eCommerce Evolution

Brendan Bannister, the CEO of Naturalabs.io, is one smart marketer.  We first met in 2018 when he was the CMO and Creative Director at William Painter. After taking my YouTube/Google course, he scaled ad spend on YouTube from $2k per day to $100k per day!  We decided to start meeting and swapping ideas, war stories, and things we were testing. We soon realized the value of sharing this knowledge with others and decided to record a session and bring it to the world!  In this episode, we dive into CRO, creatives, data-driven marketing, R&D for marketing departments, and the golden years for YouTube and Facebook Ads and how they achieved 13x growth for William Painter.  Here are some highlights:  How the famous da Vinci quote, “Simplicity is Ultimate Sophistication” should be a guiding principle for marketers. Is media buying dead? If so, what is taking its place? How good brands are sort of like algorithms. “Design is hack” and what that means for your marketing efforts. The role “brand” plays in your ability to scale. Why Brendan is now living and working full-time in Dubai. Plus more!

Retention marketing is crucial for any business.  When the economy is thriving, you need retention marketing to cut through the clutter and help you stand out.  When times are tough, as they may be in the near future, retention marketing is essential. During a recession, it’s critical to get the most out of your marketing efforts.  The most effective way to accomplish this is to maximize your Lifetime Value (LTV) through retention and loyalty marketing. That’s why, at OMG, we launched email and SMS marketing as a service last year. (email growth@omgcommerce.com to find out more).  In this episode, I had the pleasure of hosting Daniel Budai, a retention marketing expert and the founder of Budai Media.  Here’s a look at what we cover:  The mindset shift needed to impact how you approach retention marketing and loyalty.  Why you are likely not emailing your list enough and how emailing LESS has the opposite effect.  How to maximize your results by combining SMS and email marketing. How to create a user-friendly loyalty program that incentivizes desired actions, such as referrals.  How to use postcards as part of your retention and loyalty efforts. 

Chris Mercer - aka “Mercer,” is the man when it comes to measurement and analytics. He’s the guy the pros like Justin Brooke, Mike Rhodes, and OMG turn to when we need help. If you haven’t heard (and I’d be shocked if you haven’t), Google Analytics 4 or GA4 is coming, and Universal Analytics (the current version) will go away in July of 2023.  GA4 isn’t just an upgrade. It’s an entirely different animal. It has to be! Given how technology, user preferences, and policies around privacy have changed over recent years - Google is forced to abandon UA and build something completely new.  In this episode, we talk about what’s new, what’s different, what we’re excited about, and what you can do to prepare.Here’s a glimpse of what we cover: A simple way to understand events and how Google measures them in GA4.  Data storage and how to hold onto your data - If nothing is done, your data will be gone in 2-14 months.  What’s going away vs. what’s here to stay?  How to use GA4 to make better decisions.

The most difficult aspect of eCommerce is attracting new customers.  With CPMs and CPAs on the rise, great brands must learn to increase the average order values (AOV) and customer lifetime value (LTV) of their customers.  That’s where building a brand marketplace comes into play.  Yes, you need to be developing new products and expanding your line. However, partnering with other complementary brands can provide immediate value to customers while also increasing AOV and LTV. But if done poorly, it can actually hurt your brand. Here’s what we dive into in this episode:  How Brooklinen thinks about brand marketplace and gives customers the option to "shop the room.” How Realtree expands its product line beyond camo to include high-quality rain gear and more products through their brand marketplace.  How to structure a marketplace to strengthen your brand, not erode it.  How a kayak brand used drop shipping competitors products to increase sales, trust, and customer loyalty for their own goods.  How Flxpoint makes it easy! 

Cyber 5 2022 is in the books!  In this episode, I’m joined by two OMG Commerce veterans to unpack the juicy tidbits and key takeaways from BFCM.  Bill Cover is a senior Google Strategist with 6 years of experience at OMG and over a decade of experience in eComm. Amber Norell is the Amazon Director at OMG. For 8 years, she has helped large brands with scaling on Amazon in the most competitive niches! This year’s data was both fascinating and surprising. Some speculated that high inflation and economic concerns could squash the holiday sales rush and turn Cyber 5 into a downer. However, the data tells a VERY different story.  Here’s some of what we covered: How did Cyber 5 2022 compare to last year?  How did BF compare to CM? When we looked at Amazon sales versus DTC sales, the answer was different.  Did Prime Early Access - Amazon’s sale in October - impact Cyber 5 or holiday sales in general? What was the level of discounting this year vs. last year? How did ad costs change during Cyber 5?

