E294: An Interview with Drew Sanocki--Running AutoAnything, Post Pilot, and the “Whales and Minnows” Theory

If you’re in the ecommerce circle you probably know--or at least heard of--Drew Sanocki. Drew is a veteran in the field, having started, led, and invested in several ecommerce businesses over the years.

He is currently the CEO of AutoAnything, a 9-figure online retailer of auto accessories. He also recently became the owner of a postcard marketing app for Shopify called PostPilot. He blogs (and used to run a podcast) about online marketing and running a business on Nerd Marketing.

I first met him in Nashville during the first ECF Live I ever attended. He talked about the “Whales and Minnows” theory which has stuck with me until today, and is still completely applicable in today’s ecommerce setting.

The theory is basically about focusing on whales (your most important customers) vs minnows (low-value customers who just order once). Below are some conversation points that explains the theory more, plus some other topics we talked about:

• The differences between a “whale” and a “minnow” and the importance of focusing on one vs the other
• How to attract more high-value customers
• The difficulties of running AutoAnything
• How things are at Nerd Marketing
• Why postcard marketing brings in more loyal customers and more money to the business

Drew was kind enough to give EcomCrew listeners a discount for his postcard marketing app PostPilot. Just use the code CREW15 and get 15% off your subscription.

Hope you enjoyed listening to this episode! Until the next one, happy selling.