Thank You Come Again

Aaron Orendorff is an eCommerce content legend, previous Editor in Chief of Shopify Plus, VP of Marketing at Common Thread Collective, and current Head of Marketing at the Shopify SMS Platform, Recart. 

In this episode, we discuss the intersection of content and commerce, the 3 phase approach to building an organic content flywheel for any DTC brand to build, how to think about SMS marketing in 2023, why transparent SMS pricing is key, the 5 things that make Recart so special for Shopify brands, and Blake’s favorite SMS strategy for driving tons of traffic, Transactional SMS!

Aaron also stresses why consistency in marketing matters, bringing together organic brand building and performance paid advertising, and finding one's native content language. 

If you are curious about what “great” looks like in SMS marketing in 2023 this one is for you. 

👉 The TYCA Podcast is brought to the DTC community cost-free. If you’d like to support the show, please consider leaving us a review and subscribing to the show! 🙏

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Follow Aaron and Recart

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Check out Recart SMS at www.recart.com 

Timestamps

(0:00) Blake's High-Level Intro

(2:05) - Who is Aaron Orendorff & Recart?

(6:23) The worst piece of DTC advice Aaron has heard

(7:51) Where does Aaron derive his inspiration?

(10:38) Aaron’s #1 message to the eCommerce community if he could put it on a billboard

(11:45) The Aaron Orendorff view on the intersection of content and commerce

(13:54) The 3 principles of great content creation in any owned channel (SMS, email, social, etc…) 

(24:00) 5 Ways Recart is thinking differently about SMS in 2023 plus good questions to ask your current vendor

(29:00) Reviewing campaign costs and why it can wreck your return on spend

(31:00) Why transparency in SMS pricing is key

(38:00) The power of restore links for conversions 

(43:00)Transactional SMS and why it’s the #1 best-kept secret in SMS marketing

(50:00) Closing thoughts 

Jake Karls is the co-founder of Mid-Day Squares, a functional and better-for-you chocolate snacks CPG company. 

As you’ll learn, this “Resident Rainmaker” is full of inspiring energy and wisdom for anyone in the CPG or eCommerce industry.

Blake and Jake discuss customer retention strategies, the importance of authenticity, and the challenges of shipping perishable goods. 

Jake emphasizes the importance of storytelling and building emotional connections with customers to drive organic growth and word-of-mouth marketing. 

He also shares his motto of "get comfortable being uncomfortable" and advises current and aspiring CPG and DTC founders to invest in innovation and be true to themselves. 

The TYCA Podcast is brought to you by Wonderment — the #1 platform loved by eCommerce support, operations, and marketing teams alike to deliver the most holistic post-purchase experience imaginable. 

Wonderment is the retention iOS used by over 1000 customer-first shopify brands like Jones Road Beauty, Igloo, The Ridge, Simplehuman, and more. Check out www.wonderment.com today. 

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Watch the video format of today's episode here. 

Timestamps and Summary

(0:00) - Intro

(1:20) Who is Mid-Day Squares & Jake Karls

(2:39) Blake tries Mid-Day Squares Live 

(4:24) Jake's best purchase under $100, his favorite hype song, and more

(5:31) Jake’s #1 message he wants to share with the world

(7:31) Building a Personal Brand and Community - How Mid-Day Squares Approaches It

(9:49) Mid-Day Squares approach to Creating a Reality Show on Entrepreneurship

(12:06) Wonderment, the #1 CX platform for Shopify

(13:58) The Growth Impact of Building a Personal Brand and Community on a CPG or eCommerce Brand

(14:44) How Jake Has Raised Money, Gotten Media Coverage, Attracted Retailers and More Through Building a Brand Story 

(16:24) Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable And Why It’s Good For You

(19:38) Growing customer retention at Mid-Day Squares

(22:05) How Authenticity and Boldness Trump Anything Else 

(24:58) How Mid-Day Squares Overcomes Shipping Challenges and Transparency with Perishable Goods 

(28:11) Advice on Supply Chain and Retail… How to build relationships and save

(28:42) The Evolution of Customer Retention at Mid-Day Squares

(30:22) How to Talk to Customers to Make Business Decisions 

(32:13) Jake’s Very Expensive Failures And What He Learned 

(36:09) The Most Common Bad Advice Given in the CPG Space 

(36:53) How Mid-Day Squares is Investing in Innovation [00:36:53]**

(38:47) Advice for Struggling Entrepreneurs - Being true to yourself 

(41:12) Ending

Other TYCA Episodes You Might Like

Cracking CPG Retention — Will Nitze, Founder/CEO (IQBAR)

Shopify SMS Retention Playbook: Keeping Customers Coming Back with Postscript CEO Adam Turner

Immediately Improve Your Retention Marketing & CX / How Jones Road Beauty Creates Loyal Customers /  Eli Weiss & Joanne Coffey

Will Nitze is the Founder/CEO of the CPG brand IQBAR.

