Up Next In Commerce

Humans have needs, and cravings, and desires. Sometimes, they all align — like when my need for food matches my desire and craving for a spicy burrito. In business, you have to be in tune to your customers' needs, cravings, and desires, and meet them as much as possible. These days, across the board but especially in the QSR space, the consumers are craving better loyalty programs and more personalized experiences in every interaction with a brand. Zip Allen recognizes that, and as the Chief Digital Officer for Taco Bell, she’s satisfying those cravings. Yes, there are spicy burritos involved, but there are also unique spins on customer loyalty programs, a new subscription service for tacos, and an app experience that makes getting those spicy burritos — or whatever you’re in the mood for — a friction-free experience. We got into all of that on this episode of Up Next in Commerce and it was a delicious discussion. Enjoy!Main Takeaways:Customizing the Experience: It alIt all comes down to digital when it comes to customizing the customer experience. On digital platforms, you can more easily engage with and learn about your customers, and deliver to them a seamless experience so you can get them what they need when and where they want it. Lean into all the digital tools in your toolbox and don’t be afraid to experiment with some new ideas to engage with customers through apps, subscriptions, or loyalty program challenges. What do the Customers Really Want: To find out what customers want, go where they actually are, and then listen. Hang out on Twitter, find the Reddit threads where the fans of your brand congregate, and ingratiate yourself in that community. Not only will you get a better understanding of who your customers are, but you will be able to spot areas of friction as they come up and source new ideas for your brand from the consumers themselves.Scoring More Than Points: With loyalty programs, you have to think beyond just giving points to redeem for free products Build out exclusive offerings, unique experiences, and ways to add value and delight to your customers’ day that proves that you actually know and value them.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 you first start a company or launch a product, you always have big dreams. You picture the massive deals, the millions in revenue, the corner offices and hiring a huge team. But before any of that happens, you have to tamp down those dreams and live in the real world, doing the hard, often year-long work on the ground proving your concept, talking to anyone who is willing to give you feedback, and knocking on doors to try to make a single sale. Kelley Higney trodded that path — in fact, she got her start selling her product at her daughter’s bake sales. Her fellow moms were her beta testers and, but they were also the wellspring of feedback and proof of concept she needed to bring her product to the next level… and to those great heights most people dream of.Kelley is the founder and CEO of Bug Bite Thing, a safe, chemical-free solution for stopping a reaction to bug bites in their tracks. Today, Bug Bite Thing is available in more than 25,000 stores and has the backing of Shark Tank shark, Lori Grenier (who even gave Kelley her famous “Golden Ticket” when Kelley appeared on the show). On this episode of Up Next in Commerce, Kelley broke down all of the hurdles she had to overcome to reach that point. She discusses the strategies she used to protect her brand before even going into distribution, and she talks about the importance of community and feedback. Plus, stick around to hear about how she and Lori work together. Enjoy this episode!Main Takeaways:Any Feedback is Good Feedback: Even when you are just starting out, you should be pitching your product and accepting feedback from anyone and everyone. The early users and beta testers will guide you through your initial iterations and highlight some problem areas you might be blind to that you can address before going more mainstream.Distribution is a Dangerous Game: It’s not a matter of if, but when copycats will come after you. When you start to distribute widely, copycats will come out of the woodwork and you have to be prepared. Do the work beforehand to learn how to protect your brand and fight against knockoffs. Even if you think you don’t qualify for a patent or other legal protection, reach out and try because it’s better to have any kind of legal backing than none at all.Find a Mentor: You don’t need to go on Shark Tank to find a business mentor. There are people in your network or on the periphery who you should tap into and who can guide you through the highs and lows of business. Doing it on your own is a pipedream. Every successful person has had a team behind him or her, and the truth is, having help will get you to your goals faster.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’re tired of all the supply chain issues here’s an idea, create your own supply chain. Okay, that’s easier said than done, and it’s not actually feasible for a lot of companies. But, there are parts of your brand, your logistics, and your strategy that you can own 100%, and when you do, good things happen. On this episode of Up Next in Commerce, I chatted with Erica Buxton, the President of Hello Bello, and Jessica Tennant, the senior vice president of marketing at Hello Bello, a brand that is making premium products available to everyone — especially parents and families. Hello Bello was cofounded by actors Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard, a couple who came from humble backgrounds and knew that access to good, safe, environmentally conscious products shouldn’t be granted only to those with means. As a result, everything at Hello Bello is made to connect with and be available to parents and families of all kinds. And as Erica and Jessica explained, this ethos shows up