DTC POD: How The Best Brands Are Built

“The Internet has created an easier way for brands to go to the public and sell their goods.” @edgar-blazona  #DTCPOD“There's pitfalls and things that you pick up along the way and I think being a hands-on founder helps.” @edgar-blazona #DTCPOD“As we were brand building, we had a good story to tell, and we were producing great products in a short timeline. So we went after a lot of press to help amplify our story.” @edgar-blazona #DTCPOD“Having those storylines and continuing being something a little different than everyone else has paid off and really helped us grow.” @edgar-blazona #DTCPOD“When building a business you're going to have to be able to roll with the punches and take those highs and lows, because sometimes the lows are so low you want to give up and other times the highs are so high that you think you're going to rule the world.” @edgar-blazona #DTCPODWe Speak About:[00:53] Edgar introduces himself and Benchmade Modern  [02:18] How Edgar got started in the industry [04:17] Changes in consumer behavior [07:59] How the internet has benefited the furniture industry  [09:42] Past experience that led to success in the industry[12:05] How one brand led to opportunities for another  [15:36] How supply chain efficiency was achieved   [17:53] Key factors that contributed to brand growth[20:30] Advice to other entrepreneurs[23:02] What’s next for Benchmade Modern and where to find Edgar Blazona onlineHow Benchmade Modern gained exponential growth through changes in consumer behavior  Edgar Blazona, founder of Benchmade Modern, joins the POD to discuss the  direct-to-consumer business’s growth, brand differentiation, and how the industry has flourished in a technological era. Benchmade Modern is a direct to consumer, custom upholstery business, focused on quality products and fast delivery.Edgar recognized that when it comes to furniture shopping, the timeline between ordering a product and receiving it can take weeks to months. To fill this gap, Edgar founded a furniture brand that creates and delivers high quality custom sofas without the extended wait.Edgar offers a unique approach to the industry by growing in a construction family and learning the ins and outs as a manufacturer which led to his success as an entrepreneur.He recognizes the importance the internet has on giving businesses like his a platform without relying on big furniture retail stores.Sometimes in DTC, quick and efficient paves the wayBenchmade Modern stands out as an eCommerce furniture company that delivers custom products in an efficient time manner.The brand has experienced exponential growth by developing from a consumer need and offering personalized products that would not be available in large retail furniture stores.Edgar took an approach to achieving successful growth by getting his brand in the press early on to attract an audience. The brand has also derived from previous entrepreneurship opportunities that have all centered around listening to the needs of his consumers.Edgar recommends seeking honest investors and pushing through the highs and lows of developing a startup.  Stay tuned as Edgar discusses unanticipated business experiences that helped to develop his brands and advice to the entrepreneurs. If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.Mentioned Links:Benchmade Modern’s Website: https://benchmademodern.com/Edgar Blazona’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edgar-blazona

“A lot of product searches nowadays are happening on mobile, you want to make sure your navigation is really clean and easy to use.”@jadesai94 #DTCPOD“If you're having trouble figuring out what to name a category, see what else is out there in the market, check out your competitors and see what product categories they're using.” @jadesai94 #DTCPODWe Speak About:[00:35] Structuring product categories  [01:06] Levels of navigation for categories [02:23] The importance of having good search [03:15] How to research the market Simple tips when it comes to structuring product categoriesWhen attracting an audience to your brand's webpage, it is important to stay organized. One key way to do this is through efficiently structuring product categories so that your potential customers can find what they are looking for. One important idea to keep in mind is how to navigate this factor with the rise of mobile shopping. Stay tuned as we discuss three simple tricks to optimize product categorization and what to avoid .  If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.

