right to use the creative marketing that their influencer creates.Anything you can do with someone that your customers trust is very powerful. It enables your brand to get in front of a good audience and get someone else to create creative marketing

#87 Daniel Budai from Budai Media: 3 More Tools to Scale Your E-CommerceWe’re building quite the e-commerce toolbox here!For episode 87 of The Ecom Show, our CEO and podcast host Daniel Budai takes a look at:✔️ 3 More Tools to Scale Your E-Commerce✔️ Entrepreneurship✔️ Advice from Dan Kennedy and Tim FerrissLet’s dive straight in.3 More Tools to Scale Your E-CommerceVideoWiseIf you want to keep up with the rise of social commerce, VideoWiseshould be your go-to software tool.VideoWise allows e-commerce owners to connect their Shopify store with TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and other social media channels to add product review videos and other forms of user-generated content (UGC).E-commerce owners are also free to upload videos from their libraries.VideoWise significantly increases conversion rates for e-commerce stores on both desktop and mobile. On average, if you have 250,000 website visitors, VideoWise increases your revenue by $20,000. That’s almost 10¢ per visitor.As for pricing, they only charge $49 per month and 2% of direct video sales. A direct video sale is when a customer converts within your product video. If they watch the video and buy your product elsewhere, this does not constitute a direct sale.Their analytical tools are also top-notch. On your analytics page, you can see the number of views for each video, average watch times, direct sales, and more.The Founder and CEO of VideoWise, Claudiu Cioba prides himself on being transparent about conversion. Take a look at what he has to say about honest attribution models in episode #74 of The Ecom Show: How to Use Video on Your Shopify Store Without Slowing Site Speed.VideoWise is an excellent tool for increasing conversions, engagement, and harnessing UGC without slowing down your website.Daniel highly recommends checking it out.FreeCashFlow.io Daniel cannot emphasize enough the importance of having a good accountant for your e-commerce, or even any business.If your e-commerce is in the US, Daniel recommends checking out FreeCashFlow.io. FreeCashFlow.io are absolute experts on bookkeeping and tax planning. Here are just a couple of examples of how you can save money with proper tax planning:Startup Cost Deduction This startup cost allows US entrepreneurs to claim a deduction of up to $5000 for any business cost up until the point their business is created.This includes product research, travel, and work with lawyers and accountants. You just need to keep your receipts and documentation.Home Office DeductionThere are two ways you can claim a tax deduction from running your business at home.The first way is the Simplified Calculated Method in which the highest deduction available is $1500.The second method is more complicated but lucrative: The Actual Expenses Method.The actual expense method takes the square footage of your office space as a percentage of your total home. Your tax deduction can then cover whatever cost is included in that percentage. That includes rent, mortgage, or even repair maintenance. The biggest deduction FreeCashFlow.io has claimed for their client using this method is $14,000.For more tax advice, check out Daniel’s podcast episode with the Co-Founder of FreeCashFlow.io: Tax Planning and Deductions All E-Commerce Owners Should Know About.OptinMonsterDaniel is a huge fan of OptinMonster. When he began his email marketing career in 2018, OptinMonster was the first pop up tool he ever used. And he’s still using it today!Despite testing many pop up tools over the years, (Privy, Klaviyo’s pop up feature, OptiMonk), OptinMonster always comes out on top.OptinMonster stands out with its multiple customization options. Including lightbox pop ups, floating bars, scroll boxes, exit-intent pop ups, and more.With its integration with Google Analytics, on-site retargeting and personalization, lead segmentation, exit-intent technology, purchase history, and advanced traffic redirection, OptinMonster is a great tool to use if you want to increase your conversions without spamming your visitors. Returning visitors, for example, will see a different pop up to new visitors. This provides a more personalized and optimized experience for your customers.At Budai Media, we see pop up conversion rates as high as 10 - 20% using OptinMonster.Check out our case study: Over $1.2 Million Generated Using Klaviyo Email Marketing to see how you can use OptinMonster pop ups to generate revenue for your store.Some Thoughts on EntrepreneurshipLast week, Daniel asked his LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram followers a question:How many years ago did you launch your business?Over 100 people responded, many with their own stories to tell. Entrepreneurship is not always easy in the beginning. But once you gain some traction and success, looking back to your humble beginnings can be a beautiful thing.Daniel’s question put him in contact with some people he hasn’t spoken to in years. When you look for it, there is a thriving community of business owners r

Let’s talk scaling, marketing, and friendship. (It turns out that there are friends in business).For episode 86 of The Ecom Show, our CEO and podcast host Daniel Budai takes a deep dive into:✔️ 3 Must-Have Tools to Scale Your E-Commerce✔️ Friendship in Business✔️ What Marketing Channels Should You Try This Year?✔️Advice from Jeff Bezos & David BebeeLet’s go!3 Must-Have Tools to Scale Your E-Commerce RecartRecart streamlines Facebook Messenger and SMS marketing with automated flows, opt-in tools, and software integrations.Take a look at how we made 18% of a print-on-demand store’s monthly revenue with Recart. Recart allowed us to connect a Messenger welcome flow with a popup, thus tripling our client’s opt-in rate. Generally, opt-in rates tend to be higher on Messenger than with email.For our client in pet e-commerce, we used Recart to triple our client’s monthly revenue from Messenger.Daniel highly recommends Recart for e-commerce owners, even if you’re just starting out. Their basic plan is very affordable and their pricing increases as your business grows.ShopifyShopify doesn’t need a big introduction. As the fastest-growing e-commerce platform in the last six years, over 2 million online stores use Shopify as of 2022.Unlike BigCommerce and WooCommerce, Shopify takes care of your website domain. This means that you don’t have to deal with any domain admin, but it also means that your website can be shut down by Shopify if your store inadvertently runs into any legal issues.Like Recart, Shopify is also very affordable. Its pricing begins at $29 and increases as your e-commerce store grows.Plus, Shopify apps allow you to integrate e-commerce software such as Zipify One Click Upsell, Reconvert, Klaviyo, and many more.Shopify themes are also a cheap way to improve optimization. They are by no means a single solution to conversion rate optimization, but they are helpful if you’re just starting out with a tight budget.We’re proud members of Shopify’s partner program. Take a look at how we can help optimize your Shopify store here.Octane AIOctane AI began as a Messenger chatbot platform. In 2021, they quickly realized how important zero-party data would be to e-commerce, and introduced two new incredible features:1. Shop QuizShop Quiz collects zero-party data (data voluntarily given by the customer) to personalize product recommendations and build a detailed buyer persona. 2. Conversational Popups Conversational popups allow you to collect email, SMS, and Messenger opt-ins by asking customers about their needs and preferences. And the personalization doesn’t stop there. Octane AI integrates with Klaviyo so that you can not only personalize your welcome flows, but also all future communications with your customers. If you want to learn a ton about your customers and drastically improve your SMS and email marketing and their shopping experience, Octane AI is the tool to use. Friendship in Business Business is not all about being cut-throat. Bob Iger, who was the CEO of Disney for 15 years talks about the importance of friendship and staying in touch with your emotions in his book, The Ride of a Lifetime.While conferences are often about serious networking, don’t be afraid to have some fun and make some friends. Thriving in business is a wonderful experience to share.Poll: What Marketing Channels Should You Try This Year?Last week, Daniel asked his followers: What Marketing Channel Will You Try in 2022? And the results are in!Over half of the respondents on LinkedIn said that they would try TikTok.It’s safe to say that TikTok is really hot right now. In light of the iOS 14 and iOS 15 updates, many e-commerce owners do not trust Facebook as much as they once did. Plus, TikTok is thriving as a Gen Z platform. It’s a very different user experience from Facebook and Instagram, and it’s easy to consume a lot of content in a short space of time. Daniel predicts that TikTok will be bigger than any other social media platform in a couple of years.Advice from Jeff Bezos and David Beebe “It’s hard to find things that won’t sell online.”Jeff Bezos, Founder & CEO of Amazon If you’re just starting out in e-commerce, take some advice from someone who’s been in the industry for over 25 years. Almost anything can be sold online. It’s about putting in the time and work to learn how.