Up Next In Commerce

If there is one commonality between all of the guests I talk to, it’s that experimentation and constantly learning more is what makes a company grow and thrive. Andrew Goble, the co-founder and co-CEO of Jambys, preached that truth to me on this episode of Up Next in Commerce, and we were able to dissect some of his bigger experiments to draw out insights anyone could use. For example, how should you be thinking about inventory in turbulent times? What are some of the ways you could be utilizing TV ads? And why is it sometimes more important to lose a customer in the short term in order to build trust for the long term? Find out all of that and more on this episode.Main Takeaways:What do you do to get over early company missteps, including communication, production, and launch issues?When it comes to your team, you have to be willing to do things as well as you can until you simply can’t anymore. Bringing on experts and helping hands will get you farther than trying to stay lean. And with customers, honesty is always the best policy. It’s better to be honest about delays and offer a refund now and hope they come back, than lose their trust forever.What platforms and channels should you get excited about?While it seems like every brand is going all-in on social platforms, it might be worth more to go the traditional route and lean into a channel like TV or streaming services. There, you can find more engaged audiences who will sit through a message rather than simply scroll past it.For an in-depth look at this episode, check out the full transcript below. Quotes have been edited for clarity and length.---Up Next in Commerce is brought to you by Salesforce Commerce Cloud. Respond quickly to changing customer needs with flexible Ecommerce connected to marketing, sales, and service. Deliver intelligent commerce experiences your customers can trust, across every channel. Together, we’re ready for what’s next in commerce. Learn more at salesforce.com/commerce---For a full transcript of this interview, click here.

When was the last time you checked into the metaverse? It might be more recently than you think, and you’ve probably been doing it for longer than you realize. Personal commerce is one of the ways that the metaverse is being utilized right now, and Plazah is the platform that has been making it possible. Customers who shop online and are given personal recommendations from experts at a brand are engaging in real time in the metaverse, but they are also having a better overall shopping experience.On this episode of Up Next in Commerce, I chatted with Roger Casals, the Co-Founder & CEO of Plazah, about how the company is not only bringing ecommerce to the next level, but helping brands improve LTV and build customer loyalty at the same time. Roger tells us about the future of personal commerce, why it’s different from social commerce, and what you should actually be thinking about when you are making personal commerce a part of your ecommerce strategy. Enjoy this episode!Main Takeaways:Expert Vs. Employee: With personal commerce, it might seem obvious that the people who know the most about your products are your own internal employees, and therefore they would make the best experts for giving recommendations. This is the wrong way to think about it. An expert in the eyes of a consumer is someone who is unbiased, has actually used the product, and can tell you the pros and cons of it diplomatically. Those are the people you need to find to create a personal commerce experience.Clicks Vs. Products: Personalization offers a way for brands to sell products rather than just clicks. Influencers more often than not are only driving traffic, not necessarily sales. By having a personalized commerce tool, customers can be fed actual products that work best for them, which they are more likely to buy.Social Vs. Personal Commerce: Personal commerce is one-to-one and creates a long-lasting relationship between a brand and its customers. Social commerce occurs one-to-many and is about bringing a community together and building buzz.For an in-depth look at this episode, check out the full transcript below. Quotes have been edited for clarity and length.---Up Next in Commerce is brought to you by Salesforce Commerce Cloud. Respond quickly to changing customer needs with flexible Ecommerce connected to marketing, sales, and service. Deliver intelligent commerce experiences your customers can trust, across every channel. Together, we’re ready for what’s next in commerce. Learn more at salesforce.com/commerce---For a full transcript of this interview, click here.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard that ecommerce has had a bit of a boom in the last couple of years. But does that mean a bust just around the corner? Some people think so. And even if the industry doesn’t see a full implosion, there will certainly be rumbles and challenges every brand will have to deal with. Some of the inflated demand will fall away, and more and more competition will continue to creep in. Nate Kennedy has a plan to face the turbulent times ahead, and he broke them down for me on this episode of Up Next in Commerce. Nate is the VP of Global eCommerce and Customer Experience at Horizon Hobby, which is a corporation that manufactures and sells high-end, hobby-grade radio-controlled cars, planes, boats, and accessories. In the last few years, Horizon Hobby has re-platformed, invested in paid media, and saw the value of influencers. So what’s next? Tune in to find out!Main Takeaways:Start Small: Going all-in on an idea you believe in might be exciting, but it can also be a big mistake. You have to test your ideas before investing time and resources into a tool, channel, or product that you believe will be a big hit. The customer will be the truth-teller, and you have to get their feedback before you make any big moves.Turbulence Ahead: COVID created some artificial momentum for ecommerce and buoyed growth for a while. In the next two years, brands will have to create their own momentum and build demand for their products amid much more competition.Bring Customers To You: The way to stand out is to be different — everyone knows that. But in practice, that means experimenting with your programs, your events, and your customer loyalty offerings to see where you can actually build an experience that will propel you beyond just selling products and into a place where you can become a lifestyle brand customers keep coming back to.For an in-depth look at this episode, check out the full transcript below. Quotes have been edited for clarity and length.---Up Next in Commerce is brought to you by Salesforce Commerce Cloud. Respond quickly to changing customer needs with flexible Ecommerce connected to marketing, sales, and service. Deliver intelligent commerce experiences your customers can trust, across every channel. Together, we’re ready for what’s next in commerce. Learn more at salesforce.com/commerce---For a full transcript of this interview, click here.

