DTC POD: How The Best Brands Are Built

“We really invested in our formulations, which allowed us to scale because our products work and our return rate is less than one percent.” @itmebenji #DTCPOD“The space is becoming more crowded, but I view that as very validating and not something that keeps me up at night.” @itmebenji #DTCPOD“We made our facial cleansers in solid stick form, like a deodorant stick. We really took care and effort to make sure that our cleansing experience was pretty enjoyable.” @itmebenji #DTCPOD“We really started to find our stride and figure out how to speak to customers better. And that's what's allowed us to scale so quickly.” @itmebenji #DTCPOD“I took stock and thought about and reflected on that where society was heading and had a lot of conviction about skincare becoming a much bigger part of men's lives.” @itmebenji #DTCPODWe Speak About:[00:50] Ben’s background in health and wellness[03:45] How and why Disco was created [07:45] Disco’s customer validation in a crowded market[13:20] Getting a “good handle” on an estimate of users[15:25] How Ben realized there is a growing market for men’s skincare[18:25] Branding and pricing standpoint to compete against drugstores, and big brands[21:20] Creating organic and UGC content to educate consumers and solve problems[25:15] Ben talks about the challenges of being a founder[28:20] Three steps to connect better with customers that were a turning point for Disco[31:20] How Disco educates their customers about skincare in post-purchase content[33:40] Where to find Disco on socials and the webStanding out in a crowded, yet growing marketBenjamin Smith, founder & CEO of Disco, joins the POD to talk about changing the standard for men’s skincare and the importance of customer validation.Disco is a science-backed skincare brand with a focus on product development for a growing market of men.Benjamin has always been invested in his own health and wellness, especially skincare. Growing up, a family friend and dermatologist who is now Disco’s medical advisor, taught him how to take care of his skin early on.Having a dermatologist on the Disco teams helps them create clean products with deliberately chosen ingredients.There’s a gold rush to capture the market share of men, and the skincare space is crowded, but Ben views this as validating. Having a unique brand and effective products, allows Disco to reach its target consumers.A founder’s perspective, the importance of listening to customersBen understands from experience the challenges of being a founder. From the launch to the middle of last year, Disco had a low conversion rate and couldn’t figure out how to acquire users properly. Ben even ran out of money a couple of times.Finally, in the summer of last year, Disco found its stride by learning how to speak to customers better. That’s what allowed them to scale so quickly, especially in the last six to seven months.The three actions Ben took for Disco to reach its recent turning point were adding a post-survey into the checkout process, reaching out to customers for feedback, and noticing patterns between the two. Post-purchase surveys had five different reasons why customers may have purchased Disco. This gave real data from customer responses to understand why people were actually buying.Reaching out to customers, Ben received valuable feedback about the website experience and the product that was similar to post-purchase survey responses. Ben learned Disco needed to acquire customers in a different way. That’s when they really had a product-market fit and started to grow. Stay tuned as Ben discusses how he validated Disco, how to scale an eCommerce brand fast, and how Disco is using content 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:Disco’s Tik Tok account: www.tiktok.com/@letsdiscoDisco’s Instagram account: www.instagram.com/letsdiscoDisco website: www.letsdisco.com

“To address operating constraints created by free shipping, consider adjusting your offer to create efficiency for your business.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“Sometimes you’ll see AOV dip with free shipping but that’s usually because of price points when consumers earn free shipping.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“Even if your AOV falls, make sure to pay attention to other metrics like conversion rate to see the bigger picture.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“Creating FOMO in regards to your shipping can be a great way to boost orders on certain days.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“Don't let pushback from one-time purchasers impact your pricing strategy. Focus on building lifetime value and super fans.” @jadesai94 #DTCPODWe Speak About:[01:20] Heartland Bread’s price change to fit in free shipping[02:20] How free shipping affect Heartland Bread’s conversion rate[03:30] Impact of free shipping on order size[05:05] Free shipping effect on daily money intake[05:55] How free shipping affected Heartland Bread’s daily money intake[06:45] Heartland Bread’s decision to change shipping process[08:30] Customer reaction to price strategy change[09:55] How to A/B price strategy and free shipping changesIs free shipping something to consider for your brand?Free shipping. Everybody loves it. So why is it that some brands choose to pass shipping costs to customers?Is it because of logistics issues? Is something else?In this episode of the DTC POD, we dive into Heartland Bread’s decision to change its pricing strategy and offer free shipping for its customers.Based on the price of your product, free shipping is something you may or may not want to consider.If your product is less expensive, rolling shipping costs into the product could make your product too expensive for customers. If your product is more expensive, free shipping might be a no-brainer.Stay tuned as we discuss Heartland Bread’s previous pricing strategy, their new strategy with free shipping, and the effect it had on their business.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 Heartland Bread’s free shipping strategy: https://sendeats.com/blog/free-shipping/

