Chris Goward, the Founder and CEO of Wider Funnel, is one of the world’s leading experts in website and ecommerce conversion rate optimization.

His company helps clients like Google, Electronic Arts, Iron Mountain, Magento, BuildDirect.com, and many others lift online results by up to 400% for lead generation, ecommerce, and affiliate companies by using the LIFT Model and the Kaizen Method.

Chris has presented on website and ecommerce conversion rate optimization at 100+ events in 30+ cities globally, including conferences like Search Engine Strategies, Search Marketing Expo, European Conversion Summit, and much more. He’s also been invited to speak on behalf of companies such as Google, Magento, Citrix, MarketingProfs, Unbounce and Optimizely.

In 2013, Chris authored “You Should Test That!“, his Amazon best-selling book that shows how leading companies are using marketing optimization techniques to dramatically lift their website revenue, and it’s recommended by highly-acclaimed thought leaders like Avinash Kaushik (also a guest on this show), Neil Patel, and executives from Microsoft, Dell, and Google.

In this episode Chris talks to us about ecommerce conversion rate optimization for companies looking to go from $1 million to $10 million in revenue.

Topics Discussed throughout this interview

• How Chris developed WiderFunnel.com in 2007 before website and ecommerce conversion rate optimization was a common focus.

• A high-level view of the 6 conversion factors you must pay attention to, a process called the LIFT Model - (we break down these 6 parts in the interview).

• The strategic framework for approaching ecommerce conversion rate optimization called the Kaizen Method.

• Radical site redesign vs Evolutionary site redesign.

• Best ways to collect qualitative data.

• Why we need to care about mobile and how to think about it from a ecommerce conversion rate optimization mindset.

• How to decide between a responsive or dedicated mobile site.

• Every business should have an ecommerce conversion rate optimization plan. If you don't you’re losing money and profits.

• The one action Chris suggests you take today to turn more visitors into paying customers.

Links Mentioned

• WiderFunnel.com

• ChrisGoward.com

• Connect with Chris Goward on Twitter

• LIFT Model

• Kaizen Method

• Radical site design vs evolutionary site redesign

• You Should Test That - Book

• Mobile presentation on Slide Share

Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request

To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher!

Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them.

We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

Cheers,

Austin & Chad!

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Before starting this show make sure to check out part 1 where we talk about the first 2 steps in this 5-step bulletproof ecommerce sales funnel.

Funnel’s are extremely exciting to talk about because after you're done building a bulletproof ecommerce sales funnel you can often see 2, 5 or even 10x growth. In this episode we talk about the remaining three pieces of building a bulletproof ecommerce sales funnel and what that will mean to the growth of your business.

We'll also walk you through an example of exactly how to set this up for your business. It’s great to hear conceptually but this real life example will give you the steps necessary to implement this funnel for your business.

Topics Discussed Throughout This Interview

• Why your core offer might not be the place you make your most profit

• What McDonalds can teach you about building a bulletproof ecommerce sales funnel

• You don’t have to live and die on the profits of a core offering

• How to increase number of transactions per customer

• A real example of a start to finish bulletproof ecommerce sales funnel

Links Mentioned:

• First Episode

• McDonalds Article

Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request

To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher!

Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

Cheers,

Austin & Chad!  

Follow on Twitter:

Follow @chadvanags

Follow @a_brawn

Andy Forch and Richard Greiner are the co-founders of Huckberry, an online shop, journal and brand discovery site for guys with taste.

Their focus at Huckberry is to inspire their readers to lead more active, adventurous, and thoughtful lives while providing cool gear with inspiring stories and at insiders' prices.

They've built a large community of loyal followers where 40% of their visitors return to their site more than 10x per month and their email open and click thru rates are 5-10x the industry average.

A big reason for their success is that they're using partnerships as an ecommerce growth channel while building build their community, and in this episode we’re going to get some more insight into how they do this and what it's meant for the growth of their business.

Topics Discussed Throughout This Interview

• The “why” behind Andy and Richard's Huckberry community

• How they’re consistently getting 10x better engagement rates than anyone else in ecommerce

• How they're using partnerships as an ecommerce growth channel

• Huckberry's evolution and acquisition layer breakdown

• Huckberry's best customer acquisition strategies today

• The #1 mistake you have to avoid in business

• The incredibly valuable meaning behind "make your first pancake" in online business

Links/Resources:

• Huckberry.com

• Avinash’s episode

• Art of Manliness

• Huckberry Twitter

Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request

To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher!

Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

Cheers,

Austin & Chad!  

Today we're going to discuss how to build an online community for your ecommerce store, with special guest Andrew Youderian from eCommerceFuel.

Andrew has built an incredible community of ecommerce store owners that drives his business, and he discusses with us why it is necessary for the success of your online business and how you can do it, too.

We will walk through several examples of companies that are doing this well and take you through some specific action steps on how to build an online community for you ecommerce store starting today.