“Content marketing is like a first date. If you only talk about yourself, there won’t be a second one.”David Beebe, Founder and CEO of Storified Brands Even when advertising your brand, try not to make everything about you. Talk about your clients and partners, interview other people in your field, engage with your audience.If you liked this episode of The Ecom Show, please feel free to leave any comments you have on our YouTube channel, contact Daniel on LinkedIn, or check out another episode!Follow Daniel Budai:Daniel's LinkedInDaniel's Facebook Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#85 Daniel Budai from Budai Media: Scale Your E-Commerce With These 3 Digital Marketing ToolsOur CEO and podcast host Daniel Budai is back with more tips and tricks for scaling your e-commerce in 2022.This week, Daniel takes us through:✔️ 3 Digital Marketing Software Tools You Need in 2022✔️ 3 Marketing Personalities We all Could Learn From✔️ An Introduction WhatsApp Marketing✔️ Motivational MusingsLet’s dive right in!3 Digital Marketing Software Tools You Need in 2022 PushOwlPushOwl is the most popular push-notification platform. And for a good reason!PushOwl is used by over 20,000 Shopify stores and it’s very budget-friendly. Your first 500 push notifications are free. From there, Push Owl is between $19 - $50 a month for up to 30,000 messages per month. Considering the return on investment (ROI) for push notifications, this is a great deal.One limitation of push notifications is that they do not work on iOS and iPhones. If the majority of your visitors are using iPhones (as opposed to desktop or tablets) it may not be worth your while to use PushOwl.Push notifications are fantastic for browse abandonments, abandoned carts, and shipping notifications. If using push notifications for sales events, namely flash sales, Daniel recommends only targeting your engaged customers. Take care not to spam your visitors, this will decrease your website conversion rate.Naturally, you should always ensure your customers have opted in for push notifications. PushOwl never sends notifications without your customers’ consent.If you have a Shopify store, Daniel highly recommends PushOwl as your push notification platform of choice.ReConvert If you’re looking to really level up your conversion rate optimization (CRO), ReConvert is the place to go.ReConvert allows e-commerce owners to optimize their post-purchase ‘Thank You’ page. Features include upsells, time-sensitive offers, product recommendations, and surveys. As we know, surveys are invaluable for collecting zero-party data. Plus, ReConvert integrates with Klaviyo. This means that you can set up personalized email flows (birthday flows, for example) based on data collected from your ‘Thank You’ page.Daniel also recommends filming and uploading up a ‘Thank You’ video to either your ‘Thank You’ page or post-purchase email. Genuinely thanking your customers (don’t use this video to upsell) builds trust in your brand.Another fantastic thing about ReConvert is its accessibility. Its visual builder is fantastic for setting up sales funnels and flows. Check out their video on how to set up post-purchase funnels for your e-commerce here.KlaviyoKlaviyo is the best tool for e-commerce email marketing. In fact, it’s our go-to toolat Budai Media.There are a few email marketing platforms out there, but Klaviyo’s data analytics sets it apart from its competitors. Its AI is advanced enough to predict not only your customers’ expected dates of next order but also their lifetime value. The most powerful email marketing is founded on close data analysis and advanced list segmentation.So what are the downsides? Klaviyo is expensive. More expensive than its two key competitors, Mailchimp and Drip. In this instance, however, you get what you pay for. Daniel advises that once your store revenue reaches $10,000 - $20,000 a month Klaviyo is by far your best option.Klaviyo’s help center is also very easy to navigate. Check it out here.3 Marketing Personalities We All Could Learn From Dan KennedyWe’re off to a fantastic start with a renowned marketing strategist, Dan Kennedy. Kennedy has authored 32 books, including his ‘No BS’ series, ‘Why Advertising Fails’, and ‘Speak to Sell’. He has study groups in over 100 cities.When it comes to direct response marketing Dan Kennedy is your man. Check out his work on Amazon.David OgilvyWhat couldn’t we learn from the “Father of Advertising” David Ogilvy? Ogilvy is revered for his highly successful advertising campaigns for Rolls Royce, Dove, and Shell in the mid 20th century.Ogilvy’s dedication to customer research and measuring market results led to his incredible success. Failing to measure your results, Ogilvy advised, is one of the worst mistakes you can make. Now that we’re in the digital age, it’s far easier to measure market results than it was in Ogilvy’s heyday. You can never have too much data analysis!Gary HalbertGary Helbert is a copywriting celebrity and probably the biggest influencer on direct response copywriting. His AIDA model: attention, interest, desire, and action is to trace the customer journey across marketing channels.Helbert wrote a series of enlightening letters to his son on advertising, business, and psychology. They’re available online, and Daniel highly recommendschecking them out.WhatsApp Marketing Last week, Daniel asked his followers a question: Have you ever tried WhatsApp marketing? To his surprise, the response was, overwhelmingly, “No”.WhatsApp marketing is much like Messenger marketing. It’s owned by Facebook, and i

#84 Valentin Radu from Omniconvert: How to Scale with CRO and Retention MarketingFor our very first episode of 2022, we are delighted to welcome Valentin Radu to The Ecom Show. Valentin is the Founder and CEO of Omniconvert, a multi-faceted conversion rate optimization (CRO) platform built for data-driven growth.When two CRO-obsessed retention marketers meet, we’re gonna learn a lot about scaling. 🚀 Tune in to hear Valentin and our CEO and podcast host, Daniel Budai discuss:✔️ Valentin’s approach to CRO✔️ What is blackhat CRO?✔️ Why you shouldn’t spend everything on acquisition✔️ How to increase customer lifetime value (CLV)Valentin’s Approach to CRO Valentin says that the overarching narrative on e-commerce growth is changing. Acquisition marketing used to be the main theme for decades, but now the focus has shifted to retention marketing.“It’s okay to acquire customers, but what about the costs? What about the future revenue from them?”Essentially, your growth is going to struggle if your acquisition costs are too high. Growth never happens with a single tweak. You need acquisition, you need conversion, and you need retention. All three pillars are important.Omniconvert’s e-commerce growth focuses on conversion rate and retention rate. Their extensive use of website surveys and A/B testing allows e-commerce merchants to really get to know their site visitors and optimize accordingly.Valentin and his colleagues at Omniconvert are strong believers in interactive content such as surveys.“The most convenient and cheap way to understand what you should be changing on your website is to simply ask your customers.”What is blackhat CRO? Talking of interactive content, is there a bad way to make things interactive? Yes. As there is ‘Blackhat SEO’, there is also ‘Blackhat CRO’. Essentially, blackhat CRO is conversion rate tactics that are used to mislead the user into clicking or buying. Aside from their unethical implications, they tend not to build trust or CLV.Both Valentin and Daniel are against having ‘Wheel of Fortune’ on your e-commerce website. This type of conversion trap is not going to help you establish an authentic relationship with your audience.As Valentin points out, we are migrating from clicks to relationships.Clicks mean very little if they come from customers who won’t convert and are not going to stay. Focus on building trust and retention.Why you shouldn’t spend everything on acquisition Another reason why people are turning more towards CRO, email marketing, and increasing CLV is due to an incredible increase in competition.Valentin read recently that 44% of all the active e-commerce companies were launched in the last 12 months. There are 3.8 million new websites on the market than there were one year ago. Ads and acquisitions are far more expensive than they used to be.“The CPC [cost per click] on Facebook is 89% higher. The CPA [cost per action] on YouTube is 108% higher.”Spending all your money on acquisition is going to put you out of business. Building a relationship with your customers and increasing CLV has never been more important.How to increase your customer lifetime value (CLV) Never assume that CLV is guaranteed. Even if you have an amazing product. It’s something you need to focus on and influence. Communicate with your customers.“Email marketing is the most undervalued channel that a brand has at this moment because it is very cheap, and it’s very effective. You have this opportunity to talk with customers that know about you.”Unlike ads, email marketing communicates with existing customers (or at least potential customers if they’ve signed up for a discount). Most of all, email marketing allows you to show your customers that you care. Instead of bombarding customers with discounts, Valentin strongly recommends asking for feedback. Doing so shows your customers that you care about them post-purchase.“You can’t improve what you don’t measure.” Valentin is also a strong believer in RFM segmentation: scoring your customers on recency, frequency, and monetary value. Do your surveys on your most valuable customers - find out what they bought and why they bought it. CRO and CLV require both quantitative and qualitative analysis.Don’t forget to monitor your customers’ Net Promoter Score (NPS) - how satisfied your customers are.“If you have issues in your customer journey, fix them. Don’t ignore them.”Measuring CLV is crucial to your success. Understand who your most valuable customers are. Those are the ones you need to retain (and acquire some of their buddies too!) Retention and word of mouth are the cheapest forms of advertising.For even more fantastic advice on CRO, customer retention, and improving CLV, visit Valentin on LinkedIn, or visit Omniconvert.Thank you for listening! We come out with new episodes every Thursday, stay tuned!Follow Daniel Budai:Daniel's LinkedInDaniel's Facebook Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#83 Daniel Budai from Budai Media: 3 More E-Commerce Trends to Look Out for in 2022Last week, our CEO and podcast host Daniel Budai introduced us to 3 upcoming trends to look out for in 2022. And now he’s back with 3 more! Just when you thought you couldn’t get more prepared for next year.Join Daniel’s second Master Show for more fantastic advice on:✔️ 3 More E-Commerce Trends to Look Out for in 2022✔️ Timeless Advertising with David Ogilvy✔️ The Best SMS Marketing Tool✔️ Advice from the Best in Business3 More E-Commerce Trends to Look Out for in 2022Trend #1: Subscriptions Subscriptions have taken off over the past couple of years, and Daniel predicts an acceleration in this trend next year.Subscriptions are already huge in software, SaaS companies make the bulk of their revenue in subscriptions. As of 2021, subscriptions are not quite as prominent in the e-commerce industry, but they’re rapidly rising in popularity.Parsa Saljoughian, VP of strategic finance at WHOOP, states that subscription-based businesses can retain up to 65% of their customers within 12 months.So, aside from high customer retention rates, what are the benefits of using a subscription-based model in your e-commerce?1. You’ll get to know your customersSubscriptions are a great way to collect zero-party data. Collecting zero-party data is the first step towards hyper-personalizing your marketing and product recommendations.2. You can build better incentivesSince subscriptions allow you to really get to know your customers, you’ll collect enough information about their purchase behavior to build an effective VIP tier system, understand what incentives they respond to, and come up with some really solid offers and bundles3. Subscriptions are stickyIn other words, they can be a hassle to cancel. When your subscriptions are low-cost, customers may often not feel the need to cancel their subscription if they take a break from your product or service for a few weeks or even months.So what are your next steps?If you want to build a subscription-based model for your business, Daniel recommends checking out Recharge if you have a Shopify store or adding the