everywhere. They talked about how owning your story and your brand voice is key, especially when it comes to marketing. And they also touched on why having a strong omnichannel strategy from day one is critical. Plus, they do get into what it means to actually own the supply chain, and all the ways that can open up new opportunities for your business. Enjoy this episode. Main Takeaways:One Voice: When thinking about developing a brand voice, you have to make sure this is established early and that it’s concrete. In order to have a brand people know and love, everything you put out should look and feel consistent, that way your brand is easily identifiable and consumers can become loyal to it.Working Together: Having a strong omnichannel strategy is important. And it’s also key to remember that your DTC business doesn’t have to compete with your retail partners. They can work together in a way that allows the customer to have access to your products in as many places as possible. So when thinking omnichannel, think about ways to create good bonds with your retail partners or the brick and mortar side of your business so that you create an ecosystem where one part of the business feeds the other.Owning The Supply Chain: For many brands, it seems impossible or simply out of reach to build your own factory. But as much as you can, you should try to own the elements of your supply chain. Not only will this insulate you from many of the delays and price hikes you see in traditional supply chains, but it will also allow you to take control of the quality of your products from start to finish, so you know you are always delivering the best products and you can iterate quickly based on what your customers need.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 customer should always be the guiding light for a brand. Who is your customer? What do they need? What do they want? Where do they live? How do they behave? These are all absolutely critical pieces of information upon which your entire business should be built. That’s Sarah Kleinman’s philosophy at least. Sarah is the Vice President of Digital Experience at The North Face, where she is constantly working to gather information about, understand, and then create experiences for North Face customers. On this episode of Up Next in Commerce, Sarah guided me through how she thinks about creating an effective digital experience, and she explains the foundational elements that every brand should be using to ensure that they are set up for the present and can still build in the future. She talked about integration, enablement, loyalty programs, testing, why companies should be paring down their offerings, and so much more. This was a jam-packed episode, so I hope you love it! Main Takeaways:Integration, Integration, Integration: The success of your ecosystem is dependent on the connectivity of your tools. It’s not enough to build and launch a tool, app, or system, it has to be intertwined with your entire digital ecosystem in order to gather real-time data and create an easy flow for customers.The Honest Truth: It is critical to create an honest segmentation of your customer base, because that is the base upon which everything else can be built. When you know what your customers actually care about, you can create the right products for them, the right marketing and digital content for them, and build out experiences that truly engage them.Back To Basics: People are tired of gimmicks and they want less, more versatile stuff. As such, brands should have a goal to shrink their product offerings and focus more on the value they are bringing to consumers with the most quality, sustainable, versatile products.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 newest diets and food fads are hard to keep up with, and some come and go without you even noticing. But there are some things that aren’t just passing trends. Cauliflower-based foods is one such thing, and no one in the category has done more for the movement than CAULIPOWER. Why? Because not only is CAULIPOWER gluten-free, it’s also absolutely delicious, which is what Gail Becker, the founder and CEO of CAULIPOWER, believes is the secret ingredient to success. On this episode of Up Next in Commerce, I sat down with Gail for a fun chat about how she went from cooking a disastrous cauliflower pizza in her kitchen to running one of the fastest-growing frozen food brands around. She talked about how she got her foot in the door at Whole Foods, what her omnichannel strategy looks like, and why you should never let the copycats in your category get to you. Plus, stick around to hear the story of how a tiny pink house changed the course of Gail’s life forever. Enjoy!Main Takeaways:Showing Up is Half The Battle: There will be times in life and business when simply being in the right place at the right time will change everything. But if you don’t show up, you’ll never actually find those serendipitous moments. Think of every event and every opportunity as a step forward and a chance to take your company to the next level.Don’t Bat An Eye: If you have made an impact in your category, there will always be copycats and competitors. You can’t focus on them because it will distract you from what’s important. All you should do is work on making the best product so that even with all the competition in the world, customers will always return to you because your product is far and away superior.Prioritizing What’s Needed: When you’re first getting your business off the ground, oftentimes you have to build the plane as you’re flying. You don’t always have the money or the resources to set us your backend systems or marketing teams the way you want to, so you just do what works. But as you grow, you have to go back to those foundational elements of a business and prioritize your efforts to sure everything up.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.

