eCommerce Evolution

Few DTC brands have been as polarizing or as successful as Chubbies.The Chubbies story is a wild one. It started with humble beginnings, selling shorts one by one in parks around the Stanford campus, leading to an IPO.Four Stanford college students had 3 things in common: 1. They were tired of working for the man. 2. They didn't fit the "Abercrombie" fashion mold of the late 2000s and 3. They loved shorter shorts - BEFORE the short shorts trend. And so, Chubbies was born.  This is a deep dive with Co-founder Preston Rutherford on what Chubbies got right, what they got wrong, and how to think about building a brand.Here's a look at what we cover:Feedback loops. This started when the co-founders were selling their shorts in person. They could immediately read customers' reactions and hear what they liked, what they didn't like and what needed to be tweaked. As the company grew, this shifted to digital and online feedback loops tied to ad creatives, social posts, and user experience.Downplaying vanity metrics. We all want to brag about ROAS and revenue. But, these metrics can be misleading. If you maximize ROAS, you sacrifice long-term growth for a sale today. And you get into a trap that squeezes profits and becomes hard to break. Obsessing over core metrics. We should focus on metrics like contribution margin, total profits and branded search growth (as a sign of a growing, healthy brand).Building a brand. Want to have a big exit? Want to charge a premium? Want to drive consistent demand? It's all about brand.  

“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.”“The definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results.”Not sure where I first heard these quotes, but they definitely apply to this week’s episode.I firmly believe that to grow like no one else is growing, you must do what no one else is doing.In this episode, I walk through 5 growth opportunities that you’re likely under-leveraging or completely missing.This is the recording from a recent talk I gave in Austin, Texas, to a group of 1,200 eager Amazon Sellers and DTC brand owners, where I unpacked these 5 growth opportunities.  While there are a few cases where seeing the video might be more helpful (watch it here), the audio should still be helpful! I hope you enjoy it.

How can you make the most of the Cyber 5?It all comes down to strategy, planning and execution.Ideally, you’re planning all year and working on the perfect strategies to attract new customers and inspire existing customers to buy more. But planning is only part of the success equation. Making adjustments and tweaks based on what’s working and what’s not is also crucial.On this episode, I’m bringing on a star-studded cast of OMG experts. We talk about Black Friday and Cyber Monday success from essentially every angle. We talk about successful email and SMS promotions. We cover do’s and don’ts for maximizing Amazon profits and share insights for getting the most from Google, YouTube and other channels. My guests:Bill Cover, Google StrategistNick Flint, Email StrategistTrenton Bodenbach, Amazon Growth StrategistWhat we discuss:Top BFCM mistakes merchants make.What you need to plan ahead of time and lock in vs. what you can change on the fly during the Cyber 5.Or favorite Cyber 5 growth strategies.Protecting margin while still driving purchases from customers who expect deals. Can you make a 10% off deal irresistible?

I believe in the who, not the how, for more business problems and opportunities.Want to grow faster?Need to solve a nagging problem?Rather than thinking about how to solve it, you might want to start with who.But that only works well if you have strong leadership skills. As your business grows, you’ll be doing less and leading more. My buddy Peter Awad joins the show today. He’s an eCommerce vet. He launched his first online venture in 2000 and co-founded Mission Meats, an online snack company, in 2015.Now, Peter’s passion is coaching and building great leaders. I’m a big believer that culture and leadership will trump strategy any day of the week.Here are a few of the things we discussed:What’s it like on the other side of me?Knowing yourself first.Radical candor or ruinous empathy.The nothing to lose, nothing to prove, nothing to hide approach to discussions.The fact that the life you want, the business you want, is on the other side of a few hard conversations.How to lead vendors, freelancers, and agencies better.How to have better meetings.

Are you dabbling with generative AI or using it to gain a competitive advantage? Are you getting better at using AI or staying the same? If you're like some professionals I know, maybe you've gotten frustrated with only slight gains using AI, so you've moved on.I'll admit, I'm still just dabbling compared to my buddy Fred.Fred Vallaeys is one of the smartest dudes I know. His perspective on AI is inspiring and sure to get your wheels turning. But first, take a peek at Fred's resume! One of the first 500 employees at GoogleHe was on the team that acquired Urchin, the precursor to Google Analytics He was on the original Quality Score teamHe was one of the original 6 people who built the AdWords editorNow, he's the co-founder and CEO of Optmyzr and the author of 2 amazing books.Here's a look at the taste AI morsels we chew on in this episode:Practical ways to use Generative AI that you might be missing.How to ground the AI so it doesn't "hallucinate."Understanding the best LLMs and how they impact generative AI.How generative AI is different from Machine Learning.Embedding, vectors, and chain promptingReady to step up your AI game? I am!