Woocommerce subscription extension if you’re with Woocommerce. Recharge can also be integrated with Zipify One Click Upsell for when you want to upsell a subscription.Daniel advises that thorough data collection and analysis is integral to a subscription-based model. Metrilo is a great tool to hook up your subscription-based data with your Google Analytics account.Otherwise, if you need any help with data analysis and building a subscription-based model, head over to thebudaimedia.com or email [email protected] #2: PersonalizationAs the iOS14 and 15 updates shook digital marketing to its core zero-party data and first-party data became incredibly important. And that trend isn’t going anywhere.Zero-party data isn’t collected by pixels or third parties. They’re collected through questions: permission-based marketing. Customer information is retrieved through survey questions, quizzes, or popups.Zero-party data revolutionizes the customer journey: direct questions collect customer information that third-party data would never be able to obtain. It allows e-commerce owners to hyper-personalize and customize every step of the customer journey.Personalized marketing, Daniel advises, is particularly effective with omnichannel marketing. It’s important to ensure that every marketing channel, be it website optimization, email marketing, SMS marketing, ads, etc. is connected. Omnichannel marketing is particularly useful during sales and promos. During Black Friday, for example, your site will direct visitors to email and SMS marketing. In turn, SMS and email marketing are fantastic for promoting Black Friday and creating urgency.Daniel highly recommends Octane AI for its Shop Quizzes, Conversational Popups, and seamless personalization and product recommendations across marketing channels.Thank you emails are also highly effective in optimizing personalization and expressing appreciation to your customers. According to Klaviyo, a post-purchase thank you email has an open rate of over three times the average email. So make sure that your copy is good and you grasp any opportunity for upselling. Klaviyo personalizes the recommended product feed, so do take advantage of that in your email marketing.Trend #3 Social Commerce According to Statista, Social Commerce will have $46 billion in sales in 2022. That’s a 20% - 25% increase from last year.So what is social commerce?Social commerce is the process of selling products directly on social media. When people are scrolling through TikTok, Facebook, or Instagram, they usually don’t want to be taken to a website to buy a product: they want to buy within the platform.Keep an eye on your social media and your customers. Use Facebook marketplace if it’s relevant to your audience, or engage with shoppable Instagram or TikTok feeds if you have a Gen Z

#82 Daniel Budai from Budai Media: 3 E-Commerce Trends to Look Out for in 2022For this episode of the Ecom Show, our CEO and podcast host, Daniel Budai, takes center stage with his advice for scaling your e-commerce in 2022. Let’s dive straight into:✔️ 3 E-Commerce Trends to Look Out for in 2022✔️ Fond Memories with E-Commerce Powerhouses✔️ The Best Email Marketing Software✔️ Advice from the Best in Business3 E-Commerce Trends to Look Out for in 2022Trend #1: Being Mobile FirstAccording to Statista and Neil Patel, 73% of all sales online happen through mobile phones. In 2021, the percentage increased by 13%.People are shifting towards using apps over websites. They are far more likely to use Facebook, Amazon, Twitter, and Gmail for example, on a mobile app than on a desktop website.People want to buy in the app, they don’t want to switch platforms.Gmail is the 3rd most popular mobile app. It’s no surprise that, as an email marketer, Daniel is particularly excited about Gmail and optimizing email marketing to a mobile-first approach.Daniel’s Tips for Going Mobile First:1. Check your site speed on mobileSpeed is absolutely essential to conversion. No one likes anything on their mobile to be slow. Their attention span is short and they want to act fast.2. Check the percentage of visitors on mobileIn B2C e-commerce, mobile is the winner. Check where your visitors are coming from to see how crucial it is that you optimize for mobile.3. Check Tapcart Tapcart is a fantastic platform for creating apps for your e-commerce store and business. It doesn’t require any complicated coding, it’s affordable, and it’s super easy to use.Trend #2: Supply Chain IssuesThis may not have been something you wanted to hear about. But the more you know the more you can do to address the problem. Let’s take a look at Daniel’s advice on how to optimize your supply chains.Europe, North America, and Asia - pretty much all over the world are having difficulties finding the right ingredients or materials for their products. These are mostly due to COVID-19 and varying restrictions and regulations between borders.According to Statista, 57% of e-commerce stores don’t fully understand their own supply chain. If you don’t know anything about how your product is made or how it gets to your customers…well, that’s a big problem. You need to be an expert in your supply chain in order to address any potential issues that arise.Here are Daniel’s tips for optimizing your supply chain:1. Make it possible for customers to track their productIf you have a Shopify store, tracking codes are very simple and easy to use.Customers are likely to be more forgiving of delays when they know where their parcel is.2. Set expectations around shippingBe as transparent as possible about shipping times as cost.Put shipping times and costs on both your product page and checkout page. People are more likely to convert when they know what to expect.3. Use SMS and Email MarketingKeep your customers updated while they wait for their shipping. Lead them to your FAQ pages, consider upsells and discounts. This builds trust and confidence in your brand.Honesty is the best policy here.Trend #3 Conversion Rate Optimization Will Become More Important Than EveriOS 14 and iOS 15 heavily disrupted Facebook advertising and email marketing analytics. Third-party data is on its way out.Daniel recommends keeping an extremely close eye on your data and conducting in-depth data analysis. It’s not worth spending lots of money on ads when you don’t know anything about your ROI.The best thing about conversion rate optimization (CRO) is that it allows you to track what works and what doesn’t in Google Analytics. Usually, the more e-commerce stores spend, the more CRO becomes important. Investing in CRO comes before ad investment.Fond Memories With E-Commerce PowerhousesNow we’ve covered the three trends you need to look out for in 2022, Daniel would love to share some fond memories he’s shared with some awesome friends and partners in e-commerce.Daniel’s first photograph is with Angie Meeker and the Optinmonster team in San Diego, California at the Traffic and Conversion Conference, 2019.Optinmonster is a fantastic popup builder and marketing plugin. We’ve tried out many popup tools at Budai Media but Optinmonster always comes out on top.Daniel’s next photograph was also shot in the US, this time in Boston, at the 2019 Klaviyo Conference. Daniel and Budai Media’s account manager, Ben Erdelyi got the chance to chat withHustler Marketing and their CEO Bostjan Belingar. Daniel sees a lot of brands and competitors in e-commerce that doesn’t even acknowledge each other. He prefers a more civil and collaborative approach. It’s a good thing to share and learn with your competitors.Daniel’s last photograph is with Ezra Firestone at the San Diego Traffic and Conversion Conference. Ezra is the Founder of Smart Marketer, and the Co-Founder of BOOM! and Zipify Apps. Check out his LinkedIn - Ezra shares a

#81 Ben Parr from Octane AI: Zero Party Data - Strategies for Collecting Data and Increasing SalesWe’re delighted to welcome Ben Parr, the President and Co-Founder of Octane AI, to a webinar with our podcast host and CEO, Daniel Budai.Octane AI is the zero-party data marketing platform for Shopify and Shopify Plus merchants. Its conversational technology enables thousands of merchants to collect zero-party data and use it to optimize conversions, average order value, and customer lifetime value.If you want to form a real relationship with your customers, tune in to hear Ben teach us everything you need to know about:✔️ The Problem: Rented Relationships vs Real Relationships✔️ Zero-Party Data Marketing✔️ How to Collect Zero-Party Data✔️ Personalizing Your MarketingThe Problem: Rented Relationships vs. Real RelationshipsBen begins by identifying 2 key problems in eCommerce:1. Shopify brands have been building their business on top of rented relationships.2. Apple has recently made a change that has completely destroyed the way you were used to doing business.Before the iOS 14 update and recent changes in data privacy, Shopify Brands heavily tended towards Facebook Pixel in their marketing strategies. Facebook Pixel tracked user behavior and retargeted ads accordingly.The problem with this strategy is that it’s a rented relationship. Facebook owns the customer contact information, the Shopify Brand does not. It has to pay Facebook to access contact information, essentially renting the relationship with its own customer.Apple broke this relationship. The new iOS14 gives users the opportunity to opt-out of data tracking. Essentially, this makes it impossible for Facebook to run retargeting ads for iOS users.96% of U.S users opted out of data tracking in iOS 14.5. The vast majority of people do not want to be tracked. The world of marketing is changing, and it’s time to adapt.Retargeting ads based on third-party data are going away. Now eCommerce owners need to collect data directly. This is the era of zero-party data.Ben advises against relying on pixel-based ads and third-party data, that is, rented relationships. Diversify your channels and find new ways of bringing people to your store. From there, focus on building real relationships with your customers using zero-party data. Don’t accept 2% conversion rates in pop-ups, aim for 8%-10% and higher.Zero-Party Data MarketingZero-party data marketing uses data directly collected from your customers via questions. The answers to these questions are then used to personalize the entire shopping experience, from emails to SMS, to the website itself.Third-party data is collected via several different websites. First-party data is collected on your own website using Google or Shopify analytics. Zero-party is different because it’s collected from data that is voluntarily provided by the customer. This includes information such as size, style, dietary preferences, etc. Such information can only be collected via direct questions. Zero-party data is, therefore, the only way to build a hyper-personalized customer journey.How to Collect Zero-Party DataBen recommends using product quizzes to build deep relationships with your customers. He likens this to an in-store shopping experience. When a customer goes into a store, an associate may be there to ask questions and guide them towards the best product for them. For example, an associate at a skincare store may ask the customer about their skin type, current skincare routine, skin goals, etc. Zero-party data is about bringing this experience online.Product quizzes are generally loved by customers because they often come to websites without knowing exactly what they’re looking for. The answers to the quiz questions build the customer’s buyer profile which is then used to lead them to the right product. Further, when the right questions are asked, engaged users are more inclined to provide contact information. From there, you can personalize content and products that you send in your campaigns.The conversion rate in product quizzes is significantly higher than standard popups. As people are keen to receive their quiz results, conversion rates can be as high as 20 - 40%.Zero-party data is not only fantastic for initial conversions, it can be stored and leveraged for future product recommendations and campaigns.A conversational popup is a very simple but highly effective way to capture email addresses. Instead of “Enter your email to get 10% off”, “Get 10% off by answering this question” gives your customer the opportunity to interact with your brand and receive a decent product recommendation. The conversion rate is 46 times higher in a conversational popup than in a standard popup.Personalizing Your Marketing with Zero-Party DataBen describes this as the “bread and butter” of zero-party data marketing. Marketing and remarketing are personalized using quiz data on email, Messenger, SMS, and Facebook ads.A personalized welcome se