Catch a deep dive into the secrets of customer retention in the CPG category. Will shares his insights on how to overcome the unique challenges and seize the opportunities of each channel (Shopify, brick & mortar, wholesale, etc...) to drive growth and loyalty for your brand.

Discover his innovative approach to customer retention, which involves post-purchase surveys and creating multiple touchpoints to build a loyal customer base.

And that's not all - the conversation also covers fundraising, investments, and the power of the “founder-led” brand. Get ready to be inspired and take your CPG brand to the next level!

The TYCA Podcast is brought to you by Wonderment — the #1 platform loved by eCommerce support, operations, and marketing teams alike to deliver the most holistic post-purchase experience imaginable.

Wonderment is the retention iOS used by over 1000 customer-first shopify brands like Jones Road Beauty, Igloo, The Ridge, Simplehuman, and more. Check out www.wonderment.com today.

Follow Blake

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Twitter

Get in touch with Will
LinkedIn
Try IQBAR

Timestamps

(0:00) Intro

(0:32) Will's journey and IQ Bar story — how he became interested in brain food, leading to the creation of IQ Bar.

(3:24) Rapid fire questions - Get to know Will better, including his favorite CPG brand and best recent purchase under $100.

(9:05) - How Will thinks about the intersection between brick and mortar retail and DTC in CPG.

(13:00) Wonderment — the CX platform that powers Shopify’s best CPG brands.

(15:00) Why DTC and brick and mortar are vastly different — and why brick & mortar is more profitable.

(16:30) Optimizing for Revenue vs. Gross Margin

The importance of optimizing for revenue in the early days of D2C and how it has shifted to optimizing for gross and net margin. The importance of considering the era and what you are optimizing for when deciding on a channel strategy.

(18:20) Customer Retention Strategies for CPG

Steps taken to grow customer retention at IQ Bar, including post-purchase surveys and focusing on creating a loyal customer base.

(24:15) Subscription offers, limited-time offers (LTOs), etc… and how that helps the DTC channel. 

(26:00) Why Will is bullish on distributing to offices & other unconventional wholesale distribution outlets

(29:00) Education and Mass Marketability discussion

(32:15) Approach to DTC Retention

Importance of reducing CAC, increasing AOV, and increasing LTV, and how IQ Bar has leaned into the basics and been more scientific over time.

(35:30) What bad recommendations get made often in CPG/DTC

(37:45) Fundraising and Bootstrapping

Advice on fundraising and bootstrapping in the CPG industry, including the importance of raising money, being capital efficient, and valuing time.

(42:00) Investing in Internal Skills 

The importance of investing in internal skill development and building redundancies in the team, rather than outsourcing everything too early.

(46:00)Founder-Led Brand

The impact of sharing your story and being on social media channels like LinkedIn on building a founder-led brand and creating an emotional attachment with the audience over time.

(47:00) Building Relationships and Networking

(48:00) The Ongoing Experiment of Sharing Your Story

(48:59)Where to Find IQ Bar

What’s the right way to think about customer retention on SMS? Adam Turner, CEO of the leading Shopify SMS platform, Postscript, shares the playbook that 1000s of Shopify merchants are using to keep their customers coming back to buy again and again. 

SMS is a heck of a lot more than a one and done sales channel and in this episode Adam offers a tactical approach to keeping customers engaged for the long haul with real examples. We also discuss other topics like why Transactional SMS with Wonderment is a must-have, the role of conversational SMS, how to prepare for the upcoming iOS inbox changes, and much more. If you are doing any sort of SMS marketing, you NEED to listen to this conversation with Adam.

The TYCA Podcast is brought to you by Wonderment — the #1 platform loved by eCommerce support, operations, and marketing teams alike to deliver the most holistic post-purchase experience imaginable. 

Wonderment is the retention iOS used by over 1000 customer-first shopify brands like Jones Road Beauty, Igloo, The Ridge, Simplehuman, and more. Check out www.wonderment.com today. 