The buying experience is becoming more and more of a puzzle that comes together differently for every consumer. How they discover something might be different from how they purchase something and how they purchase it might be different from how it gets fulfilled. You can find something in a store, buy it online, and have it delivered via an app. Every part of the process is being uncoupled, and brand leaders have to build for that reality. Every touchpoint, every experience, every interaction has to be optimized. For Michal Geller, the President of eCommerce & Digital at Newell Brands, this is even more difficult because Newell’s portfolio of brands is massive, and well known — we’re talking about Sharpie, Crock Pot, Food Saver, Elmer’s Glue, Graco, and the list goes on. With so many brands, and so many potential touchpoints and opportunities for cross-promotion, how are Michal and his team approaching this challenge? On this episode of Up Next in Commerce, Michal and I talked about the ways that Newell is experimenting, using data, and taking advantage of new opportunities in order to bring the ecommerce experience — and every other aspect of the business — to the next level. Enjoy this episode and to learn more about Newell Brands, check out newellbrands.com, and Instagram/Twitter @newell_brands and Newell and Newell Brands on LinkedIn!Main Takeaways:Data Dump: Every company has massive amounts of data, but the key is using data better. You have to experiment — even if you think the experiment is obvious — and then take the data from those experiments to guide your strategy. Putting a focus on experiments as a way to find better returns will yield better results than throwing money at marketing with no data to back it up.Ecomm’s Magic Bullet: The best thing about ecommerce is that it is data-rich and that gives companies the ability to move faster than traditional brick and mortar retailers. With the real-time data, even if ecommerce represents a minority of sales, it should inform the majority of the business decisions.Independent Customers: Part of the rise of ecommerce has been the rise of a more independent consumer, who has more choice and authority over purchase decisions. Brands have to cater to this kind of consumer and create buying experiences and touchpoints that are consistently excellent. It is only through exceptional service and experiences that brands will win consumers in the future.For an in-depth look at this episode, check out the full transcript below. Quotes have been edited for clarity and length.---Up Next in Commerce is brought to you by Salesforce Commerce Cloud. Respond quickly to changing customer needs with flexible Ecommerce connected to marketing, sales, and service. Deliver intelligent commerce experiences your customers can trust, across every channel. Together, we’re ready for what’s next in commerce. Learn more at salesforce.com/commerce---For a full transcript of this interview, click here.

If you ask Sean Frank, the future looks bleak. But if you go beyond that surface-level feeling of doom, you’ll actually find a guy who is thinking ahead and coming up with creative, innovative, and effective ways to build a durable business that can stand the test of time. Sean is the CEO of Ridge.com, a $100-million brand, which you might know for its popular Ridge Wallet, but it’s much more than that, and Sean has plans to keep the company growing. On this episode of Up Next in Commerce, Sean and I talked about how to stand out in the competitive world of ecommerce and what it means to have a good influencer and sponsor relationship. Plus, we go deep on what we think is coming down the pike in terms of inflation, supply chain, and more. Enjoy the conversation!Main Takeaways:The Only Way To Survive: In a hyper-competitive landscape, you have to control your own destiny, which means you have to try to do as much as you possibly can really well and put yourself in a position to get in front of the most eyes. Partnerships, owning your content and having exclusive access to your consumers are all ways to build a business that can stand the test of time.Let Them Run: The best way to get a high ROI from influencers is to take a hands-off approach. When brands try to control exactly what their influencers say or post, it comes off as inauthentic. Although it is hard, brands have to relinquish control to the influencers who know their audiences the best and allow the influencers to connect with those audiences in their own ways.Localized Manufacturing: In the next few years, technology is likely going to advance to a place where localized, automated manufacturing will be available to brands. Taking advantage of those technological advances will insulate brands from many of the supply chain issues that have crippled businesses.For an in-depth look at this episode, check out the full transcript below. Quotes have been edited for clarity and length.---Up Next in Commerce is brought to you by Salesforce Commerce Cloud. Respond quickly to changing customer needs with flexible Ecommerce connected to marketing, sales, and service. Deliver intelligent commerce experiences your customers can trust, across every channel. Together, we’re ready for what’s next in commerce. Learn more at salesforce.com/commerce---For a full transcript of this interview, click here.