“It's the simple stuff that makes a difference and drives the needle. Talking to your customers, making sure you have open feedback channels, and knowing who your users are.” @jadesai94  #DTCPO“Content marketing, even though it's a longer term play, can build a brand and an audience and help you acquire customers in a way that's not dependent upon the customer acquisition cost.” @Ramone #DTCPOD“It doesn't just have to be your core product that you're generating all your revenue from.” @jadesai94  #DTCPOD“You don't have to limit yourself to one product,  a lot of people have expanded into other brands and have worked on other things as well” @jadesai94  #DTCPODThe DTC POD community is a hub of resources for founders to be able to learn from each other, grow a business faster, and not have to make errors that other people have already made.” @ramongberriosWe Speak About:[00:49] Host Jay and Ramon reflect on past episodes [03:12] A brand building resource [04:38] Having one product skew[07:39] Simple steps founders have used to drive sales [09:44] Creative customer engagement strategies founders have initiated [11:06] Unique ways to enable revenue growth[12:29] Expanding to other brands [13:50] How the DTC podcast has evolved We’re celebrating 100 episodes of the DTC POD by reflecting on key brand growth strategies from foundersReflecting back on previous episodes, there are many creative and innovative techniques founders have used to build their successful brand. Jay and Ramon discuss these techniques and their greatest learnings from these founders.Key takeaways, such as focusing on the simple steps to drive revenue and what it means to only have one product skew, are discussed. Stay tuned as Jay and Ramon dive into a few founder’s marketing strategies that helped them to build their brand. If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.

“The program allows these tastemakers and insiders, which are essentially macro and micro-influencers, to create their own storefront for West Elm.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“The ambassadors get early access to product launches and catalogs, giving them the ability to add new items to their shops.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“This is an interesting idea, to set up some sort of ambassador program that gives your influencers the ability to select what matches their personal preferences.” @jadesai94 #DTCPODWe Speak About:[01:08] Background of West Elm collective  [02:54] West Elm’s unique ambassador program[03:44] Unpacking West Elm’s new influencer marketing strategy [04:44] Where to find the West Elm collectionsWest Elm’s new approach to an ambassador program and influencer marketing  Product promotion is a fundamental factor for brand growth, and West Elm’s new strategy might be one of the best ones out there.There are unlimited ways for a brand to exercise creativity while bringing awareness to their product, and one common technique to drive revenue is through influencers.West Elm has taken a new approach to this by creating an ambassador program where anyone can apply to be an influencer, and if approved, each individual can create their own store front. This approach not only personalizes the brand, but also attracts a wider audience that may have a preference for one influencer’s collection over another’s. Stay tuned as we dive deeper into West Elm’s innovative marketing strategy and how this technique can be used to drive traffic .  If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.Mentioned Links:West Elm Collective Landing Page: https://www.westelm.com/shop/collaborations/we-collective/More on West Elm’s new program: https://www.modernretail.co/retailers/west-elm-is-launching-a-new-influencer-network/

“Community is everything, that's absolutely shaped the way that I approach eCommerce brands.” @pug  #DTCPOD“Managing one brand and managing six brands actually doesn't mean that it's six times as hard as long as you're able to follow the same framework and systems.” @pug #DTCPOD“My background as an influencer helped me understand how to make content as a brand.” @pug  #DTCPOD“If a secret is the only thing that's keeping my business afloat, then I'm standing on weak ground.” @pug  #DTCPOD“Make sure that you can stretch the lifetime value or increase the chance of customers coming back so you don't have to spend money acquiring them all over again. That's how you survive.” @pug  #DTCPODWe Speak About:[01:02] Jason introduces himself and Wonghaus  [01:59] How Jason got his career started[04:38] The importance of community [06:40] Tools and resources to identify and learn about your target audience  [09:13] How to use influencers to locate your audience and increase promotion[12:02] The creation behind Wonghaus   [14:25] Jason’s process for developing and expanding products   [16:13] Important factors for driving sales  [18:31] Sharing knowledge to other founders through Shopify [22:08] Leveraging tiktok for brand growth[25:36] Tiktok’s unique algorithm for attracting an audience  [31:57] additional projects Jason has worked on[35:57] What’s next for Wonghause and where to find Jason Wong onlineBuilding a brand starts with the community Jason Wong, entrepreneur and managing partner of Wonghaus, joins the POD to give some insight on the venture studio and strategies for building a brand.Wonghaus is a brand incubator focusing on creating solutions for eCommerce merchants.Jason recognizes that an important component of brand promotion is creating a community for your product and understanding how to market to that community. A beneficial approach for brand development is suggested by first creating products derived from a solution to a problem, and then from there engage in market research. Virtual strategies for eCommerce brand promotion Wonghaus is a fast growing venture studio helping brands in the consumer space, and one of jason’s many marketing projectsJason’s incentive for creating Wonghaus was to create more companies, with the idea in mind that following the same framework and systems for each brand is the key to managing them all successfully. Jason discusses how to locate the right influencers for your brand through their audience composition and affinity, and how to optimize this strategy to create brand recognition and audience attraction. TikTok’s unique algorithm that differentiates it from other media platforms in attracting consumers is also discussed.Stay tuned as Jason shares additional projects he is working on and important tips from these experiences. If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.Mentioned Links:Wonghaus’s website: https://www.wonghaus.com/Jason Wong’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pug/