Watch the video format of today's episode here. 

Follow Blake

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Twitter

Get in touch with Adam and Postscript

Postscript

LinkedIn

Timestamps ⏰

(0:00) - intro

(2:00) - Who is Adam Turner and Postscript?

(5:40) - What’s the Postscript way of SMS what is Subscriber Lifetime Value (SLTV)?

(10:18) - What was the evolution of implementing subscriber LTV and ARMR metrics to measure SMS program health?

(12:45) Wonderment + Postscript is a winning combination for your SMS program

(14:50) What are the common retention mistakes brands make with SMS?
(20:00) What are some of Adam’s favorite SMS examples right now? Gunner Kennels, Mr. Beast's Feastables, & more

(24:23) - Is SMS more than a revenue channel? What does it mean to do great CX over SMS?

(27:57) - What is the true value of transactional SMS given that it’s one of the most engaged texts a brand will ever send?

(31:47) - What are the lowest-hanging fruits to improve customer retention and experience on SMS?

(33:10) - Impending iOS SMS inbox changes… should we be worried and what can we do now?

(36:55) - where is the future of SMS headed?

Rapid fire round get to know Adam better!

(40:18) - what’s the best text that Adam has received from a brand?

(41:27) - Adam’s top 3 albums of all time

(42:00) - If Adam could get a message out to everyone about SMS, what would it be?

(43:00) - What’s the best purchase Adam has made of something under $100?

(43:55) - What is the #1 thing Adam is most proud of during his time at Postscript?

Episode 17 - Blake Imperl @blakeimperl recaps his final 7 takeaways from season 1 on how leading Shopify merchants are getting their customers to come back and buy again. 

If you haven't yet, please leave the podcast a review on Spotify and YouTube and share it with your friends. The TYCA pod is brought to you at zero cost and this is the best way to help grow its reach to more folks in the DTC space! 

The TYCA podcast is your go-to destination for Ecommerce entrepreneurs seeking actionable insights on customer experience, retention, and marketing strategies. In season 1, we covered a wide range of topics to help Shopify merchants grow their businesses and maximize customer lifetime value.

In part 2 of this season 1 recap, we dive deep into the final top 7 takeaways on CX and retention marketing insights from our podcast guests. From building personalized customer experiences to leveraging data-driven decision-making, we reveal the key strategies that top Ecommerce entrepreneurs are using to drive sales and improve customer retention. Whether you're a seasoned Ecommerce veteran or just getting started with your Shopify store, this podcast is a must-listen for anyone looking to take their Ecommerce business to the next level. Tune in now to discover the secrets of Ecommerce success!

The TYCA Podcast is brought to you by Wonderment - the retention Swiss army knife used by hundreds of leading Shopify merchants including The Ridge, Bokksu, Chomps, and Jones Road Beauty. 

Wonderment is the easiest way to proactively set expectations on shipping timeframes, automatically update customers with delays, and measure shipping expectation vs reality across the business. Check out www.wonderment.com today. 

Follow Blake

LinkedIn

Twitter

Timestamps
(0:00) - intro
(0:51) - Season 1 recap 
(4:00) - Eric Bandholz: The Journey of Building Beardbrand into a Multi-Million Dollar E-Commerce Business with YouTube & Community - A Visionary Beardpreneur Tale 
(8:32) - Dan Brady - How Pura Vida Built & Maintains a High Performing CX Team | DTC eCommerce CX Best Practices 
(12:25) - Zoe Kahn of Chomps on Turning eCommerce Returns into Returning Customers
(15:48) - Jonathan Snow of The Snow Agency on How to Unleash Your Ecommerce Sales with the Power of Performance PR: The Ultimate Solution to iOS 14 Ad Decline
(20:37) - Alex McEachern of Repeat on How to Increase Repeat Purchase Frequency in DTC eCommerce
(23:45) - Tyler "Sully" Sullivan - A lesson in driving repeat purchases with higher ticket items & getting a DTC brand acquired 
(26:55) - Will Laurensen - The “Big 3” Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) Framework for DTC eCommerce and Customer Retention
(32:01) - Season 2 sneak preview! 

Episode 16 - Blake Imperl @blakeimperl recaps his top 8 takeaways from season 1 on how leading Shopify merchants are getting their customers to come back and buy again. 