The DTC revolution can’t be ignored. Everywhere you look there are companies old and new reimagining the commerce experience and bringing more choice directly to the consumer. This is happening in every industry, including one you might not always think about — the funeral industry. For decades, consumers had limited options when they were making arrangements for the death of a loved one. Funeral homes monopolized the experience and often overcharged those who had few other choices. Scott Ginsberg and Josh Siegel wanted to change that. With Titan Casket, they, with their other co-founder, Elizabeth Siegel, have built a DTC business that puts the power back into the hands of the consumer at one of the most trying times of their life. On this episode, we talked about how Scott and Josh used the DTC playbook to disrupt the funeral industry, and we explored some of the ways they are mastering distribution and partnerships as a way to elevate their brand. Enjoy this episode. Main Takeaways:Don’t Sell What You Don’t Have: Although customers are forgiving, that only extends so far. With the supply chain issues ravaging every industry, you have to be upfront about what you have, when it will be available, and when you can guarantee a product will get delivered. Especially with a product that is time-sensitive, you should never leave delivery up to chance or reliance on outside factors.The Key to Sales is Distribution: The more people who see and learn about your product, the more you will see sales rise and more traffic on your website. Don’t shy away from big channels like Amazon or large retailers, because being featured there will ultimately lead to a bump in awareness for your products.Differentiate Yourself With Service: Even if your products can be found elsewhere, the reason customers will buy from your site and keep coming back is because of the experience they have. Differentiate yourself by providing the best customer service and an easy buying experience in order to build a solid customer relationship.For an in-depth look at this episode, check out the full transcript below. Quotes have been edited for clarity and length.---Up Next in Commerce is brought to you by Salesforce Commerce Cloud. Respond quickly to changing customer needs with flexible Ecommerce connected to marketing, sales, and service. Deliver intelligent commerce experiences your customers can trust, across every channel. Together, we’re ready for what’s next in commerce. Learn more at salesforce.com/commerce---For a full transcript of this interview, click here.

In life and in business, there will always be times when you have to pivot. That can be hard, and it’s not unusual to struggle while you're going through the thick of change. For Amelia Wilcox, a pivot in all of our lives led to a pivot in her business. Amelia had grown her company, Incorporate Massage, to more than 4,000 corporate clients across the country, but when the pandemic hit and offices shut down, the decline in the need for massage therapists meant that Amelia’s entire revenue stream was coming to a screeching halt. But rather than fold, Amelia decided to pivot, and find a new need in this changing world that she could fulfill. Amelia identified the mental struggles that employees everywhere were dealing with and the fact that corporations didn’t know how to help those employees, so she created a new platform that corporations could offer to employees that included all manner of mental health resources. She rebranded her business in a matter of weeks, and has now grown her new business, Nivati, in a similar manner as her previous company. Amelia and I talked all about how that pivot happened, and what it takes for a founder or CEO to scale a company. Enjoy this episode!Main Takeaways:There are Tools Available: There are preconceived notions and stigma attached to mental health, but if you are struggling, it’s important to know that there are tools available to you and there is no shame in using them. Take advantage of things like therapy, wellness activities, and medication when needed to improve yourself, and, in turn, improve every other aspect of your life. You’re Only as Strong as Your Mentoring Network: People are generally happy to help when asked, so if you are venturing out into a new business venture or trying to acquire new skills, find an expert and ask questions. Soaking up knowledge, running ideas by people, and learning through observation will all get you ahead faster.You Can’t Scale Alone: The skills that you have that may have helped you build your company from 0 to 1 million are not going to be the same ones you need to scale from 1 million to 10 million and beyond. You need to have the self-awareness to realize that at a certain point, you need to bring in more people, learn new skills, and elevate everything that you are doing in order to reach a higher level.For an in-depth look at this episode, check out the full transcript below. Quotes have been edited for clarity and length.---Up Next in Commerce is brought to you by Salesforce Commerce Cloud. Respond quickly to changing customer needs with flexible Ecommerce connected to marketing, sales, and service. Deliver intelligent commerce experiences your customers can trust, across every channel. Together, we’re ready for what’s next in commerce. Learn more at salesforce.com/commerce---For a full transcript of this interview, click here.