“When we're talking about break-even ROAS,  the real importance comes into mind when you're comparing it to your actual return on ad spend.” @JayAtSwpely #DTCPOD“When the break-even ROAS number and the ROAS number are very close together, that means that you might have a better chance of profitability.” @JayAtSwpely #DTCPOD“Discounts can be really helpful for achieving ROAS goals. But be careful because they can also increase what you need to break even.” @jadesai #DTCPOD“Product customization or monogramming can help boost brand loyalty.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“A lightly discounted bundle of complementary products can boost your average order value.” @jadesai94 #DTCPODWe Speak About:[00:57] Defining ROAS[02:34] How to calculate your break-even ROAS [04:34] The importance of discounts[06:14] Tips to maximize your ROAS and reach your break-even ROAS doesn’t always paint the full picture, so make sure you check break even ROAS tooWhen building a business, there are many strategies to measure success. The strategy discussed in this episode is break-even ROAS, which gives a business an idea of what their margins are and return on dollars spent.   To make money you have to spend money, and it is important for businesses to measure costs against return value to examine how to maximize profits. Stay tuned as we discuss how to calculate discounts into your break-even ROAS, and other techniques to increase returns on dollars spent. If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.Mentioned Links:More on break-even ROAS: https://marketerhire.com/blog/how-to-calculate-roas

“Having a quiz to connect with your customers on site has become almost an essential part of the shopping experience.” @Tina_Donati #DTCPOD“You're collecting key insights about your customers with every question you ask and then using that to create personalized recommendations and personalized future engagements.” @Tina_Donati #DTCPOD“Quizzes are an opportunity to increase AOV because you have people purchasing more than maybe they would if they were just cruising through your website and happened to find that one single product.” @Tina_Donati #DTCPOD“An advantage of using a quiz is having personalized emails, SMS, and Facebook messenger messages that you send to customers to bring them back, and to engage with them again.” @Tina_Donati #DTCPOD“Based on the information that you've collected through a quiz, you can be strategic about the questions you ask to get that information, you've learned so much about who your customers are to create this full profile of every single one of them.” @Tina_Donati #DTCPODWe Speak About:[01:04] Tina introduces herself and Octane AI  [02:17] The development process of Octane AI[04:34] The different types of quizzes and the benefits it builds for a brand[06:24] How the tool collects insight and offers personal engagement for customers [09:59] Marketing strategies to optimize the consumer quiz experience[13:26] How quizzes maximize AOV  [15:36] what strategies work best for cross and up-selling [17:44] How quizzes create an informed and personal brand [23:28] Additional brand value [25:33] How and when to implement a quiz in the customer journey [28:16] Creative ways to introduce personalized products  [30:49] Where to find Tina Donati and Octane AI onlineIf you want to build a strong brand, you need build strong relationships with customers (and use quizzes!)Tina Donati, content marketing manager of Octane AI, joins the POD to give some insight on the business, and the creative value quizzes can add to your brand . Octane AI is an all-in-one platform for quizzes, messenger, SMS, and opt-ins that powers a personalized cross-channel experience.  Tina recognizes that when it comes to building a brand, knowledge about your customers and personal engagement are key components for customer retention and brand growth.To provide this experience, Tina is part of a team that focuses on developing this value for businesses. An approach to gaining these key components is through quizzes. Offering a customer quiz on the brand website provides useful information to the brand and creates an engaged experience for the customer.  Tina recognizes the importance of this, and Octane AI has developed a shop quiz platform that businesses can use.In DTC, you need to find unique ways to add value to the customer experiencePersonalized quizzes can be great for optimizing the customer experience and driving brand affinity.   Quizzes can act as product recommenders and virtual assistants, adding value to the customer experience as they lead them to personalized products and create cross-selling. This in return may lead to an increased AOV.Tina addresses the types of quizzes and how to utilize them to create an engaged consumer.  Further brand opportunities are discussed through marketing strategies with quizzes.Stay tuned as Tina discusses the post-purchase process and lifetime value tips when integrating a shopping quiz. If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.Mentioned Links:Tina Donati’s email: tina@octaneai.comTina Donati’s linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-donati-61Octane AI’s website: https://www.octaneai.com/