“In Q1  of 2021, we spent $4,315 on Trend and made $51,194 from working with creators on Trend's platform.” Ashton Marshall #DTCPOD“We make sure and pick influencers who are aligned with  our product and our target market.” Ashton Marshall #DTCPOD“At the end of the day, you need to create trust. That's the only way people are going to buy it from you.” Ashton Marshall #DTCPOD“Our Facebook group has about 2 million people in it. The reason it works so well is that the people in that group post content about their interests and support each other.” Ashton Marshall #DTCPOD“People miss out on many opportunities because they aren't as open-minded. If something doesn't work once, give it another shot in a more optimistic way.” Ashton Marshall #DTCPODWe Speak About:[00:55] About Ashton and Mindful Health[05:10] Affiliate vs Influencer marketing[06:45] Growing brands and engaging audiences[11:20] Ashton learning and using influencer marketing[16:35 How Mindful Health drives results[18:05] Utilizing content to boost results[20:35] Ashton’s Facebook group with 2 million users[27:00] Remaining optimistic with your brand[28:10] What’s next for Mindful HealthWhen used right, influencers can 7x your revenue. Ashton Marshall, Affiliate Manager of Mindful Health, joins the POD to talk about the differences as well as the benefits of influencer marketing and working with creators. Mindful Health focuses on internal and external wellness, acquiring brands to promote and achieve their mission. In the podcast, Ashton not only discusses the benefits of influencers but also the benefits of a good affiliate strategy.Affiliate and Influencers are two different things that are often confused, but affiliate generally encompasses email and traffic. It is a lot easier to gauge specific traffic from affiliates, rather than through using influencers, and understand how much revenue can be generated. But when you combine spend with gut and analytics, influencer marketing can be much more lucrative than affiliate marketing sometimes.Influencer Marketing has shown to be a necessary strategy for Mindful Health. In the past, Ashton had little success working with influencers to grow the brand, especially Instagram. Using Trend has helped Ashton and Mindful Health with achieving more success with influencer marketing. Trend pre-vets influencers for brands. Pre-vetted influencers on Trend create better content and have more to offer to brands. This was key in Ashton's success with Trend. It is also important to understand and know your audience so that you can properly get the message across to them. Stay tuned as Ashton shares his experience as an affiliate manager and working with influencers for Mindful Health and how it has helped the brand growIf 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:Mindful Health’s website: https://mindfulhealthlife.com/Mindful Health on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mindfulhealth