Allie Bloyd is a podcast host, consultant, Facebook Ad pro, and marketing juggernaut!   In this episode, Allie and I talk about several elements many eCommerce brands overlook or simply under-leverage.   To use a golf analogy, many eComm brands are focused on impressive drives when they also need to consider their short game. You know the saying, "Drive for show, putt for dough."   That’s where offers, audience building, and list nurturing come into play. Here’s just a few nuggets you'll learn: How to completely change the math on your cold traffic by creating irresistible offers that don't cheapen your brand. How to utilize tripwires and micro offers as an eComm brand. Audience building and how it can lower ad costs (especially during peak seasons like a holiday). The best book written on remarketing and loyalty (hint: you’ve probably read it to your kids before).

What you don’t know about YouTube is hurting you. Justin Sardi is the founder of Tube Sift and Video Ad Vault. He is a true YouTube OG. He’s been running ads and geeking out on YouTube organic growth since 2012. He’s built two of the leading YouTube research and spying tools on the web - Tube Sift and Ad Vault. The team here at OMG actually uses both regularly. Justin is a sharp dude with a wealth of YouTube knowledge.  Here’s what we dive into in this episode: Misconceptions about YouTube holding you back from growth. How to capture top-performing YouTube ads to learn from - for FREE! What’s changing on YouTube, including some of our favorite targeting options? Why Google’s first-party data and AI is second to none. Some YouTube SEO tips you probably haven’t thought of.  Do you need a 2nd YouTube channel? Video Discovery ads - what are they and how to make them work for you?  Plus more!

Kurt is a legend in the eComm space and hosts one of the most popular podcasts in our industry. His show, The Unofficial Shopify Podcast, just crossed the 2 million downloads milestone. Kurt and his company are all about one thing - helping Shopify store owners make more money. And the best way to do that is by split-testing everything.  An important first step of split testing is questioning your assumptions. (We all know what happens when we assume.) Here are a few recent tests Kurt and company have run. We discuss the results on the show...yes, that's a teaser. Listen to find out what test won!  Does free shipping always result in better performance (and is it even worth testing)? Should I put a slider on my home page?  What about hero images and banners on my category pages? Do add-to-cart buttons on your collections pages help or hurt conversions? What about stuffy old early 2000s breadcrumbs - are they helpful or not? Plus, favorite tools, tips, and tricks that Kurt uses often.

John Parkes and I go way back.  In the early days of OMG, we partnered with Russell Brunson on a project called DotComSecrets Local. John helped oversee the project. It was pre-ClickFunnels in 2010 and an excellent time to work as an online entrepreneur. Having an upfront seat watching Russell and his team was inspiring and educational.  Fast forward to today, and John is the Chief Traffic Architect for ClickFunnels. Or CTA for short, which is a nerdy and satisfying job title for a media buyer. John is a great media buyer, strategist, and marketer. He’s wicked smart and fun to talk to! In this episode, we dive into rethinking Facebook Ads. Plus, we talk about the grandfather of direct response marketing - Dan Kennedy. Interestingly, many people (myself included) thought Dan was dead. He’s not, and now he’s part of the ClickFunnels team.  Here’s a look at what we dive into: The experience of buying Dan Kennedy’s company and brand. Opening up new markets and introducing the current market to The Godfather of direct response marketing. D.W.E.L.L. - audience strategy for focusing. How to build “set it and forget it” remarketing ads. How Google and Facebook Ads work together - this can really unlock growth when you understand it. Is TikTok really a game changer from a marketing and business growth perspective? A sneak peek at ClickFunnels 2.0.

Preparation is the backbone for success during the holiday season. Today I am talking to  a few of our OMG experts on preparing to win the 2022 holidays. Joining us is Amber Norell, OMG’s Amazon Director, Bill Cover, one of OMG’s amazing Google Strategist, and Savannah Knight, one of OMG’s rockstar Google Specialists.  This holiday season should be quite interesting. Inflation, rising ad costs, privacy issues, and new campaign types have this year shaping up to be anything but ordinary.  In this episode we cover how to:  Drive MORE traffic profitably Go omnichannel Turn every interaction (even support) into sales opportunities