Price. It’s an emotional topic for shoppers and for brands. As shoppers were more influenced by price than we care to admit.As brands we’re often afraid to change our prices. And our current prices were probably created a long time ago. It’s almost a certainty that they price for at least some of your products is wrong right now.Byron Myer’s is a super smart dude. He started Inogen, a med-tech business, while in college and took it public in 2014. Now he runs Glimmer Wish with his wife and daughters. He used price theory and price strategy to add tens of millions in sales at Inogen. He’s also used it to scale Glimmer Wish from 0 to over 7 figures in less than a year. And this isn’t a “let’s raise prices a bit and see what happens” approach. This is a scientific, mathematical way to find the optimal price to maximize profits.Why is your pricing wrong:It’s likely based on flawed strategies like competitor benchmarking or cost plus. Both strategies are ok to start with but do NOT produce your optimal price for total profits.You’re following old customer psychology that states you should always charge $19.99 instead of $19.97 instead of $20 or $22. Often this is incorrect.You haven’t changed the price in over a year.In the current environment if you’re not changing price or running tests quarterly, your pricing is probably off.This topic will make you Cold. Hard. Cash. Give it a listen!

Why does one hook work and another flops? Why does one offer get customers clicking and buying and another offer get’s only a shrug? How can you know BEFORE you spend money on an ad if it’s likely to convert?Today’s episode is a recording from a recent talk I gave at Ezra Firestone’s Blue Ribbon Mastermind. I break down 7 ad tests guaranteed to make ANY ad better. Follow these tests and your ads will have more stopping power, more engagement, and drive more ACTION. The visuals do help with this one, so watching on YouTube might be a good idea, but the audio sill captures most of the value.Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll learn:How to tell if your ads differentiate your product ENOUGH from the competitionA test that great standup comedians use that applies to your ads as well A test that’s best illustrated using a cat, and one that’s best identified using a donkey. Any guesses what these tests might be about?How to handle lingering objectionsHow to tell if your ad has the power to motivate your prospects to take actionPlus more!This presentation was super fun for me. Hopefully you’ll find it entertaining and helpful! 

Liz Saunders knows the Amazon game well. She was the Chief of Staff for Jungle Scout as it grew from under 40 employees to a few hundred. And the founder of Fluencer Fruit. Through software, coaching, and services, she helps brands and influencers maximize their results with Amazon’s Influencer program. The Influencer game is still early at Amazon, but right now, it’s free for brands to participate in and driving some compelling results. Take This Case Study:An Amazon product with no change in ads, no improvement in organic rankings, and no change in ratings saw a 45% MoM increase and a 3x YoY increase in sales - ALL From Influencer content. Do I have your attention now? Check out what Liz and I discuss in this interview: How you as a brand can qualify for the Influencer Program (good news - it’s pretty simple).How to attract and recruit the right influencers for your brand.Where does influencer content show up, and how do you influence the best placements?The difference between the Inspire and Discover Feed on Amazon.How to use Influencer and Amazon Lives.Plus more!

Amazon DSP is a misunderstood platform. Heck, even the name is confusing! The Amazon DSP we’re referring to in this episode is the Demand Side Platform. Not to be confused with Amazon’s other DSP - Delivery Service Provider (the independent contractors who deliver your Amazon packages). Amazon DSP Ads are a way to target shoppers on and off Amazon with highly relevant image and video ads based on Amazon’s behavioral shopping data.No one has more shopper data than Amazon. But Amazon doesn’t publish that data or allow anyone to use it unless…you advertise using Amazon DSP.DSP is one of the most powerful advertising platforms I’ve ever encountered. But it’s also commonly misunderstood, and it is advanced. This is not for beginners. There are a lot of ways to waste money with it. But there are a few ways to accelerate growth. Here’s a look at what we discuss:The top mistakes advertisers make when running DSP ads.The top 3 strategies for accelerating growth with Amazon DSP.Why running DSP remarketing only and testing too small will likely fail.What it means to have a DSP “seat” and why they are so rare.How one seller tripled their DSP spend and accelerated growth by 35%, all while lowering their TACoS.Understanding DSP attribution and why it’s a hotly debated topic.

Your Amazon listings are probably NOT as optimized as you think. Your products likely aren’t merchandised as well as they could be either. In this episode, Brandon shows you how to find obscure keywords to dramatically grow your sales and rankings. He also shows you how to merchandise your product to fly off the shelf. We also talk about AI, competitor research, new product development, and what it will take to get ahead and stay ahead on Amazon. Brandon is in an elite club of 8 figure sellers on Amazon. His brands will sell over $ 30 million this year on Amazon, and he’s targeting over $ 50 million in sales next year. Here’s a look at what we discuss:The two main factors that impact ranking on Amazon: 1. Performance and 2. Relevance and how to improve BOTH.How to find obscure keywords that you can rank for quickly to boost sales.The 2 biggest mistakes sellers make when it comes to merchandising and how to fix them easily.How to get feedback faster and easier on product designs so that you don’t waste time or money on products or merchandising that’s likely to fail.How to use AI to quickly synthesize what your competitors are doing well, what they’re doing poorly, and what you should do about it.Using AI to get a clear picture of your ideal buyer.How stacking small changes can allow you to double or triple sales year over year.