#80 Florens from Monkeys.Digital: Unlocking Your Growth with Data-Driven Conversion Rate OptimizationYou’re not in e-commerce if you’re not thinking about conversion rate optimization (CRO). The world of CRO and omnichannel marketing is often overwhelming, but Florens Bach is here to change that.Florens is responsible for performance marketing, Google Ads Management, and PPC (pay per click) marketing at Monkeys.Digital. Monkeys.Digital generates an average of 271% ROI for its clients in e-commerce through Google PPC, CRO, and Facebook and Instagram ads. When it comes to racking up those numbers, Florens knows what he’s doing.Tune in to hear Florens, and our podcast host and CEO Daniel Budai discuss:✔️ Florens’s Foray into Digital Marketing✔️ Conversion Rate Optimization: Where do I begin?✔️ Does Google or Facebook Prefer Bigger or Smaller Businesses?✔️Florens’s Digital Marketing MentorsFlorens’s Foray into the Digital Marketing WorldFlorens first entered digital marketing in late 2015. As an engineering student, digital marketing was a world of mystery. An old friend of his floated around the idea of getting into digital marketing so that they could enjoy the freedom of working anywhere in the world. Soon enough, Florens was hooked.“I really enjoyed working with numbers. I got sucked in and I really like it.”Starting with Amazon PPC, Florens quickly came to realize the importance of knowing how to spend your money. Fully understanding AdWords, budgets, how and when to purchase keywords, and place bids. Florens and his friend became more interested in understanding how PPC works and fits into the bigger advertising picture than actually selling their own products. That’s what made them switch to Google AdWords.Florens’s first clients were people on Amazon who wished to expand to Google. Google emerged as a better business model to work on as a PPC agency, as Google clients need maintenance almost every week. Amazon PPC sometimes only requires a one-time optimization.“We’re just number freaks. We love working with money, numbers, digits, and graphs. Google ads were a perfect fit.”Every company, according to Florens, needs advertising marketing.Conversion Rate Optimization: Where Do I Begin?Before you even begin working on your advertising campaigns, Florens advises, make sure that your website works. Work on driving traffic via ad campaigns from there. Driving traffic to a sub-par website isn’t profitable - your customers won’t convert on a bad website.Once you have a user-optimized website, advertising will do wonders for your conversion rates. Florens highly recommends using an omnichannel marketing strategy. Don’t just start and stop with Google ads, branch out to Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok and influencer marketing.CRO is not just about recognizing the final decision to buy, it’s about understanding the full customer journey.“E-commerce is really driven by data. You can analyze almost anything from its data”When an e-commerce store has €10 - 15,000 in Google ad spend per month, transferring to 500-1000 clicks a day from Google ads, it then has a critical mass of data from which its owner can understand the leverage of CRO.“If you have more than 500 to 700 clicks a day with your Google campaigns, have a deep look at where the conversion rate is dropping off or what might be those essential blocks where you can see a difference.”Does Google or Facebook Prefer Bigger or Smaller Businesses?In Florens’s experience, the bigger the client is, the more premium the support from Facebook. One of the thresholds for Google is 100k ad spend a month. Google recognizes that once you have a certain amount of ad spend your business must be in a very good space.Google knows how to make a six-figure business into a seven-figure business. If you are a four-figure business aiming for five figures, it’s much harder to make a profit via Google ads. Unfortunately, there are too many stores to allow for a totally unique selling point.However, Florens continues, Google will help people who have the potential to grow. A focus on growth is essentially where they make their money.Florens’s Mentors in Digital MarketingFlorens is a big fan of Robert Cialdini, author of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Florens highly recommends this book to digital marketers as a comprehensive guide to the six principles of influence and persuasion.Visit Monkeys.Digital or check out their podcast to see what you can do to unlock your growth potential. They’re very happy to respond to any questions and comments. Florens is also on Instagram @florensbach.Follow Daniel Budai:Daniel's LinkedInDaniel's Facebook Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#79 Chris and Miriam Bair form Keto Chow: How to Build a Community Focused Keto Brand in 7 YearsObsessed with building a community-based brand? Look no further than Keto Chow.Keto Chow began in 2014 as a personal experiment in Chris and Miriam’s kitchen. Their experiment? To create a keto meal replacement shake that tastes good.As friends and family became increasingly interested in Keto-Chow, Chris and Miriam began shipping batches to fellow keto-ers across the country. Keto Chow rapidly grew into a thriving community-focused brand with well over 30,000 happy customers.Tune in to hear Chris, Miriam, and our podcast host and CEO Daniel Budai discuss:✔️ The Keto Chow Story: From the Kitchen to Over 30,000 Happy Customers✔️ Building a Community on Different Platforms✔️ The Evolution of Keto Chow’s Recipe and Production✔️ COVID-19 and Fulfilment✔️ Can the Online World Replace Trade Shows and Live Events?✔️ What’s the Secret to Customer Loyalty?The Keto-Chow Story: From the Kitchen to Over 30,000 Happy CustomersIt all began when Chris first visited the ketogenic lifestyle. A weight-loss diet with high fat, very low carbohydrates, and moderate protein. Chris tried out some keto shakes he found online, but they tasted horrible.“He’s like, ‘I can’t do this. It’s horrible. There’s got to be a better way. And so he just made it up. That’s how we started.”Their number one focus for Keto Chow: Taste.“That’s one of the reasons we have so many positive reviews. It tastes really good. It tastes like melted ice cream.”Keto Chow doesn’t actually have any fat in it. To accommodate for different body types and sizes, Chris and Miriam made every shake customizable: you’re free to add whatever fat suits your taste and body type best.Along with that, Chris and Miriam have built a vibrant community of people who are looking for a way to make their keto journey easier. Keto Chow has a very active Facebook group and subreddit. Usually, a fellow customer steps in and answers any questions before a customer service rep has even seen them.Building a Community on Different PlatformsAside from Facebook and its subreddit, Keto Chow runs a highly popular YouTube channel with almost 18,000 subscribers. They run a live stream every day: from 15- 45 minutes on a Sunday and an hour on Tuesdays. Tuesday’s live stream is all about directly addressing customer questions and pain points.This is a fantastic session not only for receiving feedback but also for building brand-customer trust and loyalty.The Evolution of Keto Chow’s Recipe and ProductionKeto Chow’s original recipe is still on their website. Chris made it using ingredients you can buy from Amazon. Originally, Chris just posted his recipe for fun for people to use. A lot of people began requesting samples to save the hassle of buying the ingredients. From there, the demand for full meal packages came pouring in. Chris added a WooCommerce shopping cart to the website and Keto Chow grew from there.“It got to the point where we had to find a contract manufacturer.”Chris and Miriam tell the contractor how many shakes they need, provide them with what they need, and they do all the mixing and packaging and bring it back to them.It took a year and a half for Chris and Miriam to find the right person to work with. Initially, their biggest pain point was meeting the contractor’s required minimums. Looking back, Miriam wishes that she aimed for larger minimums.“We’ve learned a lot about advertising and how to make things move in addition to just being able to not have the fear to put that money down and just go for it.”COVID-19 and FulfilmentSo what effect did COVID-19 have on Keto Chow’s fulfillment process?While Chris and Miriam send some products to Amazon, Keto Chow primarily handles its own fulfillment. They told their employees that if they had to close, they would. Luckily, they never had to.One of the biggest COVID-19 challenges Keto Chow faced was the cancellation of Trade Shows. Chris and Miriam go to a lot of Trade Shows to sell, give away free samples, and organize community meetups. Fortunately, Chris and Miriam had prepared for the possibility of excess inventory and were able to offer giveaways to their customers.As of November 2021, Keto Chow cannot ship to Australia or New Zealand as the US postal service is not accepting packages for either destination. They’ve also run into some issues with getting stuck in Europe en route to the UK due to Brexit.Chris and Miriam were, however, able to find a fantastic partner in Canada, Switch Grocery.“They’re doing a great job up in Canada. And we love working with them.”Can the Online World Replace Trade Shows and Live Events?Miriam says that in some ways they can. Online events reach a much larger audience because they save money and time on travel.One downside, however, is that Keto Chow cannot be tasted online. A taste test cannot be replaced. Online events are great for nurturing their existing community, but Keto Chow’s greatest selli