“There are two components to going viral, either the product itself is viral or the creator or the person who uses it as viral.” @conorblewis #DTCPOD“I did most of my funding because I was sending out to eighty thousand people that I had nurtured and gotten to know personally. That is the power of generating a strong list and educating your customers.” @conorblewis #DTCPOD“Building a community was a really personal touch from the beginning where you need to nurture it as it grows.” @conorblewis #DTCPOD“You can make a product and put it out in a short amount of time if you're willing to learn and research. It’s about three things: making it, sourcing it and putting it out to get it validated.” @conorblewis #DTCPOD“Use all the free resources at your disposal to make that happen. For me, it was podcasts, books, a ton of online research.” @conorblewis #DTCPODWe Speak About:[00:55] About Conor and FORT[02:25] FORT’s product development timeline[04:45] How FORT raised over $2 million on Kickstarter[10:55] Gamifying FORT’s marketing strategy[09:55] Creating virality with a product[12:00] Expanding reach while limiting advertising costs[19:40] FORT’s Kickstarter timeline[16:35] Building FORT’s online community[20:20] Using sustainable materials in your product[23:35] Advice for other founders[27:50] What’s next for FORTStrong research and product development lead to successful products. Conor Lewis, CEO and founder of FORT, joins the POD to talk about FORT’s successful crowdfunding campaign and strong Facebook community.His company FORT, sells magnetic pillow fort for children. Conor lost his job in April 2020 and started FORT soon after. The idea was one of many startup ideas on Conor's phone. FORT was developed in only a couple of months due to Conor’s push to develop a product fast. FORT already had a strong email list and community before deciding to crowdfund on Kickstarter. Building an online community and how to leverage it into a successful crowdfunding campaign. FORT gamified the sharing of their product, allowing them to expand their reach using their strong online community. Using a private Facebook group, Conor was able to build personal connections with his audience.He used the Facebook group as a way to get feedback on the idea of his product and answer questions personally to his audience. Because of the nurturing of this community, FORT’s Kickstarter campaign was able to raise over 2 million dollars in less than a day. Stay tuned as Conor shares his experience launching FORT on Kickstarter thanks to a strong online community.  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:Follow Conor on Twitter: https://twitter.com/conorblewisFollow Conor on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conorblewis/FORT’s website: https://getthefort.com/FORT’s Kickstarter campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/conorblewis/fort-magnetic-pillow-fortFORT on Twitter: https://twitter.com/getthefort

 “I love the idea of crowdfunding. I'm a huge community builder, super connector, and I love the idea of building an army of people who are fighting for us to succeed.” @cbm #DTCPOD“Our products can create a lot more intimacy and conversation. And I think it's a beautiful thing in a world that's increasingly digital to be in the physical product space.” @cbm #DTCPOD“And I think building interesting networks and online communities allow you to move a bit faster, even if the industry does not move at that pace.” @cbm #DTCPOD“There's an initial boom when you launch and then waves of booms with periods to mellow out. That’s how we've done a pretty good job at keeping that momentum going.” @cbm #DTCPOD“We post every day on Instagram. We're commenting on other people's posts. And I think that engagement is really important.” @cbm #DTCPODWe Speak About:[01:20] About Courtney and AKUA[03:20] AKUA’s history in crowdfunding[07:15] Developing the initial Kelp Jerky product[10:55] The sustainability of using kelp[13:45] Courtney’s transition from tech to food[15:35] Building a community with your brand[19:40] Richard Branson’s testimony for AKUA[23:50] Advice for other founders[25:45] What’s next for AKUAProduct lines can be both sustainable and successful. Courtney Boyd Myers, CEO and co-founder of AKUA, joins the POD to talk about AKUA’s dedication to sustainable meat alternatives in the form of ocean-farmed Kelp. Courtney first learned about kelp through a friend, who runs a nonprofit dedicated to growing kelp farms, which started her interest in kelp. AKUA utilized crowdfunding to expose their product and build an online community surrounding their brand. Kelp is both a sustainable source of food, but it is extremely high in nutritional value. The Kelp Jerky was their first product, trying to start with a dried, shelf stable product for their customers and later expand into other meat alternatives. Building an online community is important in developing your brand. The transition from the tech industry to the food industry for Courtney. One of the biggest challenges was the differences in pace between tech and food, but building a community was essential to Courtney’s success. Creating a product was difficult for Courtney and she underestimated the product development timeline. She created a facebook group to foster growth and build the community for her brand. Timing is important and maintaining momentum with content is important to keeping the community engaged and invested in your product. Stay tuned as Courtney shares her experience launching her sustainable meat alternative using kelp as well as building a community through crowdfunding and creating meaningful content. 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:Follow Courtney on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cbm/AKUA’s website: https://akua.co/AKUA’s Republic Page: https://republic.co/akuaFollow AKUA on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeakua/Follow AKUA on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lifeakua