Topics Discussed Throughout This Interview

• Examples of companies building great online communities around their business

• The importance of personal touch, including personally emailing every new subscriber while you still can

• Who creates the community and how do you manage that?

• What can you learn from Red Bull about building a community

• The basics of getting started with communities for your business (here's a hint, start small)

• Why all good brands have an enemy

• How to build an online community using live events

Links Mentioned:

• eCommerce Fuel

• FeverBee

• Andrew's live event in Austin.

Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request

To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher!

Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we're very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we'll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

Cheers,

Austin & Chad!  

Dave Munson is founder and CEO of Saddleback Leather where his number one priority is creating the most authentic brand experience for his site's visitors and customers.

Saddleback leather is an ecommerce company that designs and produces the perfect leather bag and other full grain leather goods, products that won't tear, has zippers or buttons wouldn’t break, and products that could withstand a beating or two.

The idea for his product and company came to him while he participated in a real Mexican bullfight, and he began to build his company while living in a drab $100 a month Juarez, Mexico apartment.

He’s so confident in his products that he provides a 100-year warranty, and guarantees that your family will fight over who gets it long after you’re dead.

Today he’s going to tell us his story on how he took his small practical idea and turned into an ecommerce machine through his relentless focus on creating an authentic brand experience (just watch some of his videos!).

Topics Discussed Throughout This Interview:

• How his participation in a Mexican Bullfight inspired his company

• His Journey from bootstrapped business to a wildly successful online store

• Creating a truly authentic brand experience for your site's visitors and customers

• How David defines his brand and what that means for him and his employees on a daily basis

• Why his site provides links to his top competitors and what that means for his business

• The balance between an emotional and logical feel to a website and what it means for his conversions

• What generosity has done for his company and his life and why you should do it to

Topics Discussed Throughout This Interview:

• How his participation in a Mexican Bullfight inspired his company

• His Journey from bootstrapped business to a wildly successful online store

• Creating a truly authentic brand experience for your site's visitors and customers

• How David defines his brand and what that means for him and his employees on a daily basis

• Why his site provides links to his top competitors and what that means for his business

• The balance between an emotional and logical feel to a website and what it means for his conversions

• What generosity has done for his company and his life and why you should do it to

Links and Resources Mentioned:

• SaddlebackLeather.com

• Connect with Dave - dave [at] saddlebackleather.com

Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request

To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher!

Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

Cheers,

Austin & Chad!  

Amazon can crush your business with better customer acquisition, faster shipping, cheaper shipping, easy returns, and many other things that you probably don't even know about.

In addition to having a solid brand, you have to be able to acquire customers and be able to take them through a bulletproof eCommerce sales funnel. Whoever is willing and able to spend the most money to acquire customers and successfully converts them, wins in their niche.

There are five steps in a bulletproof eCommerce sales funnel, and in this episode we’re going to be talking about the first two, and arguably the most important, steps that companies like McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Amazon use to crush their competition.

Why only the first two steps?

Well, because they’re the most important steps of a bulletproof eCommerce sales funnel, yet most ecommerce companies aren’t executing these two steps and they’re missing out on the ability to convert more customers cheaper and faster than everybody else, which means they’re also missing out on a ton of potential long-term revenue.

Topics Discussed Throughout This Interview

• The Five Steps in a Bulletproof eCommerce Sales Funnel

• Lead Magnet Definition, Importance of, and Highest Converting Examples

• Definition, Importance, an Examples of the Most Underutilized (But Most Important) Step in a Bulletproof eCommerce Sales Funnel: The Tripwire

• Why Your Losing Out On Boatloads of Revenue if You're Not Executing These Two Steps

Links and Resources Mentioned

• Avinash Kaushik Episode - Growing Your eCommerce Business to $10 Million Plus

• Ryan Deiss

• Perry Belcher

• Customer Value Optimization Chart by Ryan Deiss & Perry Belcher

• Columbia Records Trip Wire

• Help Creating Your Own Lead Magnet and Lead Capture

Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request

To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher! Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

Cheers,

Austin & Chad!

Avinash Kaushik is a best selling author of two books on web analytics; Google's digital evangelist; and co-founder of Market Motive, the leading curriculum publisher of online marketing training. He writes regularly on analytics, startups, and business building on his blog Occam's Razor.

The way people imagine possibilities in the world is very finite, his job is to work with some of the largest companies on the planet to help them imagine possibilities for commerce, influence, and relationships by leveraging the power of digital and by building new frameworks and ideas for engaging customers.

He has won multiple awards for analytics, including Most Influential Industry Contributor from the Web Analytics Association.

Avinash speaks at many conferences throughout year including Search Engine Strategies, at major universities like Stanford, and he speaks at huge corporations such as IBM, Toyota, Google, and more.

He puts a common sense framework around the often-frenetic world of web analytics and today he's going to help us understand that framework as it pertains to ecommerce.