#78 Roshelle from Yotpo Talks Engagement - The New Way to Improve Customer Lifetime ValueIs your brand-customer communication a bit lackluster? Are you struggling to build a close relationship with your customers? This episode is all about customer retention: establishing, building, and maintaining trust.Roshelle Savdie is the Associate Product Marketing Manager of Yotpo, an e-commerce marketing platform that offers a full suite of solutions for customer reviews, visual marketing, loyalty, referrals, and SMS marketing. Following a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s in Economics, Roshelle sought a role in the study of human behavior. She found her calling at Yotpo. As a specialist in loyalty and referrals, Roshelle knows what customers care about.Tune in to hear Roshelle and our podcast host and CEO Daniel Budai discuss:✔️ Zero-Party Data: What is it and why is it important?✔️ Why do e-commerce brands need engagement-based programs?✔️ How to create a VIP program✔️ Roshelle’s advice for Q4✔️ Roshelle’s marketing idolsZero-Party Data: What is it and why is it important?Zero-party data (otherwise known as permission-based marketing) refers to data that customers voluntarily give brands about themselves. It’s not information that brands can acquire from different sources.Roshelle identifies two advantages to using zero-party data:Brands don’t have to guessCollecting data directly from the source means that targeted marketing does not have to be based on assumptions or guesses. This allows brands to better communicate with their customers and personalize their shopping journey.2. Develops trust in your brandNo one likes it when their data is collected and used without their explicit permission. Being clear about data collection and opting for zero-party data is great for building trust.“You may ask yourself, ‘Why do they give this information so freely?’ It’s because they want to be part of your brand, and they trust your brand.”Zero-party data reject invasive marketing tactics and instead focuses on creating a better experience for the customer.Why do e-commerce brands need engagement-based programs?Engagement-based programs are evolving. Roshelle stresses that engagement-based programs differ from rewards-based programs in that they’re not transactional.Instead, engagement-based programs focus on relationships. It’s not enough to give away discount codes once in a while. Customers want experiences that make them feel part of the brand.Gen Z consumers in particular engage with emotional rewards. Princess Polly, one of Yotpo’s clients created a VIP tier system. If a customer is in a certain tier and buys a certain amount, they’re featured in Princess Polly’s social media. Another reward included exclusive access to a VIP Facebook group, encouraging customers to buy further into the brand. Their best reward so far was backstage tickets to a music festival.Roshelle recalls another brand that gives customers in their highest VIP tier early access to products and sales. This is great for building that brand-customer bond and providing an exclusivity incentive.How to create a VIP programSo when should e-commerce owners begin setting up VIP tiers? Roshelle says “early on”, even if they’re not going to implement it right away. VIP tiers and loyalty programs require a lot of strategic planning.Consider:What do your incentives mean to your customers?What does it mean for your brand to give away these incentives?Do your incentives make financial sense?How are you going to make sure that your customers feel valued?How are your incentives going to develop an emotional customer-brand connection?VIP tiers are fantastic for increasing engagement, brand community, and customer lifetime value (CTV). Therefore:“It’s never too early to have VIP tiers. They power your business much faster than if you don’t have them.”Roshelle’s advice for Q4Roshelle’s number one piece of advice is: Build a strategy for Q1.You’re going to acquire lots of new customers during Q4, that’s great. Now you need to focus on retention.Roshelle’s marketing idolsIn two words: authentic marketers.“I really admire anyone who is on top of all the new trends, people, technology, but are keeping the essence of their brand and who they are. Anyone who has figured that out has all my respect. It’s really, really hard.”Follow Roshelle on LinkedIn and visit Yotpo.comfor more advice on increasing customer lifetime value and taking your brand to the next level.Follow Daniel Budai:Daniel's LinkedInDaniel's Facebook Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#77 What Do 26 Years of Digital Marketing Teach You? Steve from SiteGeek Shares His Wisdom In e-commerce and need some advice? Let’s hear what someone with 26 years of experience has to say.Steve Hooper is the Managing Director of SiteGeek, a multiple award-winning Digital Marketing Agency. SiteGeek helps companies develop omnichannel marketing strategies and build their in-house marketing team. If that isn’t impressive enough, Steve has over 20 years of digital marketing experience to share.Tune in to hear Steve and our podcast host and CEO Daniel Budai discuss:✔️ The Biggest Turning Points in Digital Marketing✔️ The Best Tools to Use in E-commerce✔️ Why Shopify Themes Alone Won’t Fix CRO✔️ Advice for Brexit✔️ Mentors in Digital MarketingThe Biggest Turning Points in Digital Marketing In 1994, Steve’s boss at the time, Chris, sent him out to buy a modem. Steve remembers Chris saying, “Hey, this internet thing, I think we better look into that, because I think it might catch on.” Very few people had email addresses, and very few even knew what the internet was. But Steve and his company were way ahead of the game:“I designed my first website back in late 1995. I think that makes me somewhat of a veteran when it comes to website design.”So what’s changed and what hasn’t?Steve sites the introductions of tools such as WordPress as significant turning points in internet history. While it was initially rather complex to set up a WordPress website, the arrival of Software as a Service (SaaS), Shopify, and WooCommerce made it possible for anyone to set up an online store.One thing that hasn’t changed? Us. Human nature.“A lot of e-commerce companies forget that they’re still selling to people. They’re not numbers that come through a website, there’s a person at the end of it.”One of Steve’s top pieces of advice is “Don’t sell, educate.” If someone is educated on what your product is and how to use it, they’re not just more likely to buy, they’re going to come back again.The Best Tools to Use in E-commerce Steve is a huge fan of Shopify. Once you have the resources to get Shopify Plus, Steve highly recommends doing so. He’s particularly impressed by its security. Its security budget is probably equal to one of the top 10 military budgets in the world.If you’re using WooCommerce, Steve advises total compliance to their PCI questions. Don’t just tick ‘Yes’, make sure that you have the appropriate SSL certificate and everything in place to ensure your security.For inventory management, Steve uses Cin7. Cin7 links to Shopify and makes it easy to raise purchase orders and track information inside and outside of Shopify. Cin7 further allows building on several channels, including Amazon and eBay for an omnichannel marketing strategy. It also has its own B2B (business to business) portal, which makes things very easy for wholesalers.Why Shopify Themes Alone Won’t Fix CRO While Steve cannot praise Shopify highly enough, he advises against the idea that getting a new Shopify theme is going to fix your conversion rates. First and foremost, you need to understand the data.Set up split tests where you can and make a list of possible factors that could be affecting your conversion rates. Is your menu structure easy to follow? How easy is it to find products? Are you following up with your abandoned carts? Are you upselling? Above all, make sure that you have a good customer journey and make it mobile-friendly. That’s where your conversion rates will rise.Advice for Brexit It’s no secret that Brexit has had a huge impact on e-commerce, especially for UK merchants. Steve recalls his recent meeting with DHL in Germany. They revealed that about 70% of deliveries from the EU to the UK have ceased. There is a big stop on what’s going across the channel right now.Steve’s advice to e-commerce owners struggling with Brexit is to explore your various options as thoroughly as possible. Talk to your local department trading industry and the department of international trade. If you find that your biggest market is in the EU, consider third-party logistic warehouses. This allows you to avoid all the current distribution issues in the UK.Mentors in Digital Marketing Steve’s first ever boss, Chris, remains a good friend and mentor to this day. Chris gives him great advice on digital marketing and where it’s headed.He was also friends with Andy Jenkins, none other than the executive producer on The Blair Witch Project. That was where Andy got started in digital marketing: 284 of the 286 websites about The Blair Witch Project at the time of release were registered in his name.Steve also turns to his friend Dominic Cummins in California (not the British politician) for business advice.The takeaway? You’re never too experienced to have a mentor.Follow Steve on LinkedIn and visit SiteGeekif you’d like to find out more about digital marketing and e-commerce. Steve says he’s more than happy to ask any questions you may have.Follow Daniel Budai:Daniel