“Make sure you tailor your offer to something that's personal to a customer or shopper.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“DTC brands are starting to look the same. We're going to start to see a shift in brand palettes this year.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“Live streaming has really taken off in the past couple of years and will continue to take off.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“The biggest thing that you can do is really understand how you can create demand - the messaging that you can do, the positioning, and the story that you can tell.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“Don't limit yourself to only domestic sales if possible. Do some research on selling internationally. The international markets are a great way to grow.” @jadesai94 #DTCPODWe Speak About:[00:55] Offering a personalized experience[01:55] Trends in brand aesthetics[02:35] The growth of live streaming[04:50] DTC brands globalizing[07:00] The growth of social commerce[07:50] Payment via textBeing unique is one of the biggest trends for DTC brands in 2021.We’re covering some of the up-and-coming trends to look out for in DTC brands for the year. Tailoring your offer to something that's personal to a customer or someone that's interested in your product is key. Many DTC brands are beginning to look the same. We're going to see a little bit of that changing.That doesn't mean that you should just jump right into a rebrand. Making sure your product and your brand is unique in terms of messaging and positioning is one of the most important things to do in order to stand out.  The use of technology has expanded the horizons for marketing in DTC brands, especially because of the pandemic. Expanding product markets internationally is another trend that has grown within the past year and might be a good way to grow. Social commerce has become really popular through apps such as TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, and there's been a lot of moves towards that. More and more companies are enabling payment via text. Text communication enables the possibility of offering new things for your customers while selling your product. With the pandemic, eCommerce has grown tremendously, and so has technology in terms of marketing DTC brands. Stay tuned as Jay shares the trends in the DTC world to look out for in 2021. 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 DTC trends for 2021: https://marketerhire.com/blog/dtc-trends

 “I would definitely recommend starting small with your product line. You can always add but you can’t always take away.” @jazyfent #DTCPOD“You don't need 30 different products. It's so much more than that. You only need a few that customers use very consistently.” @jazyfent #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“As long as you're communicating your rebranding process, your customers are going to continue to buy from you.” @jazyfent #DTCPOD“if you are looking to rebrand or change a name, make sure that your logistics and business is still running well throughout the process.” @jazyfent #DTCPODWe Speak About:[00:50] About Jaz and Yellow Beauty[02:00] Yellow Beauty’s product line[07:50] Getting market insight[10:55] Investing in marketing for Yellow Beauty[11:55] Jaz’s experience launching her product line and initial problems[18:00] Yellow Beauty’s rebranding[21:00] Lessons learned from being a founder[23:35] Pivoting your brand[26:55] What’s next for Yellow BeautyProduct lines don’t have to be large to be successful. Jaz Fenton, CEO and co-founder of Yellow Beauty, joins the POD to talk about the curation of meaningful products and her experiences with rebranding. Yellow Beauty has been in business for almost five years with only four products, but they are strong and successful with customers. Making sure that a product would hit and resonate with customers was crucial due to Yellow Beauty’s lack of access to capital. They don’t do multiple versions of the same product with small variations because of the added saturation. Listening to customers has been important in Yellow Beauty’s success in expanding their product line and improving their existing products. Rebranding your company is not something to be afraid of.Yellow Beauty decided to rebrand to broaden its horizons beyond turmeric. One of the biggest challenges of being a founder is the drastic ups and downs while working on your company and product.There are so many people and other founders willing to help and offer advice to new businesses.It is tough and scary to change the name and messaging of your business, but communicating that process to customers is essential to rebranding successfully. Staying on top of logistics and business operations throughout the rebranding process is also essential. Stay tuned as Jaz shares her experience launching a small, but strong skincare product line based on turmeric as well as her rebranding story to expand her company’s horizons. 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:Follow Jaz on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jazyfentYellow Beauty’s website: https://yellowbeauty.com/Yellow Beauty on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yellowbeauty

We’re changing things up this week with an introduction to the DTC POD’s new DTCers community - an invite-only community for DTC and eCommerce founders, marketers, and more.Most of the Trend team (the operators of the DTC POD) is based out of Austin. Last week’s snowstorm in Texas left most of the team without power (so no podcasts).So we figured this would be the perfect time to jump back into the podcast fresh and make two big announcements.First, our DTCers community is officially live! You can apply to join at trend.io/podcast.We’re talking marketing, product, growth, DTC news, fireside chats with founders, and more! You can even ask for help or promote your brand.That leads us to our second big announcement, a whole page dedicated to the DTC POD. Check it out at trend.io.You can listen to past episodes, apply to join our Discord community, and even apply to be a guest on the DTC POD.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:Apply to join the DTCers community: https://airtable.com/shrH1QfmUSvjEFYHRDTC POD on Trend.io: https://trend.io/podcast

