The Ecommerce Influence Podcast

Who is truly at the center of your business, your customers or your profits?

Tim O'Brien's supplement company, Find Your Healthy Place, is relentless in its pursuit of customer-centricity. After in-store sales started to tank during the onset of COVID-19, Tim knew that making their customer's online experience just as personalized and memorable as the one they had in store would be critical to their survival. Today, Tim's online sales are up from 3% to 26%, and the pivots they continue to make are remarkable. 

Tune into this episode to learn why Tim feels a customer first strategy works best for his business, how to create personalized experiences online and the key metrics he focuses on as his business continues to grow.

Episode Highlights

  • 5:07 How Tim got started in the wellness industry
  • 10:00 The effects COVID has had on Tim’s brick-and-mortar and Ecommerce sales
  • 14:19 How Tim is applying his customer first strategy online
  • 18:55 Building your competitive advantage into your onboarding process
  • 21:59 Choosing to double down on what works
  • 23:31 The most powerful metric Tim’s team focuses on 
  • 25:44 Hard lessons Tim has learned about himself in his entrepreneurial journey
  • 28:47 A perspective on what to do when you make the wrong hire
  • 30:36 Tim’s approach on local and digital advertising
  • 35:31 The email marketing strategy that is generating thousands of dollars in sales every week
  • 38:32 What Tim is most excited about in business right now
  • 40:01 How you can get in touch with Tim

Links and Resources:

Direct download: EI_275_TimObrien.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

Many Ecommerce business owners are wondering how to reclaim their Facebook ad performance to finish on top.

Ecommerce entrepreneurs saw some of their best months this spring with consumer’s response to the onset of COVID-19. However, as buying patterns started to shift, summer and fall have been incredibly challenging.

In this episode, Andrew Foxwell gives us some insight into what he's learned working with a variety of clients. We dive into how user behavior has changed, what businesses across the globe are experiencing, and leave you with several tactics you can use to increase your Facebook ad performance this year. 

Episode Highlights

  • 6:27 How user behavior is impacting the current state of Facebook
  • 10:36 A global overview of Facebook ad performance
  • 13:59 What the Shaq Stack is and how to use it
  • 17:12 Using bid overrides to manage volatile Facebook ad performance
  • 19:35 User-generated content and dynamic creative testing
  • 22:49 The All-In-One Campaign Budget Optimization when nothing else is working
  • 24:48 Finding your unique performance formula
  • 27:36 How long you need to run campaigns to maximize Facebook ad performance
  • 30:30 When to ramp up your Facebook ad budget
  • 33:13 The top 3 things working for US-based advertisers 
  • 35:23 Andrew’s Q4 prediction on Facebook ad performance

Links and Resources:

Direct download: EI_274_SinceThe_Spring.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

Ever Feel Like A Million Bucks After A $20 Haircut? Today’s Guest Knew That Feeling, And It Led Him To Create A Product That Hit More Than $1MM In Sales In Just 12 Months. 

Calvin Quallis is the Founder of Scotch Porter – a 7-figure New Jersey-based men’s grooming brand now on the shelves of major retailers like Walmart and Target. 

The brand’s early beginnings trace back to his mom’s barbershop where Calvin noticed men couldn’t help but walk out with an entirely new pep in their step. Since then, Calvin has been on a mission to help men feel their best.

Calvin joins us on this episode to talk about what building Scotch Porter has been like, the struggles and challenges they’ve faced, marketing strategies that have worked for them, and so much more. 

If you’re an ecommerce entrepreneur interested in going into retail, this episode is for you.

Enjoy! 

Episode Highlights

  • 6:34 The power of a $20 haircut: What inspired the Scotch Porter brand
  • 10:19 Creating a mission you can get behind
  • 12:17 Laying the groundwork for Scotch Porter
  • 15:29 The key characteristic you need to solve your startup problems 
  • 17:27 What Calvin wishes he knew before signing major retail contracts
  • 21:29 Two things Calvin would approach differently if given another chance
  • 23:15 The lengthy process of landing inside Playboy magazine
  • 25:35 Scotch Porter’s marketing strategies to gain traction
  • 27:55 How Calvin would launch a second brand with what he knows now
  • 30:23 4 invaluable resources Calvin recommends for your entrepreneurial journey
  • 32:26 Why Calvin will hop on a call with any entrepreneur
    34:39 The benefits of bootstrapping vs being funded
  • 36:29 How you can get in touch with Calvin and learn more about Scotch Porter

Links and Resources:

Direct download: EI_273_Calvin_Updated_Klaviyo.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

If you’re one of the few people who hasn’t been impacted by the recent turmoil around Facebook ads, consider yourself lucky. For everyone else, this episode is for you. 

If you're an ecommerce business owner or agency who primarily drives traffic through Facebook advertising, you’re aware of the recent challenges. Between price increases, instability on the platform, and movies like The Social Dilemma that are going to bring even more transparency and scrutiny on advertising through Facebook, it’s a difficult time to grow your business using paid social. 

Andrew Foxwell and I recorded two episodes back in February of 2019 where Andrew talks about 20 questions he likes to ask clients that are feeling stuck with their Facebook ads. It's still unbelievably relevant today. If you’re having challenges or are seeing a performance drop, these are the questions and strategies that you can revisit to bring new life to your ads.

Enjoy!

Episode Highlights

  • 7:29 Integrating user-generated content into your creative
  • 8:43 Leveraging reviews and social proof in ad copy
  • 10:16 Using square video link posts
  • 11:56 Performance differences between lifestyle photos vs product images
  • 13:50 The problem with unanswered comments on your paid social ad
  • 17:50 How to give first-time customers a reason to try your product
  • 19:19 Bringing new life to an old ad set
  • 20:36 Utilizing dynamic pixel actions to introduce new prospecting audiences
  • 22:29 Testing broad match dynamic product ads layered with interests
  • 23:26 Splitting dynamic product ad time windows to give your customers the best treatment
  • 24:24 Analyzing your audience overlap to help scale your ads
  • 27:16 Using value bidding to increase your average order value
  • 30:23 Bid overrides, the bully method and getting exposure in a competitive space
  • 34:58 The importance of advertising to previous customers
  • 37:32 Trying product bundling to bring up your AOV
  • 42:02 Remarketing to engaged users
  • 43:24 Reading your age report breakdown and how to find it
  • 46:22 What your Add to Cart to Purchase ratio can tell you
  • 48:08 How to try campaign budget optimization
  • 49:45 The importance of getting a naming convention installed

Links and Resources:

Direct download: EI_272_20_things_relaunch.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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