If you haven't yet, please leave the podcast a review on Spotify and YouTube and share it with your friends. The TYCA pod is brought to you at zero cost and this is the best way to help grow its reach to more folks in the DTC space! 

The TYCA podcast is your go-to destination for Ecommerce entrepreneurs seeking actionable insights on customer experience, retention, and marketing strategies. In season 1, we covered a wide range of topics to help Shopify merchants grow their businesses and maximize customer lifetime value.

In this season 1 recap, we dive deep into the top 8 takeaways on CX and retention marketing insights from our podcast guests. From building personalized customer experiences to leveraging data-driven decision-making, we reveal the key strategies that top Ecommerce entrepreneurs are using to drive sales and improve customer retention. Whether you're a seasoned Ecommerce veteran or just getting started with your Shopify store, this podcast is a must-listen for anyone looking to take their Ecommerce business to the next level. Tune in now to discover the secrets of Ecommerce success!

The TYCA Podcast is brought to you by Wonderment - the retention Swiss army knife used by hundreds of leading Shopify merchants including The Ridge, Bokksu, Chomps, and Jones Road Beauty. 

Wonderment is the easiest way to proactively set expectations on shipping timeframes, automatically update customers with delays, and measure shipping expectation vs reality across the business. Check out www.wonderment.com today. 

Follow Blake

LinkedIn

Twitter

Timestamps
(0:00) - intro
(0:51) - Season 1 recap 
(3:57) - Jess Cervellon, Head of CX at Feastables on Transactional SMS as a customer relationship tool
(8:27) - Eli Weiss and Joanne Coffey (Jones Road Beauty) on how to create an amazing CX and Retention program for your Shopify store
(15:43) - Ash Melwani, CMO at Obvi, on how Obvi creates life-long customers
(20:38) - Cameron Faist, Director of Ecommerce at Aura Bora, on why the transactional channel is a game changer for customer retention
(23:47) - Ari Murray, VP of Growth at Sharma Brands, on how to create a seasonal product drop for your Shopify store that will sell out and keep customers coming back again and again
(27:51) - Stuart Arsenault, CEO at Junip, on how to capture better customer reviews and UGC from your customers
(32:57) - Ben Zettler, Founder of Ben Zettler Digital, on how to creative email/SMS content that will absolutely captivate your audience
(37:49) - Stephanie Griffith, on how to properly use Conversational SMS to build relationships with customers
(42:49) - Season 2 sneak preview! 

Eric Bandholz is the founder of Beardbrand, a bootstrapped men's grooming company that has leveraged YouTube and community to grow into a thriving business. 

In this episode, Eric shares his inspiring journey from corporate America to entrepreneurship, why the core values drive everything they do, how Beardbrand creates loyal beardsmen, what it’s taken to create a loyal YouTube following, advice for creating authentic content, a 2022 recap and 2023 outlook, why he’s investing back in Amazon,  and of course a ton of advice to any current or aspiring DTC founders.

Eric is a masterful storyteller and educator and I guarantee you will walk away with at least a few nuggets of wisdom.

The TYCA Podcast is made possible by Wonderment, the retention Swiss army knife trusted by over 1,000 leading Shopify merchants, including The Ridge, Bokksu, Igloo, and Jones Road Beauty. 

Wonderment is the easiest way to de-stress your support team, delight your customers, and drive more revenue. Don't miss this opportunity to see why outstanding Shopify brands are using Wonderment to maximize their earnings from existing customers. Head over to www.wonderment.com now to learn more.

Watch the video format of today's episode here. 

Follow Blake

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Get in touch with Eric

Beardbrand

Twitter

Listen to Eric’s Podcast eCommerce Conversations

Grab Eric’s Foundr Masterclass on Content Marketing

Timestamps 

(0:52) - intro 

(1:52) - Who is Eric Bandholz? What is Beardbrand?

(3:30) - Eric’s journey from the corporate world to becoming an entrepreneur 

(6:55) - What parts of the eCommerce business does Eric enjoy the most?

(7:55) - What parts of the eCommerce business does Eric not enjoy?

(8:45) - The power of setting core values when building a business

(13:58) - How does Beardbrand keep customers coming back to buy again and again?

(17:48) - The origins of building the Beardbrand community and content strategy

(19:30) - What’s the process like for creating Beardbrand YouTube content?

(23:20) - Do you need to go all-in on YouTube content to be successful?

(28:25) - Why chasing YouTube views is a vanity metric in eCommerce + lessons from Mr. Beast

(31:00) - What touch points go into turning a 1-time Beardbrand customer into a loyal customer?