On Up Next in Commerce we’re always looking for what’s, well, up next. How should brands be thinking about their omnichannel strategies? What are some of the new platforms or channels top brands are testing out? How is the ecommerce and retail landscape evolving? With 2021 coming to a close, it’s time to look a little closer at all of those question and try to answer them for brands looking ahead to 2022.On this episode, I was excited to welcome back Caila Schwartz, the senior manager of consumer insights and strategy at Salesforce, and we dug into some of the stats, data, and insights her team has gathered in order to give some tips and advice to brands that want to get ahead and stay ahead in 2022. We talked about supply chains, loyalty programs, and had a debriefing on the iOS update that’s causing brands across the board to shift their marketing strategies in more ways than one. There are tons of great nuggets in this one so enjoy, and cheers to a great 2022!Main Takeaways:The Battle For First-Party Data: Loyalty programs and social will be key to get first-party data because they are the best ways to engage one-to-one with the consumers. It’s about a give and take between the consumer and the retailer, so the innovators in the space that can create unique ways to engage will ultimately win out.Growth Spurts: In 2021, growth was much more modest than in the past and there were fewer promotional campaigns and discounts than in years past. The supply chain issues and the economic issues around the world have played a role in this change, and the trends may not necessarily reverse in 2022. As a result, consumers are impacted and brands have to find ways to pivot to make sure that consumers are getting the best possible experience.iOS Update TLDR: Apple’s update in late 2021 has flipped email marketing on its head and brands have to adjust. If your marketing strategy is built around or includes open rates, then you should be rethinking and refocusing on click-thru rates instead. To get more results in that area, you have to level up your actual emails and create better, more engaging content.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.

As ecommerce has become more prevalent, customers are catching on to some of the more suspect aspects of product marketing. They’re starting to notice that when you look for something like furniture online, you’re seeing a lot of the same exact products just branded slightly differently. Companies are using the same materials, the same suppliers, and selling the same or only slightly differentiated products, so the question for brands is, what do you do to stand out? For, Jiake Liu, the co-founder and CEO of Outer, the answer was simple: actually do something different. Outer is the first sustainable consumer brand for outdoor living with a core focus on material science, which, according to Jiake, is only one of the ways that Outer is separating itself from the competition. On this episode of Up Next in Commerce, Jiake and I talked about all the ways brands should be thinking outside the box, why problem-solving should be the number-one driver of product development, and how Outer is hoping to be part of the evolution of retail. Enjoy this episode.Main Takeaways:Make Your Mark: There are industries that you think are saturated, but when you look closer, it’s plain to see that there are no brands truly owning the space. Marketplaces and retailers may be offering products, but no single brand of products truly stands out. This kind of situation is more common than you think, and when you spot the opportunity, you have a chance to differentiate yourself and create a foothold that could propel you forward.Function Over Form: It’s always great to have a beautiful product, but too many companies focus on creating something with a beautiful design rather than a problem-solving function. Even in areas where you might not think there are too many problems to solve — like with furniture — there are still painpoints the need only a simple fix that could make your customers’ lives easier. And in doing so, you win their loyalty. It’s an Evolution: A lot of people are talking about the death of retail, but in reality what is happening is actually the evolution of retail. Brands are reimagining the retail experience and creating new, unique ways to engage with customers in a retail setting. As such, retail i not going away, but only the brands that are thinking big and evolving in the space will have success 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.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: in business, you always need to keep the flywheel spinning. Okay, wait, don’t actually stop the podcast! I know it sounds cliche, but it’s true — to have a successful business, you need to be constantly churning out products, bringing in customers, making sales, lather, rinse, repeat. That’s the part we all know. What so many founders and business owners can’t quite figure out is how to actually get that wheel spinning at all, let alone continuously. On this episode of Up Next in Commerce, I talked with Steven Borrelli, the CEO & Founder of CUTS, a lifestyle ecommerce fashion brand that celebrities, entrepreneurs, athletes, and everyday folks love. Steven has some firsthand experience in the struggles of getting his company off the ground and into the hands of consumers — and his story includes an early $20,000 loss and a nine-hour journey through China. But he also has some of the answers that brands are looking for when it comes to building an efficient and sustainable growing business. What is his secret sauce? And how do testing, YouTube, and NFTs play a role? We got into all of that and more on this episode. Enjoy! Main Takeaways:Getting the Flywheel Spinning: Every company wants to have a flywheel spinning that brings in customers consistently and keeps the business running. But actually achieving that end is difficult. It takes getting the right people in the right roles, creating organizational efficiency, and spending money wisely. And, at the end of the day, knowing your numbers and trusting that math matters is always the most important thing.Top-Down, With a Twist: Leadership has to stem from the top, and those in charge have to set a course and be clear on their vision for the company. But if you want your employees to succeed, they have to be able to set some of their own goals and determine for themselves how they think they can best help the company meet the mission set by the leader.Fertile Soil: Having a good method to test ideas and gather feedback will yield a much more efficient product and marketing strategy. Don’t be afraid to test out new ideas in unique ways that invite customers and potential customers to engage with you in new ways. With enough good data, you can make bigger yet safer bets and grow your company much faster.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.