David Zucker, CMO and SVP of eCommerce at Perdue Farms, shares insights from his pioneering journey in leading the company's direct-to-consumer strategy since 2020. He discusses the delicate balance between online sales and maintaining retailer relationships, emphasizing the importance of transparency. Zucker also highlights innovative marketing strategies, like product bundling, to differentiate the online experience while ensuring ethical practices in food production. Plus, he addresses the shift to a mobile-first approach in direct-to-consumer marketing as essential for staying competitive.

Every company today is trying to become a media company, but few are actually succeeding. A Kids Company About is one of them. On this episode of Up Next in Commerce, I talked to Jelani Memory, the Founder and CEO of A Kids Company About, and I picked his brain on how exactly he went from writing and selling children’s books about tough topics, to overseeing a growing media empire. We talked about the need for authentic storytelling — in books or in your product or brand story — and how by trying to please everyone, you actually please no one. We also got into how to choose investors and what the future of media, particularly for kids, might look like. Enjoy this episode!Main Takeaways:Look For Experience: People are effective when they authentically know or have experienced the problem you are trying to solve. Those people have credibility and also the ingrained desire to work on addressing that problem, thus making them better to work with all around. Everyone is an expert on something, so find where those around you can bring out their expertise however you need them most.You Choose Your Investors: When you are raising money, you are choosing who you bring into your ecosystem. You choose who to pitch to and you choose which investments make sense for your business. And even though it might be hard to turn down money, you should say no if and when an investor just isn’t right for you.Can’t Please Everyone: When you try to make a product or tell a story that connects with everyone, you actually create something that connects with no one. Lean into what is actually true or unique to you, and don’t worry if it doesn’t resonate with certain people. The people it does resonate with will appreciate what you have done and they will trust you more moving forward.For an in-depth look at this episode, check out the full transcript below. Quotes have been edited for clarity and length.---Up Next in Commerce is brought to you by Salesforce Commerce Cloud. Respond quickly to changing customer needs with flexible Ecommerce connected to marketing, sales, and service. Deliver intelligent commerce experiences your customers can trust, across every channel. Together, we’re ready for what’s next in commerce. Learn more at salesforce.com/commerce---For a full transcript of this interview, click here.

This is a podcast about digital and ecommerce, so you already know we’re big fans of the internet. It’s a portal and a tool to give you direct access to consumers, information, and communication unlike anything that’s ever existed before. And if you’re living here in 2022 and expecting to thrive as a business owner, you better be tapping into every possible resource the internet has to offer. Alli Reed has known that for more than a decade, and her company, Stratia Skincare, got its start in large part thanks to the wealth of beauty and skincare knowledge Alli tapped into to turn an interest into a side hustle and then grow it into a multi-million dollar brand. On this episode of Up Next in Commerce, I talked to Alli about how she turned her hours on Reddit into a brand that keeps growing, and we talked about all the ways to attract customers, differentiate yourself, and what it takes to educate the consumer beyond just knowing what your brand is, but also what it stands for and how it operates. Enjoy!Main Takeaways:The Reddit Goldmine: If you are looking for an engaged audience, Reddit is one of the best places on the internet to find some. But beware, not only are Redditors engaged, they are hyper-aware of any kind of inauthentic promotion or pushing of brands. When you show up on Reddit, you have to be authentic, and in return, you will see active, informed, and oftentimes helpful folks who can take your market research to another level.Don’t Take Our Word For It: In categories that require a bit more effort to convert customers, it’s helpful to rely on UGC and customer reviews. Rather than asking potential customers to trust you the brand, ask them to trust their peers who are singing your praises. That’s a much easier and quicker way to get someone to pull the trigger than trying to convince them just based on your marketing materials.You’re Not What You’re Not: There is always a rush to be the first to be certain ingredient-free. Whether it’s paraben-free, gluten-free, cruelty-free, or anything else, don’t let the marketing angle of being XYZ-thing-free be your crutch. Find a way to differentiate yourself that actually has a basis in need, science, or data rather than being the first to be “anything-free.”For an in-depth look at this episode, check out the full transcript below. Quotes have been edited for clarity and length.---Up Next in Commerce is brought to you by Salesforce Commerce Cloud. Respond quickly to changing customer needs with flexible Ecommerce connected to marketing, sales, and service. Deliver intelligent commerce experiences your customers can trust, across every channel. Together, we’re ready for what’s next in commerce. Learn more at salesforce.com/commerce---For a full transcript of this interview, click here.