(35:50) - Is the customer always right? Advice on getting feedback and taking action

(42:00) - What was 2022 like for Beardbrand? What’s coming in 2023?

(45:00) - Eric’s Amazon Strategy in 2023

(47:00) - Fear of Amazon cannibalizing the DTC channel?

(52:10) - What’s the thing that Eric is most proud of over the last 10 years of Beardbrand?

(55:30) - Where to buy Beardbrand products and get in touch with Eric

Struggling to improve your paid acquisition performance? Then you NEED to listen to this. Jonathan Snow, COO at the Snow Agency, gives a masterclass on performance PR funnels and why they’re the secret to unlocking stronger ad performance. We cover how to set up the funnels, 8 different angles you can take, how to lower CPMs and increase CTRs across your ads, the impact these funnels have on customer acquisition and so much more. 

I can’t believe Jon gave away these insights for free! If you are seeking a new way to think about customer acquisition and retention, this episode is for you! 

The TYCA Podcast is brought to you by Wonderment - the retention Swiss army knife used by hundreds of leading Shopify merchants including The Ridge, Bokksu, Chomps, and Jones Road Beauty. 

Wonderment is the easiest way to proactively set expectations on shipping timeframes, automatically update customers with delays, and measure shipping expectation vs reality across the business. Check out www.wonderment.com today. 

Watch the video format of today's episode here 

Follow Blake

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Want to get in touch with Jon and the Snow Agency? Click here

Connect with Jon on social

LinkedIn

Twitter

Reach out directly: jon@thesnowagency.com 

Timestamps ⏰

(0:00) - intro

(0:58) - The Start of the conversation

(1:32) - Who is Jonathan Snow and The Snow Agency?

(3:32) - Why is ad performance declining?

(7:40) - What is performance PR? Unpack it

(11:15) - Wonderment the #1 customer experience and retention app for leading Shopify brands

(12:44) - Live demo/walkthrough of a performance PR funnel (the video is available on YouTube :)

(16:06) - What other ad angles work well with performance PR?

(17:55) - How do you determine the best angle for your brand?

(19:45) - Is creative or copy more important in Performance PR?

(21:22) - The Influencer angle deep dive

(23:30) - Retargeting strategies for Performance PR funnels

(25:28) - If performance PR works so well… why isn’t everyone doing this yet?

(26:25) - Why should you work with the Snow Agency for performance PR instead of doing this yourself?

(28:20) - What other benefits does performance PR offer?

(30:30) - Can performance PR work for every vertical in DTC?

(31:00) - The correlation between Performance PR and Retention

(32:52) - Does paid media’s job stop after you acquire the customer?

(35:40) - Jon’s bold predictions for 2023

(40:15) - Get in touch with Jon and The Snow Agency

I can’t believe Dan gave these CX insights for free! Learn how Dan Brady a CX Leader at Pura Vida has created and maintained an exceptionally motivated/ high-performing CX team. 

His approach: focus on the employee experience! If you want to improve your CX team's performance, boost morale, reduce turnover, AND make happier customers… this episode is for you. After hearing Dan’s approach to CX it’ll be no surprise why this leading Shopify brand has absolutely crushed the customer experience!

The TYCA Podcast is brought to you by Wonderment - the retention Swiss army knife used by hundreds of leading Shopify merchants including The Ridge, Bokksu, Chomps, and Jones Road Beauty. 

Wonderment is the easiest way to proactively set expectations on shipping timeframes, automatically update customers with delays, and measure shipping expectation vs reality across the business. Check out www.wonderment.com today. 

Watch the video format of today's episode here. 

Follow Blake

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Twitter

Connect with Dan

Timestamps ⏰
(0:00) - intro

(1:50) - Who is Dan Brady and Pura Vida?

(4:23) - How did you get into CX as a profession?

(7:50) - The “5 Pillars” of a Great CX Leader

(10:15) - Wonderment - the #1 CX Swiss Army Knife for Leading Shopify Brands

(11:28) - How do you structure and build a high-performing CX team

(15:28) - Is it taboo to outsource a CX team? Why has Pura Vida chosen to outsource?

(19:00) - Keeping the average time to first response as low as possible

(20:48) - Advice for hiring great CX team members (Advocate)

(23:45) - The core tenants to fostering a high-performing CX environment 

(28:54) - what tools are necessary to enable a CX team to be high-performing?