#76 Alan Chen from FreeCashFlow.io Shares the Top 3 Tax Deductions All E-commerce Owners Should Know AboutWhen store revenue is collected as tax, does it still count as a profit? Alan Chen doesn’t think so. We’re doing something a little different for this episode of The Eccom Show: let’s take a look at tax and what you need to know about maximizing real profit.Alan is the Founder of FreeCashFlow.io, a company that helps e-commerce and online businesses with US tax laws, planning, sales, filing, threshold strategies, and cloud-based bookkeeping. According to Alan, tax planning is the highest ROI activity you can do in your business.Tune in to hear Alan and our podcast host and CEO Daniel Budai discuss how e-commerce brands can minimize their tax bill and:✔️ When to Hand Over Tax Planning to an Expert✔️ The Biggest Pitfalls in Business Tax✔️ Nexus Sales Tax✔️ The Top 3 Tax Deductions E-commerce Owners Should Know About✔️ Alan’s Advice for Q4When Should You Hand Over Tax Planning to an Expert? Alan recommends that you seek expert tax advice when your business is making 350k to 400k annual revenue. That’s the stage where there are enough deductions to give you a decent ROI on what you’ve paid to get the service done.FreeCashFlow.io draws up a monthly or quarterly plan for their clients and calculates what deduction they can take. When April 15 rolls around, they’re going to pay a lot less money.“I just want people to know that having proper tax planning just equals more money for you. Real measurable value that you see in your bank account that you don’t pay out.”When Alan says he doesn’t think you should be worried about tax, he doesn’t mean put it on the backburner. He means to hand it over to the experts. Daniel recalls digital marketer Roland Frasier’s advice: spend time with what you’re best at and invest your money into your weak spots.The Biggest Pitfalls in Business Tax Sales tax is one of the biggest problem areas right now. E-commerce sellers face particularly strong state scrutiny for this. And this isn’t exclusive to US sellers - Shopify just rolled out a sales tax dashboard reminding its users that they’re responsible for sales tax liabilities for 45 US states.The higher your revenue, the more you are affected by sales tax. Alan wants businesses to understand that as they take off, they need someone taking care of sales tax. To complicate matters further, every state has its own sales tax. Some states require payment in a matter of days once a business crosses a tax threshold, others wait until the next calendar year.That’s why it’s so important to have visibility on when your business is and isn’t going to cross tax thresholds. It’s crucial to be prepared, stay compliant, and avoid paying anything you don’t have to. No matter how much your Shopify store makes, revenue is about net profit and your bank account. Tax payments, Alan argues, are not in your profit.What is Nexus Sales Tax? Nexus = affiliation, or a connection to something. So if you have an office and a warehouse somewhere, that’s your physical nexus to that location. 5 to 6 years ago Nexus sales tax was great for businesses and drop shippers that had no physical location. There was no way for sales tax to be enforced on a location that didn’t exist.That all changed following the 2018 South Dakota vs Wayfair court case. This changed the game for e-commerce and online businesses because its ruling introduced an economic nexus. An economic nexus is triggered by a concentration of customers in a certain state. If a business ships products work $100,000 to a particular state they are liable to pay sales tax to that state. Now there are two types of nexuses sales tax: physical and economic.Moreover, e-commerce owners using Shopify are fully responsible for their sales tax. It often is not automatically deducted.The Top 3 Tax Deductions E-commerce Owners Should Know About The Home Office Deduction This skyrocketed during 2020 when more and more people began working from home. Alan reveals that there are two ways of calculating this deduction.The first calculation is the simplest but also the most limited. The highest tax deduction possible is only $1500. The second calculation is more complicated but lucrative. The actual expense method. This takes the square footage of your office space as a percentage of your total home. You can take a tax deduction from that percentage. This includes rent, mortgage, or even repair maintenance. The biggest deduction Alan saw from this method is $14,000 - his client runs a phone case business and basically uses half their home as office space.If you’re operating out of your home, Alan advises, take advantage of the actual expense method.2. Startup Cost DeductionThe startup cost allows entrepreneurs to claim a $5000 deduction for any cost made up until the point their business is created. This includes product research, travel, work with lawyers or accountants - the deduction rewards entrepreneurs for even t

#75 Audio Marketing is Changing the Game for Small Business Owners. Here’s How.Audio marketing relies on (you guessed it!) audio for its output. It’s not a new medium, we’ve all heard radio ads, but with the rise of smart speakers and apps such as Clubhouse, it is blowing up. If there’s any time to dive into audio marketing, it’s now.Arjun Rai is the Founder and CEO of Hello Woofy, an AI driven social audio, media, blogging, and smart speaker marketing platform. Arjun is committed to making it easy for small business owners to automate their marketing strategy and access audio marketing.Tune in to hear Arjun and our podcast host and CEO Daniel Budai to discuss:✔️ Smart Speakers: Where Are We At?✔️ How Do Small Ecommerce Owners Get Started with Smart Speaker Marketing?✔️ Social Audio and Clubhouse✔️ Hello Woofy and Its IntegrationsSmart Speakers: Where Are We At?Arjun predicts an exponential increase in audio devices. There are projected to be around half a billion smart devices around the world. Marketing studies show that the audio device industry grew between 30% to 50% in a single year.It’s safe to say that the audio device industry is huge. And it’s getting bigger. Habits are changing and people are now used to getting what they need on demand.“The core of the issue is that we need to let the underdogs, the small businesses, be a part of this infrastructure that I’m talking about.”Arjun believes that the coffee shop down the block should have the same infrastructure to deliver coffee when someone wants to order one on the TV, as well as the ability to stream content to customers. Hello Woofy is all about giving small businesses the same capabilities and opportunities as big companies.How do Small Ecommerce Owners Get Started With Smart Speaker Marketing?When ecommerce owners join the Hello Woofy platform, they create an app. Business owners choose their app background, logo, description etc. and Hello Woofy submits it to Amazon for approval.Once Amazon approves their app, ecommerce owners are able to upload products and services they want to sell, schedule video and audio content, and ping those all-important smart speakers. Customers can access your products and site with a simple mobile scan of their smart speaker or TV.“You’ll be a part of a broadcasting network, a network that is only going to get bigger and bigger. And then you have the opportunity to collaborate with other small businesses within the Hello Woofy network. 2022 is going to be very exciting for small businesses.”Social Audio and ClubhouseSocial audio, that is, social media that uses audio as their primary means of communication, really skyrocketed during 2020. What are Anjun’s thoughts about social audio and the rise of social audio platforms such as Clubhouse?“You’re going to have this massive adoption and then you’re going to have normalisation. I’m on Clubhouse every single day.”A lot has changed in a short space of time. Two years ago we did not have the prolific social audio capabilities as we do today. Before 2020, there wasn’t the same demand we have now for online conferences, meetups, workshops, and masterclasses. Clubhouse is a fantastic platform for entrepreneurs, coaches, and marketers to run their classes and promote themselves.Hello Woofy and Its IntegrationsHello Woofy began as a social media platform before expanding to include blogging and audio marketing. Its social media scheduler uses AI to help users complete an optimized post. As soon as you start typing your post, Hello Woofy’s AI completes the post with hashtag recommendations, emojis, and keywords.The same principle applies to blogs: Hello Woofy can autocomplete an entire blog article and schedule it like a social media post to blogging platforms such as WordPress.When Arjun and his team realised the extent to which audio marketing was going to take off, they expanded into the field.And they’re not stopping there! Anjun revealed that Hello Woofy is looking into augmented reality.“Audio is here to stay. It’s not just about speaking on Club, it’s not just broadcasting on smart speakers, it’s really about driving revenue.”Hello Woofy’s smart speaker technology, content scheduling, and scannable conversions give ecommerce owners a direct connection to their customers in their living rooms, allowing them to build a DTC relationship.Visit Hello Woofy or follow Arjun on LinkedIn to find out more about audio marketing and what it can do for your business. Arjun’s inbox is open for any suggestions on what Hello Woofy can do for the underdogs of ecommerce. If you’re interested in owning a piece of Hello Woofy, invest for as little as $100 here.Something for the bookshelf? Daniel and Arjun highly recommend The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketingby Al Ries and Jack Trout.Follow Daniel Budai:Daniel's LinkedInDaniel's Facebook Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#74 How to Increase Conversion Rates Using Embedded Videos - Without Slowing Down Your WebsiteVideo marketing is one of the most powerful tools out there. But this episode is not going to be about brand awareness and reach. Our guest is more interested in hard conversion and revenue.Claudiu Cioba is the Founder and CEO of VideoWise, a video shopping app on Shopify that helps brands sell more through the power of video. Claudiu describes VideoWise as more of a video shopping product, not a marketing product. Video marketing, Claudiu explains, is more about increasing or reaching your audience, video shopping is about generating revenue.For this episode of The Ecom Show, Claudiu joins our podcast host and CEO Daniel Budai to discuss:✔️ How Claudiu Became a Founder and the Ethos Behind VideoWise✔️ How VideoWise Increases Conversion Rates✔️ Honest Attribution Models and Tracking ConversionHow Claudiu Became a Founder and the Ethos Behind VideoWiseClaudiu’s journey into marketing began when he was 20 years old. He left his hometown, Transylvania, to pursue a design internship in New York. Starting from branding and web design, ecommerce companies did not yet have terms such as ‘user experience' or ‘user interface design’.Claudiu started with HTML and CSS and grew from there, taking every opportunity to work with different startups and companies all over the world. Usually, Claudiu was hired for one particular project, designing or redesigning a single product for conversion, so he never stayed at one company for longer than three years.When Claudiu was offered a full-time position as a human interface designer at Apple, he politely declined,“I really preferred my freedom, I was traveling a lot over the past six years. And I prefer that Nomad sort of lifestyle, where you can work from anywhere, enjoy life to its fullest.”Claudiu brought his love of freedom into VideoWise. With over a decade of design experience, Claudiu founded a company that truly values the work/life balance of its employees. They’re a fully remote company, offer unlimited mental health days, and are very generous with vacations.That said, the actual product that is VideoWise is somewhat different to how it was in its early days. Its first name was actually ‘V Star’, because of its direct relation to video reviews. The idea first came to Claudiu when he was heading over to YouTube to watch a video review of a product he was interested in. Wait a minute,“Why isn’t anyone using all this content?”Businesses should be using this social proof, right? Once V Star was born, it wasn’t long before it evolved into VideoWise. ‘Video’ to make it crystal clear that the company deals with video, ‘Wise’ because they’re very proud of their complex analytics.VideoWise allows Shopify merchants to find video reviews for all their products, track new videos about their brand, automate video embedding on all product pages, and offer in-video purchases.How VideoWise Increases ConversionVideoWise is not the type of company that sells what Claudiu describes as ‘hope conversion’.