There are certain things many of us take for granted, including making purchases on our credit cards. It might surprise you to learn that 40% of the population is actually considered non-prime. This means they have either been turned down for a credit card, have bad credit or have no credit at all. These people are often denied the ability to make purchases, particularly on large goods, like appliances or furniture. But what if they could be given the opportunity to make those purchases? What if they were given the chance to make payments based on their own ability on their own schedule? That would not only open up a new customer pool for brands, but it would provide a way for a large group of people to build credit in a meaningful way. Katapult is making all of that possible and on this episode of Up Next in Commerce, I spoke to Katapult’s CEO, Orlando Zayas= about how it all works. We talked about the difference between buy-now-pay-later and lease-to-own. We got into how new financing options lead to more incremental sales for brands. And we also dove into how to build a highly-functioning team and the challenges of going public. Enjoy this episode!Main Takeaways:Finding Missing Persons: When someone can’t get credit, or if they’ve been denied a credit card, they become non-prime consumers. This makes it much more difficult to purchase goods, particularly online. These customers eventually disappear, creating a void but also an opportunity to find them and bring them back into the fold. By giving these potential consumers additional avenues to make purchases, brands are adding more to their bottom line.Consumer Control: By putting the control in the hands of the consumer, you allow them to get to ownership sooner rather than later. And when consumers are able to get to ownership with something they thought was out of reach, they are more likely to return and buy again.Hire The Right People: You need a team that can act fast and independently, especially if you are a high-growth company. It’s imperative that your team can pivot fast and not get rattled when the company is going through a shift — like going public. If there are people on your team who aren’t working up to snuff, it’s better to cut them loose fast, rather than hang on to them hoping they’ll turn things around.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.

To state the obvious, starting and growing a DTC brand is hard… even if you’ve been in the industry for years. Jese Pujji is the founder and CEO of Gateway X, a bootstrap venture studio that helps build businesses in the DTC space. Jesse has been working with and growing brands for years from the outside looking in. But even for him, when he tried to build a brand from the inside out, there were some real challenges and lessons learned. On this episode of Up Next in Commerce, Jesse told me all about that first DTC venture, Poophoria, and the mistakes he made getting it off the ground. But he also talked about all the successes he’s had and the advice he’s been giving to the brands that come to him looking to take their companies to the next level. He talked about which channels to focus on, and why founders should really only hone in on one when they’re starting out. And he also gave us a peek into the future of mobile and why you should be looking at TikTok’s strategy as a benchmark for your own. Enjoy this episode. Main Takeaways:You Can’t Please Everyone: One of the mistakes brands make is not having a clear enough picture of who their target consumer is. It does not pay to be broad. Just because everybody drinks water doesn’t mean starting a water company and selling to the whole world will work. You need to hone in on a persona or two and speak to those people very specifically, otherwise your message will get lost in the shuffle. Research, talk to potential customers and build products and marketing that address them specifically.Stop Channel Surfing: When putting content out early on, founders should pick one channel and find people who know how to run the campaigns. But, as the founder, you need to be involved in what you’re saying and who you’re talking to. By doing that you can make the economics work on a specific channel and then move on. Trying to focus on multiple channels concurrently is a recipe for disaster because they are each incredibly complex and nuanced. Plus, when you work on one at a time, you are able to learn and master new skills and then transfer them.Tik Tok Talk: If you think about how revolutionary Facebook was 10 years ago, many believe that TikTok is in the same position to change the way we experience web and mobile content. The immersive experience, lack of a traditional feed, and the addictive nature of the platform is becoming a roadmap for brands that want to engage customers long-term, especially on mobile.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.