“Design is so core to telling your story, and that's really what building a great brand is all about.” @LukasThoms #DTCPOD“There's no longer going to be a single channel business. Everyone is multi-channel, everything is multi-channel, and increasingly everything is more experimental.” @LukasThoms #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“If you can tell a great story through a website, Tiktok, or an Instagram post, you're going to get someone's attention.” @LukasThoms #DTCPOD“The more ways that you leverage your brand, the stronger your relationships are and the depth of the relationships that you build.” @LukasThoms #DTCPODWe Speak About:[01:10] About Lukas and Squarespace[03:45] Squarespace’s emphasis on design for brand building[06:25] Breaking down the pandemic’s impact on eCommerce for today and tomorrow[11:55] Squarespace’s role in empowering SMBs[14:35] The importance of storytelling in business[15:45] Utilizing new platforms to help monetize your audience[17:20] Lukas’ view on the future of commerce[21:35] What the best entrepreneurs do to grow[23:35] Three non-negotiables for eCommerceTelling a story is core to creating a brand and developing strong relationships with consumers. Lukas Thoms, a Group Product Manager at Squarespace, joins the POD to talk about the importance of design in eCommerce and how Squarespace helps enable and empower that. Lukas has been in eCommerce for almost a decade, now focusing on building tools for small businesses for selling online. Design is at the center of everything Squarespace does and it's their biggest differentiator. Design is core to storytelling. For eCommerce, telling the story of your business and product is the most important thing you can do.With the pandemic, eCommerce has grown tremendously. This has forced businesses to experiment with different channels of selling.  Creating a strong customer relationship is important to building a strong brand. Small businesses that create relationships with their customers can use those relationships to fuel multi-modal growth.Where does Squarespace come in?Well they help brands showcase their strong, compelling story and unique product to customers. Once you’ve created your audience, you can also work to sell on other channels. This is a great way to create multi-channel growth.The more ways you can leverage your brand, the stronger relationships you can build with customers.Stay tuned as Lukas shares how to tell your brand story better, how to leverage your customer’s attention, and the future of eCommerce in response to the pandemic and social media. 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:Squarespace’s website: https://www.squarespace.com/Squarespace on Twitter: https://twitter.com/squarespaceSquarespace on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/squarespace/Follow Lukas on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lukasthoms  

This isn’t your ordinary chicken nuggetWe’re covering one of the hottest brands in DTC - NUGGS, a plant-based chicken brand. NUGGS was founded by Ben Pasternak, who started as a young, but successful iPhone app creator before starting NUGGS. NUGGS is targeting millennials and Gen Z people, using irreverent, witty, unapologetically tech-forward branding. NUGGS are continuously being updated, like software, by food scientists and engineers. NUGGS uniquely describe themselves as the “Tesla of Chicken,” creating a brand identity that has never been seen before. Their website furthers this unique identity, having only 3 options of nuggets to purchase: $34.99, $44.99, and $10,000. NUGGS also has a beta testing, monthly subscription-based system, offering more unique ways to purchase their product. Be like NUGGS - focus on creating strong messaging towards your specific target marketNUGGS tries to treat their customers as actual people, rather than data points. They understand their specific market is trendy vegans/vegetarians and rich suburban moms and focuses on them.They definitely don’t market towards everyone and it helps create strong brand loyalty.NUGGS is big on multiple social media platforms which helps them spread their message to their specific target.Stay tuned as Jay breaks down NUGGS’ positioning, go to market strategy, unique audience approach.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:NUGGS website: https://eatnuggs.com/Simulate website: https://simulate.com/NUGGS on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nuggs/Medium Article: https://medium.com/the-anatomy-of-marketing/what-a-vegan-chicken-nugget-brand-can-teach-marketers-e75aa72d226Marketing Teardown Powerpoint: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1JK8dJQ4bz-X4WjLZ5o2vTG7hFUrSO_UlCitMbgg0txs/edit#slide=id.g8d807f2199_0_437GFI Article: https://www.gfi.org/wenger-manufacturing-brian-plattnerGravity Junction Article: https://gravityjunction.com/marketing-golden-nuggets/