(33:20) - Advice for merchants who may not have a highly motivated CX team or need to change the course

(37:50) - Pulling it together… What is Pura Vida’s overall approach then to CX?

(41:50) - Dan’s #1 takeaway for a CX leader listening who wants to improve their team performance

(43:30) - What was the state of the CX team at Pura Vida like when Dan started 2 years ago and how did he approach keeping team morale high while transitioning from the previous leader

(47:40) - How Pura Vida is Collecting feedback from customers and then taking action on it

(53:00) - What has been the biggest lesson learned in serving the CX team at Pura Vida?

(55:45) - What is Dan most excited about in 2023 for Pura Vida?

(57:00) - Coming soon: Pura Vida’s SMS Support Channel 

(59:00) - Closing thoughts

Customer returns CAN turn into returning customers. If you want to minimize the impact returns have on your Shopify store, this one is for you. Zoe Kahn, Sr. Associate of Customer Experience over at Chomps lays her comprehensive framework for doing just this.

We discuss what steps your CX team should take, how to collect/take action on returns feedback, why returns software solutions aren’t always necessary (hot take!), how to measure LTV of customers who return, what the future of returns looks like, and plenty of CX best practices along the way. 

The TYCA Podcast is brought to you by Wonderment - the retention Swiss army knife used by hundreds of leading Shopify merchants including The Ridge, Bokksu, Chomps, and Jones Road Beauty. 

Wonderment is the easiest way to proactively set expectations on shipping timeframes, automatically update customers with delays, and measure shipping expectation vs reality across the business. Check out www.wonderment.com today. 

Watch the video format of today's episode here.

Follow Blake

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Follow Zoe on Twitter
Check out Chomps
Get more info on the Oopsie Podcast by Zoe & Jess Cervellon (Feastables)

Timestamps
0:00 - intro

2:10 - Who is Zoe Kahn & Chomps?

5:00 - What is the return policy like at Chomps?

6:10 - Why did Chomps switch from 30 to 45 days with their returns policy?

7:50 - How does Chomps turn customer returns into returning customers?

9:40 - Wonderment - the retention swiss army knife you NEED in your eComm tech stack

10:40 - The returns decision tree - how to get a favorable outcome for both the brand and customer

12:40 - A customer gives negative feedback…. Now what? How do you actually do something about it? 

17:00- Keeping feedback loops between CX and product/leadership consistent over time

19:40 - Why should brands even offer a generous return policy - especially with consumables where the product is useless after opening?

22:05 - The paradigm shift of seeing returned items as “samples” to retain customers

23:30- Why Chomps hasn’t chosen to use a returns solution… and your brand might also not need one.

29:00 - The KPIs for CX are broken… why lowering resolutions times is the wrong approach

32:00 - Why chomps doesn’t try to deflect tickets and conversations at all cost

34:00 - What other steps can we take to minimize customer returns?

36:45 - Should you bend returns policies for customers? - Eli Weiss question.

40:45 - What's one bold prediction for CX in 2023?

43:45 How Chomps is measuring the LTV of customers who return

45:30 - The Oopsie Podcast preview & final thoughts

How do you drive repeat sales when you sell items with a higher price tag AND compete in a legacy category? Tyler“Sully” Sullivan, the founder of the recently acquired BombTech Golf, knows a thing or two about driving repeat sales with higher AOV items. In this episode, we discuss what strategies go into getting folks to buy multiple times with higher ticket items, how to compete against legacy giants, what it was like to get acquired, and tons of advice along the way for current or aspiring DTC founders. 

The TYCA Podcast is brought to you by Wonderment - the retention Swiss army knife used by hundreds of leading Shopify merchants including The Ridge, Bokksu, and Jones Road Beauty. 

Wonderment is the easiest way to proactively set expectations on shipping timeframes, automatically update customers with delays, and measure shipping expectation vs reality across the business. Check out www.wonderment.com today.

Watch the video format of today's episode here

Follow Blake

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Learn more about Bombtech here

Connect with Sully here

Timestamps
0:00 - intro

2:00 - Bombtech Origin Story 

3:48 The early days through the first sale 

5:25 - Building an audience and community 

6:17 - Losing your job + having a baby in the same week… the ultimate high-stakes scenario to go all in

9:00 - Getting acquired

11:20 - A message from Wonderment  

14:00 - More advice on preparing for an acquisition 

16:00 - Advice for competing in a legacy category as a new brand

18:18 - How to get product feedback and build community

22:00 - How a failed product launch was a great lesson 

26:00 - Frameworks for surprise and delight inside the customer journey

29:00 - Learning to let get as a founder and empowering your team

31:27 - 60-day money-back guarantees - do they work?