Topics Discussed Throughout This Interview

• The two things you need to focus when growing your ecommerce company to $10 million plus

• Optimizing your site for the entire journey; what that means and how to do it

• Getting started with the Digital Marketing and Measurement Model

• The difference between between a large and small business and when it comes to data analysis

• Giving your visitors the Fours Seasons Hotel experience at a fraction of the cost

• Plus a lot more!

Links and Resources Mentioned

• Occam's Razor (Avinash's Blog)

• Digital Marketing and Measurement Model Breakdown (Blog Post by Avinash)

• Digital Design and User Experience Best Practices: Happiness + Profits (Blog Post by Avinash)

• Best Web Metrics / KPIs for a Small, Medium or Large Business (Blog Post by Avinash)

• Market Motive (Avinash's Online Marketing Training Company)

• Web Analytics 2.0 (Avinash's Most Recent Book on Analytics)

• Web Analytics an Hour a Day (Avinash's First Book on Analytics)

• Sample Digital Marketing and Measurement Model with Analysis

• Even More at EcommerceInfluence.com

Follow on Twitter:

Follow @chadvanags

Follow @a_brawn

Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request

To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher!

Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we're very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we'll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!

There has been quite a debate in the past few years when it comes the email opt in practices. In this episode we will cover the pros and cons of both the double and the single opt in as it pertains to ecommerce.

We will also comapre a few different email providers, explain why some email providers strongly encourage the double opt in, and we go over a case study that breaks down the numbers when choosing one opt in style over the other.

Topics Discussed Throughout This Interview

• Overview of Double, Single, and Confirmed Opt Ins
• Why email marketing providers encourage double opt in
• Email provider comparisons
• Pros and cons of both single opt in and double opt in
• Statistical breakdown of advantages/disadvantages of double/single opt in
• Differences between hard and soft bounces
• What you option you should choose
• Plus a lot more!

Links and Resources Mentioned

• Case Study - Single vs. Double Opt In Breakdown
• Email Providers
  • Aweber
  • Mailchimp
  • [Constant Contact](http://constantcontact.com/)
  • Campaign Monitor
• Companies Using Single Opt In Successfully
  • Modcloth
  • Warby Parker
  • Nasty Gal
  • Alex and Ani
  • Jack Threads
  • One Kings Lane
  • Chubbies

Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request

To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher!

Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we are very grateful for them.

We do read all of the reviews and we will answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

Cheers, Austin & Chad!

Eric Bandholz and his team launch Beardbrand on January 28th, 2013 with only 3 products and no established sales. They have since grown from $1000 in sales per month to now generating over $120,000 per month in sales.

Beardbrand a company that provides the tools and strategies men need to take care of their beautiful beards.

Their products are of the highest quality and made from all natural ingredients. They are designed for men who find value in quality, service, and experience and they are for men that are passionate about life.

Simply put, Beardbrand provides Style for the Urban Beardsmen.

Eric attests that Beardbrands success comes from his focus on building a community-based ecommerce site and that you should consider building one, too.

Topics Discussed Throughout This Interview

• How he built a community of loyal followers before having a product to sell.
• His path from $1k per month in sales to $120k per month in less than 18 months.
• Why content creation is his number priority and why it should be your number one priority as well.
• What types of content he puts the most focus on.
• How you can start building a community-based ecommerce site today.
• Plus a lot more!

Links and Resources Mentioned

• Beardbrand.com
• UrbanBeardsman.com
• Shopify Case Study on Eric - Building a $40k per month business in a year
• Eat People: And Other Unapologetic Rules for Game-Changing Entrepreneurs (Book)
• Optimizely
• Follow Eric on Twitter

Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request

To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher!

Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them.

We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

Cheers, Austin & Chad!

This Candid Conversation is an overview on how you can begin structuring your ecommerce analytics account in a way that will save you from the oncoming flood of data that is produced by your analytics account, and, more importantly, how you can use that data to significantly increase profits and even save you thousands of dollars and hours of time on bad marketing campaigns.

We'll take you through the 5 step process of creating structure around your analytics data that covers the most important areas of acquisition, behavior, and outcomes.

Topics Discussed Throughout This Interview

• The right way to look at Google Analytics for Ecommerce

• The most important step in getting started with Google Analytics for Ecommerce

• Why your data is actually the second most important thing

• Sample insights of actual client analysis

• The 3 buckets, or categories, your analysis must cover

• The 5 steps to creating your first Digital Marketing & Measurement Model

• Plus a lot more!

Links and Resources Mentioned

• Example Digital Marketing & Measurement Model with full analysis (DM3)

• Avinash Kaushik’s Site (Number One Analytics Authority)

• How to get insights from your Google Analytics that actually impact the bottom (Post on to create a DM3)

• How to choose the right Key Performance Indicators Part 1 (Post)

• How to choose the right Key Performance Indicators Part 2 (Post)

• Get help with your ecommerce analytics

Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request

To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher! Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!