“We take a lot of pride in showing real and true ROI for companies only when videos actually sell.”VideoWise cares about the entire shopper journey. From the moment they’re a visitor when they watch the video and show true engagement, the add to cart, and the moment of real conversion.VideoWise allows ecommerce owners to import product videos across platforms, from YouTube to TikTok to Instagram, and manage them all in one place. From there VideoWise turns these into shoppable videos. This allows the customer to purchase directly inside the video.With strict adherence to YouTube terms and conditions and Google’s privacy policy, VideoWise eliminates the risk of copyright infringement. The app is deeply integrated into Shopify and its checkout process, and every video player and widget is customizable according to brand design.As for PageSpeed? VideoWise takes every precaution to ensure that their videos do not slow down your website. Rather than bluntly add a video to a page, they use ‘lite video embedding’. Bluntly adding a video, Claudiu explains, is one of the worst things one can do for PageSpeed. The video will load with the page and revert to autoplay. Instead, VideoWise embeds a thumbnail, compresses the image, and compresses the video itself. As the video doesn’t load when your page loads, your site continues to load quickly. Only when a user clicks on a video does the player open into a full-screen immersive experience.“Once you put those videos to work, they’re just going to work for you while you sleep.”Attribution Models and Tracking ConversionClaudiu is very transparent about attribution and ROI. VideoWise has two attribution models for tracking points of conversion, stemming from:Influence ordersDirect orders For influence orders, VideoWise tracks what orders are being made after a shopper engages with the video content in the same browser session. If a shopper watches the video th

#73 How to Scale Your Ecommerce Quickly and Safely The top piece of advice you’ll hear from ecommerce experts is: know your tools. And, boy, there is a heck of a lot of them! Let’s talk about turning your business into an automated scaling machine.Trevor Limis the CEO of Atomatic, an agency that synchronizes ecommerce tools to optimize efficiency and allow business owners to focus on what’s important: growth.Tune in to hear Trevor and our podcast host and CEO Daniel Budai discuss systemizing your business, scaling your ecommerce, and:✔️ Making Your Customer Support Team Your Sales Team✔️ The 4 Levels of Company Autonomy✔️ Tools to Manage Company Growth✔️ Hiring Great Team Members✔️ 3 Ways of Tackling Q4 While Managing GrowthMaking Your Customer Support Team Your Sales Team Marketing is all very well and good, but if your ecommerce has bad customer support, your customers aren’t coming back. And they’re going to discourage others from doing the same.So how do we create a customer support system?Trevor says that many companies turn to scripts and create a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to do this. Scripts are fantastic - but Trevor advises against relying solely on strict scripts and SOP. This puts your company at risk of focusing more on the following SOP than actually resolving their customers’ problems.Team members should not just be trained how to follow SOPs word for word, they need to know how to use them in the right way, equipped with the tools to address individual problems.Take this a step further to train your customer service team in sales. A good customer experience is an ideal opportunity to upsell. When a problem or request is solved, train your customer service team to suggest complementary products or subscriptions.The 4 Levels of Company Autonomy Before we dive into Trevor’s Autonomy principles, let’s talk about what company autonomy actually is.Trevor defines company autonomy as a company’s ability to fully function without excessive input from management. That is, every single team member has the initiative to make the right decisions for their company’s growth.Let’s dive in:Level 0: Zero Autonomy. Everything is done manually.Level 1: This is a step up from level 0. This is where a company begins making use of tools and software to help automate parts of its business.Level 2: Semi autonomous. When your team members are following a set of systems or SOPs to operate tools and software for basic processes.Level 3: Fully autonomous. Team members are able to respond to given situations quickly and efficiently using tools, software, and SOPs. They also have some understanding as to how their company will function differently in the future. Achieving autonomy, Trevor says, is ultimately about synchronising software and company systems to achieve optimal efficiency.Tools to Manage Company Growth Trevor warns against over-automation. It’s easy to get so carried away with all these different company tools that you forget the most important thing about using them: synchronization.Atomatic is all about getting everything smoothly running together in harmony.So what ecommerce tools does Trevor recommend?Start with a project management tool. This could be ClickUp, Trello, or Monday.com. Plotting your processes in line for your team members to see is crucial to running a business. Project management tools make it easy to see clearly which team member is doing what.In terms of team communication - there’s no need to make this complicated. Slack and WhatsApp work perfectly well.Trevor is a strong advocate for Gorgias - a customer service software designed purely for ecommerce. With Q4 quickly approaching, it’s good to think about automating some of those customer service replies the right way. Gorgias makes use of AI and machine learning to not only respond to queries in a relevant way, but even upsell in the process.Klaviyo, of course, a Budai Media favorite, is a fantastic tool for email marketing.Trevor’s top tip? Know your tools, and keep it simple.Hiring Great Team Members If you’re thinking about hiring, both Trevor and Daniel recommend beginning the hiring process before Q4. This will allow for enough time for training before your business’s busiest season.Do bear in mind that things will calm down in Q1 and make sure to hire people with a varied skill set. This means that they can continue to help your company grow beyond hard sales at the end of the year.3 Ways to Tackle Q4 While Managing Company Growth If you’re a dropshipper, do as much product research as possible before Q4 officially begins. This is so you don’t waste precious time on product research during such a critical period for your business. This is a time for scaling ads, efforts, and handling the increased number of customers.Look for partners. Look towards multiple suppliers in case communication breaks down or product fulfilment slows down. Have a few back up plans so that products reach your customers on time.Automate Customer

#72 Authentic Marketing and Why it Matters: LoudCrowd and UGC Social Media floods us with marketing every single day. How are you gonna stand out in the sea of Instagram and TikTok ads? Authentic marketing. And how do we keep it authentic? Three words: User Generated Content (UGC).Alex Johnson is the Head of Strategic Partnerships at LoudCrowd. LoudCrowd empowers ecommerce owners to connect with their most valuable customers to generate UGC that works. LoudCrowd is trusted by leading brands including GymShark, Revolution Beauty London, and Verb for getting customers beyond the purchase and into marketing. Tune in to hear Alex and our podcast host and CEO Daniel Budai discuss:✔️ What Brought Alex into Marketing✔️ What’s So Important About UGC?✔️ Influencer Marketing✔️ LoudCrowd’s Approach✔️ The Best Platforms for UGC✔️ Tips and Tricks for UGCWhat Brought Alex into Marketing?Alex actually started out in the sports world. A huge fan of football and basketball, Alex became good friends with a marketing grad assistant who was working for the sports department at their college. Soon enough, Alex was getting involved with game day promos and campaigns, event ticketing, and sponsorships: diving into all things sports marketing and keeping it up all through college. Alex was in the marketing world for a while before transitioning into sales, actually working with the CEO and Co-Founder of LoudCrowd, Gary, at a different company, years before LoudCrowd got started.Alex’s work in live sports events took a turn last year during the COVID-19 pandemic. But Alex was able to make the transition - all the way from marketing, through sales, into media, and eventually into marketing with LoudCrowd.What’s So Important About UGC?Alex assured Daniel that around 90% of the social media content comes from brand customers. The top 1% of a brand’s social advocates typically create between 15% to 20% of their content. It’s powerful stuff.UGC is the most authentic and engaging content out there. It’s going to outperform anything and a brand curates and posts on their own due to social media platforms gating their content.As a brand gets more and more followers, it becomes harder to reach them. The same goes for influencer marketers. As they become increasingly popular, their content is perceived to be less engaging and authentic.That’s where UGC comes in. Customers sharing their love for a brand via social media stands out as authentic as it gets. Most of the smart marketers are saying that 90% of customers trust earned media i.e. referrals from friends and family that’s coming through social media. Ads with UGC typically see around four times higher click through rates.When Apple and Google changed their privacy policies, it became a lot more difficult for smaller direct to consumer (D2C) brands to make returns on their ad spend. LoudCrowd’s solution? Turn your customers into advertisers to build a long-term marketing strategy.Influencer MarketingSo what’s Alex’s opinion on influencer marketing?If you have the budget, influencer marketing has certainly been shown to be effective. But Alex believes that influencer marketing is losing its effectiveness. You can only follow so many people that you have no idea why they’re famous and watch them push products. Understandably, most of us assume that influencers are getting paid a ton of money to advertise a certain product. A referral from a customer, especially if from a friend or family member, is going to be a lot more powerful.“The future of marketing is customer-led”You’re going to trust a friend, family member, or somebody that you follow on social media more than an empty review. LoudCrowd heavily focuses on incentivising customers to post content on Instagram and TikTok for this very reason.If you do want to dabble in influencer marketing, Daniel and Alex both recommend beginning with micro-influencers, seeing how that goes, and scaling up.What’s LoudCrowd’s Approach?LoudCrowd is, first and foremost, a customer-led growth platform, ultimately helping ecom owners measure and scale UGC. LoudCrowd isn’t an influencer platform and is not focused on finding new people that have never interacted with your brand and creating a ‘follower persona’.Instead, LoudCrowd creates unique Ambassador programmes for people who have tagged your brand on Instagram and TikTok.1. Exclusive Ambassador ProgrammeHigh-value super fans with a good following, and very engaging content. These are invited to exclusive reward programmes where they get access to high-value credit free products, early access to product releases and content, event tickets, calls with the founder, etc.2. Loyalty Ambassador ProgrammeThese are for all customers engaged with your brand on social media. LoudCrowd offers spending incentives such as discounts and store credit. This builds a community around your brand and turns your customers into nano influencers that produce authentic content. This creates an entire marketing cycle that