33:30 - The core of BombTech’s post-purchase strategy (invest in the unscalable)

37:30 - Strategies for driving repeat business with higher AOV items

41:00 - How to think about CAC payback with customers

46:00 - Have eComm retention apps made customer retention harder or easier?

4845 - What else is Sully up to besides BombTech?

51:00 - Final words of wisdom from Sully

When is the right time to ask a customer to purchase again? What automations matter to retaining customers and what should we do if a customer doesn’t reorder when you reach out? 

Alex McEachern (Repeat) and Blake dive deep into those questions, the 3 must-have post-purchase automations, frameworks for creating repeat customers, and more.

They also give plenty of tactical examples from brands like Huron, BluMaan, Hanz de Fuko,  Aura Bora,  Kopari, Olipop as well as tech that enables it with platforms like Repeat, Wonderment, & Klaviyo. 

If you’re looking to level up customer retention - this is a must-listen.

The TYCA Podcast is brought to you by Wonderment - the retention Swiss army knife used by hundreds of leading Shopify merchants including The Ridge, Bokksu, and Jones Road Beauty. 

Wonderment is the easiest way to proactively set expectations on shipping timeframes, automatically update customers with delays, and measure shipping expectation vs reality across the business. Check out www.wonderment.com today. 

Watch the video format of today's episode here 

Follow Blake

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Connect with Alex 

If you want to automate your reordering visit Repeat over at https://www.getrepeat.io/

Join CPG house https://www.getrepeat.io/cpghouse

Shelf Life Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-shelf-life/id1596936180

Time Stamps
0:00 - intro

1:00 - Who is Alex McEachern?

2:56 - The current state of customer retention

5:08 - Can you automate retention?

8:22 - How to reach out at the right time for reordering

11:24 - Wonderment is your retention swiss army knife

12:30 - Huron example & post-purchase education with the tracking page and emails

14:14 - the 3 base flows for post-purchase 

17:23 - DTC is the loyalty channel for CPG

19:40 - Which brands have nailed reordering flows?

22:00 - How to “earn” the right to ask for another purchase from a customer

24:45 - what to do if a customer doesn’t reorder when you reach out

28:24 - If a customer doesn’t come back again… what do you do?

30:57 - Removing pain points around shipping lags in DTC… and how to stay competitive with retail

33:57 - Alex’s biggest piece of advice for retention marketers 

37:00 - where else can you automate reordering (besides email & SMS)

38:47 - Is customer retention more difficult now than it was 10 years ago?

40:30 - final remarks 

If you work for or own a DTC brand - you NEED to listen to this. Eli Weiss and Joanne Coffey (Jones Road Beauty) give a masterclass on what the convergence of CX and Retention marketing looks like in modern DTC eCommerce. This episode will immediately change how you think about retention marketing and customer experience (for the good). 

Learn how to optimize your entire customer journey, use customer feedback to improve the pre and post-purchase experience, and ultimately increase LTV. This episode is loaded with strategy & spicy takes. 

The TYCA Podcast is brought to you by Wonderment - the retention Swiss army knife used by hundreds of leading Shopify merchants including The Ridge, Bokksu, and Jones Road Beauty. 

Wonderment is the easiest way to proactively set expectations on shipping timeframes, automatically update customers with delays, and measure shipping expectation vs reality across the business. Check out www.wonderment.com today. 

Watch the video format of today's episode here 

Follow Blake

LinkedIn

Twitter

Learn more about Jones Road Beauty 

Connect with Joanne Coffey

Connect with Eli Weiss

Do yourself a favor and subscribe to Eli’s newsletter “All Things CX & Retention”

Time Stamps ⏰

0:00 - Intro

1:58 - Joanne and Eli introduce themselves

3:42 - The story of how Joanne and Eli met and eventually found their way working together at JRB (a true DTC Twitter success story)

7:00 - Who is Joanes Road Beauty

12:00  - What is the intersection between CX and retention marketing?

12:57 - How do they implement feedback loops to improve messaging across the business? 

18:00 - what metrics do Eli and Joanne look at to tell the larger story of customer retention? Then how do they take action on it?