“Values matter a lot and people sniff through false values. If you're a sustainable brand partner with sustainable brands. If you are a clean beauty brand partner with other brands that actually speak to your mission.” @connersherline #DTCPOD“I like thinking about my influencer strategy with the micro-influencers mostly, and then plugging in a few strategic macros that we create a longer-term relationship with.” @AmandaMGoetz #DTCPOD“As it becomes easier and easier to create products or offer classes or sell content, the relationship that you build with your customer is going to be the biggest key.” @LukasThoms #DTCPOD“The main thing is just listening to our customers, who already love your products and asking them what they want to see next.” @jazyfent #DTCPOD“If you have good people and the position is not working, recognize if they bring value to the company, then figure out how to make it work in another position.” @irleslie #DTCPODWe Speak About:[00:57] Advice on brand partnerships[02:21] Influencer marketing and strategies [03:56] The importance of building customer relationships[05:41] The benefits of customer feedback [07:14] Paying attention to the inner workings of a business We’re recapping some of the best tips from DTC and eCommerce leadersThere are many strategies the businesses take on when building a successful brand.These strategies can range anywhere from product promotion to customer retention, all sharing a common goal of building a successful business.  Many companies take different approaches to gaining brand awareness, and learning tips and tricks from numerous companies is a beneficial component to building your own brand.Stay tuned as we discuss important tips from previous episodes, and what key strategies led these companies to the success they have today. From leaders of 8-figure brands to eCommerce influencers and more.If you missed part 2, you can access it here! If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.Mentioned Links:Podcast with Conner Sherline on brand collaborations: https://trend.io/blog/brand-partnerships-collaborationPodcast with Amanda Goetz on using influencers for SMBs: https://trend.io/blog/early-stage-smb-influencer-marketingPodcast with Lukas Thoms on brand storytelling: https://trend.io/blog/design-brand-storytellingPodcast with Jaz Fenton on hero products: https://trend.io/blog/hero-products-rebranding-yellow-beautyPodcast with Ian Leslie on lessons from a CMO at a 10-figure brand: https://trend.io/blog/industry-west-b2b-dtc-sales