#71 Looking to the Future of Ecommerce: What to Expect Ecommerce has never just been about selling. With ever-evolving digital technology, emerging social platforms, and changes in data privacy, ecommerce has always been about adaptability. Casey Roeder is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Skylab Media, an omnichannel marketing agency that looks to the future of ecommerce. Skylab media not only covers lifecycle marketing, SMS, paid social, and paid search, it strategizes crypto advertising campaigns, NFT marketing, podcast marketing, and more. Tune in to hear Casey and our podcast host and CEO Daniel Budai discuss: ✔️ Casey’s Journey into Entrepreneurship✔️ Casey’s Business Approach✔️ New and Emerging Marketing Channels ✔️ The Future of Ecommerce ✔️ Casey’s Tips for Q4Casey’s Journey into Entrepreneurship Casey began working in marketing in 2013. In 2016-2027, Casey worked at Hawke Media, one of the biggest names in D2C (direct to consumer) marketing. Casey and his team oversaw Hawke Media’s growth into the company it is today. At the forefront of management services and advertising, Casey worked in email, paid search, SMS, and collaboration with Octane AI for Facebook Messenger Marketing. Fast forward to three years later, Casey was working at MuteSix when he was approached by another agency on LinkedIn with a VP Marketing job offer in Hollywood. At that time, Casey was watching a lot of Dave Ramsey videos on getting rid of debt, developing financial literacy skills, and learning how to be financially independent. One of Ramsey’s pieces of advice was to ask for a raise and/or get a second job if you’re not making as much as you’d want to. Casey, however, didn’t want to leave his job at MuteSix, so offered to become VP of Marketing only on a freelance basis.Over the course of the following year and a half, Casey dived into the hustle. One of his co-workers said that he was surprised that Casey wasn’t running his own business. “That’s where the wheels started turning. I’m like, maybe I can do this. Because in order to be an entrepreneur, you have to have the hustle, you have to be able to work under pressure, you need that grind.”Having that foundation and skillset, Casey took a leap of faith and founded Skylab Media. Two years later, Skylab Media is thriving as an omnichannel marketing agency that offers futuristic services in NFT, cryptocurrency, and podcast marketing.Casey’s Business Approach So now that Casey’s running an entire agency, what’s his approach? In terms of the hiring process, Casey is all about transparency. He makes it very clear that his employees and potential employees shouldn’t expect an average 9 - 5 workday. But hard work will be rewarded. The most important thing for Casey is not entry or senior levels, it’s about who’s willing to put in the work. New and Emerging Marketing Channels Social search, lifestyle, and influencer marketing are what Casey describes as the “new age” of print and TV marketing. Skylab Media offers services in paid socials, paid search, SMS Marketing, and Email Marketing. But what sets Skylab Media apart from its competitors lies in its services in newer (and very hot) markets: cryptocurrency, NFT, podcast marketing, Spotify. Well beyond what your average DTC agency provides. “It’s cool, it’s new, it’s something that people aren’t doing. And it’s really fun. And why not enter that market as one of the leaders?”A lot of investors right now know that cryptocurrency is something that should be taken very seriously, especially when we think about the rollout of 5G and new technologies. Casey believes that most marketing agencies also aren’t thinking about AR, VR, and Oculus. When these innovations become increasingly present in our everyday lives over the next couple of decades, customers will want to bring them into their digital experiences. Casey is already thinking about this - pointing out that AR and VR will give so many more opportunities for brand-customer interaction than the 2D realm. The Future of Ecommerce So what does Casey expect to see in the future of ecommerce?As many of us know, the iOS15 update is taking a huge hit on many small business owners. Enterprise accounts are not as affected because they have an entire plethora of different services going for them. It’s really hitting home for those who are just starting out and mid-sized agencies that rely on advertising longer than a seven-day window period.Casey advises diving into TikTok, influencer email marketing, and SMS marketing. When done well, these should offset the dip in performance on longer attribution window cycles that used to be available on Facebook and Instagram. SMS Marketing especially, Casey assures, is your “best friend”. What other advertising platform can reach the palm of your customer’s hand with a 90 open rate and a return on average greater than 10x? Nothing other than SMS has the ability to do that. And TikTok? TikTok is a fantastic platform for going viral - you’

#70 It’s Not All About the First Click: Maximizing AOV the Right WaySometimes we can get so obsessed with lead generation and conversion we actually forget that one of the most lucrative channels for return on investment (ROI) lies in average order value (AOV).Kiril Kirilov is the CEO and Co-Founder of Rush, a Shopify shipment software company that automates the shipment process, allows ecommerce store owners to create branded tracking pages, and integrates with Klaviyo, Reviews.io, Loox, and more to guarantee 6 times more revenue from post-purchase flows.Tune in to hear Kiril and our podcast host and CEO Daniel Budai discuss: ✔️ Kiril’s adventure into digital marketing✔️ What problems does Rush address?✔️ What does it mean to have a branded tracking page?✔️ Going beyond the first clickKiril’s adventure into digital marketingKiril has actually been a track and field athlete for most of his life. In 2008, he found himself needing an income stream to support his sports endeavors. Like many ecommerce entrepreneurs, Kiril began exploring eBay, then started looking into Amazon. This, Kiril believes, led to a ‘natural progression’ into Shopify. In 2016, Kiril saw an opportunity in Facebook ads, and worked on those before entering the world of dropshipping three or so years later. So it’s safe to say that Kiril has a well-rounded resume in digital marketing. He’s familiar with customer pain points, and, indeed, those of the business owner. In particular, Kiril identified a gap in brand-customer communication: from order to unboxing. This led to dissatisfaction for the customer and frustration for business owners losing customers after their first purchase. With his partner taking care of the technical side of things, Kiril co-founded Rush, an app designed to improve the customer experience post-purchase, therefore significantly increasing AOV and customer retention.“We want to help businesses grow and retain their customers for as long as humanly possible.”What problems does Rush address?Rush was founded to address knowledge gaps. Kiril says he didn’t set out to reinvent the wheel, but to create a better one. Before he started Rush, Kiril was running a dropshipping store in the pet niche. He scaled a product from zero to almost half a million in a matter of 45 days. Great, right? Well, Kiril faced the challenge of very angry customers who weren’t being notified of their order because the store and its dropshippers had become completely overwhelmed. This led to Kiril and his partner sitting down with a pen and paper to figure out how to provide clarity to shipping carriers and customers. Kiril decided that customers needed to be notified on every step of their product’s journey, including delays. Knowing what to expect is crucial to customer satisfaction. And these order updates get opened! So why not use them for upselling and brand communication? That’s where Rush came in. Rush supports brand-customer communication throughout the entire shipment process - not only making ecommerce store owners more money in the short term but dramatically increasing AOV and customer satisfaction. What does it mean to have a branded tracking page?A single buyer is going to go back to their tracking page at least 3 or 4 times before their parcel gets delivered. This is therefore a fantastic page to display brand banners, call to action (CTA) buttons, social proof from review apps, and showcase complementary products for their purchase. Branded tracking pages are possibly the best place for upselling. Kiril asserts that click-through rates on upsells are between 20% to 30% on order status pages. Now that’s a heck of a lot of extra revenue. Going beyond the first click Acquisition, conversion, and retention go way beyond your customers’ first click. Kiril warns against focusing solely on the first click your customer makes and ignoring the dozen or so clicks after that.Focus on your knowledge gaps, and make sure you understand your customer persona inside and out. What songs do they like? What do they like to eat? What kind of content do they consume online? Once you understandeverything about your customer persona, you fill those knowledge gaps. Kiril also advocated strongly for tone of voice (TOV) consistency. When they read your offer, it has to connect with what they’re going to see after the click. Provide social proof both on your ad and product page. As so many of us read emails on mobile, make sure to really make use of the 40% of space you have above the fold (what’s visible without scrolling). “It’s about making sure that you provide as much information as humanly possible to push people to your cart.”TL;DR Focus on the entirety of your customer journey, and provide as much clarity as possible, and use that order update journey! Download Rush to increase your AOV by 25% and follow Kiril on LinkedIn for more fantastic advice for maximizing your ROI. Follow