“Our hypothesis was if we can really give content a shot and really invest in content marketing for a couple of months, maybe that can be our competitive moat.” @JVMeredith  #DTCPOD“The way I look at retail is ‘if we're not on the aisle in the broth and stock section, then we're going to lose market share’.” @JVMeredith #DTCPOD“I think the key thing is to remember, is our marketing plan is just a plan and plans change constantly. It's important for us to be flexible to where, as we see opportunity, we're able to jump on it.” @JVMeredith #DTCPOD“We try to leverage our experience on the performance marketing side to get what we need from the retail side.” @JVMeredith #DTCPOD“Our core channels from the early stages were influencer and affiliate marketing and they are still core channels for us today.” @JVMeredith #DTCPODWe Speak About:[01:15] Backstory on Trend’s personal connection to Kettle & Fire  [02:30] About Jack and Kettle & Fire[05:00] Kettle & Fire’s unique content marketing approach[06:00] Why Jack and his team invested heavily in content and the results that followed[10:15] Kettle & Fire’s Facebook ads approach with a consumable good[12:50] How retail plays into Kettle & Fire’s marketing strategy [15:25] Jack’s approach to setting KPIs for Kettle & Fire[17:20] Trying to attribute and get data on retail sales[19:50] Key metrics for retail sales[22:55] How Kettle & Fire nailed their first retail experience[25:40] The channel Kettle & Fire used while warming up SEO[28:05] How Jack does influencer and affiliate marketing[33:20] What’s next for Kettle & Fire?The scrappy marketing that grew Kettle & Fire into an 8-figure brandJack Meredith, VP of Marketing at Kettle & Fire joins the POD to talk about their unique approach to marketing and growth that’s turned the brand into a retail and DTC star.Kettle & Fire is a brand that has created the first 100% grass-fed, shelf-stable beef bone broth.When Kettle & Fire started, they didn’t have a ton of money resources to grow the brand. So instead, they turned to content and influencer marketing.Content has been a huge growth lever for Kettle & Fire. Today, the brand ranks at the top for hundreds of keywords that creates a great funnel for customers.Jack and his team have taken an almost B2B-like approach for content marketing and it’s paid off big time.Tracking performance is key to growing a brand, even when data is hard to come byContent and influencer marketing aren’t the only growth levers for Kettle & Fire though.As the brand has grown, paid ads and retail have become a large source of growth for the business.Opening up the retail channel specifically has yielded huge returns for the business. Jack sees it as a way to complement the online strategy.Even though retail data is hard to come by, the brand is constantly trying to use their learnings in performance marketing to track performance in retail better.Stay tuned as Jack breaks down all of the channels Kettle & Fire uses for marketing, how they’ve mastered retail, and the exact KPIs the brand uses to grow.If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.Mentioned Links:Kettle and Fire’s website: https://www.kettleandfire.com/Jack’s Twitter account: https://twitter.com/JVMeredithJack’s DTC playbooks: https://www.dtcplaybooks.com/

“Pinterest is a great opportunity to be able to direct traffic to where you want it to go.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“About 97% of the top pinterest searches are unbranded, this gives brands a huge opportunity to engage with customers who are planning future buying decisions” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“Pinterest is a great way to build a community and educate customers.” @jadesai94 #DTCPODPinterest isn't just a great place for static image content, videos can also highlight your brand and the product functionality ” @jadesai94 #DTCPODWe Speak About:[00:53] Pinterest as a user-generated platform[01:21] How to promote products through the shopping experience [02:11] Utilizing pinterest to direct traffic[03:37] Pinterest marketing tools and techniques [05:10] Well-established brands on pinterest[05:46] The analytic benefitsOften forgotten, Pinterest can be a great place to grow your brandProduct promotion is the first step to building a successful brand, and this element can be accomplished in various unique ways.Many brands take to Facebook and Instagram to engage with potential consumers, but there’s an underlooked platform with a high rate of users - Pinterest.Pintrerst is a popular social media outlet known for its creative user-generated content, and its development as a purchase point to connect users with brands.Not only can this platform be utilized to inform users of your product, it's also a beneficial resource that provides feedback on competitors. Stay tuned as we discuss key strategies for marketing on Pinterest and additional components to increase brand value through this platform. If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.Mentioned Links:Key Pinterest stats: https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/31147/the-ultimate-guide-to-mastering-pinterest-for-marketing.aspxBrands with great Pinterest strategy: https://later.com/blog/brands-on-pinterest/How to build your own Pinterest strategy: https://www.oberlo.com/blog/nail-pinterest-marketing-pinterest-ads