20:00 - Hot take: Immediate upsells vs education and being patient 

24:30 - How do you actually plan a post-purchase journey that maximizes CX and ultimately LTV

27:15 - What should CX bring to the table when collaborating with marketing on post-purchase flows?

32:45 - Optimizing the time between the first purchase and arrival. What needs to happen to make sure the customer has a great experience?

34:35 - how JRB is using pre-purchase quizzes and 1:1 CS conversations to match customers to products & keep them sticky

37:10 - How JRB thinks about personalization, mastering hide/show blocks in Klaviyo, and its impact on email/SMS revenue.

40:45 - The addiction to revenue at all costs. Should email & SMS really be goaled on the percentage of revenue?

42:40 - When is retention marketing not going to be “channel-based”? What would you do if you lost access to your retention tools tomorrow?

44:10 - What does the future of CX and Retention look like?

48:10 - what’s the #1 bet you’re making at JRB?

50:14 - Final remarks + where to go to get in touch w/ Joanne and Eli

“Just because a customer buys from you, doesn’t mean they’re sold yet. Continue the experience post-purchase and you’ll have a customer for life” - Ash Melwani

Ash Melwani, CMO & Co-Founder of the health and wellness brand, Obvi, delivered BIG value on how to turn one-time shoppers into customers for life.

In this episode, learn how Obvi has approached customer retention, lessons learned while scaling, how to use content marketing to increase purchase frequency, how to build a community of over 45,000 plus members, and much more!

If you’re looking to turn transactional email and SMS into a retention & CX powerhouse for your eCommerce store, then you need Wonderment. Improve your customer retention and happiness metrics with proactive order updates and native order tracking pages. Trusted by 400+ leading Shopify brands. Check out www.wonderment.com today. 

Watch the video format of today's episode here. 

Follow Blake

LinkedIn

Twitter

Learn more about Obvi over at https://myobvi.com/

Connect with Ash 

Time Stamps 

0:00 - intro

1:55 - Being a data-driven CMO

3:51 - “Just because a customer buys from you doesn’t mean they're sold”. 

7:45 - How does Obvi map out the post-purchase journey for their customers?

10:30 - How does Obvi iterate and improve on its post-purchase journey?

14:00 - What sort of roadblocks has Obvi encountered as they’ve focused on customer experience and retention?

18:50 - Strategies for using customer feedback - where to find it, how to aggregate it, and then how Obvi takes action on it. 

22:30 - the Obvi product quiz breakdown - what they’re doing with it and how that data helps post purchase

25:20 - How the product quiz has influenced product messaging

27:45 - The Obvi community - how they built it, scaled it, and leverage it to create their most loyal customers. 

31:45 - What bets are Ash and the Obvi team making in 2023

Are you struggling with how to use conversational commerce to drive customer retention?  Is it all hype being sold by SMS platforms or is there something more to it? 

Stephanie Griffith, host of the Conversational Commerce podcast delivers a conversational commerce masterclass. In this episode we discuss how to humanize commerce, actionable strategies for creating meaningful conversations over channels like SMS, the power of collecting zero-party data over SMS and quizzes, personalization do’s and don’ts,  and end with a definition of what Conversational Commerce is really about. 

If you’re curious about how to turn conversational commerce into a retention strategy, then this episode is for you!

If you’re looking to turn transactional email and SMS into a retention powerhouse for your eCommerce store, then you need Wonderment. Improve your customer retention and happiness metrics with proactive order updates and native order tracking pages. Trusted by 400+ leading Shopify brands. Check out www.wonderment.com today. 

Watch the video format of today's episode here 

Follow Blake

LinkedIn

Twitter

Connect with Stephanie

Listen to the Conversational Commerce Podcast here 

Time Stamps

0:00 - intro

1:34 - Who is Stephanie Griffith?

5:42 - What “isn’t” conversational commerce?

7:13 - Why have marketers lost sight of what makes commerce inherently human?

9:27 - The intersection of selling and conversations

12:10 - The impact of the pandemic on the brand to consumer relationships

17:00 - Back to basics - the definition of commerce!

18:20 - 🌶 Just because it’s personalized, doesn’t mean it’s personal. 

22:30 - What data actually matters with respect to personalization?

27:34 - Other strategies for getting zero-party data besides quizzes

33:30 - how to keep conversational data fresh

37:00 - Connecting on a human level via conversations 

38:20 - Best places to use conversational SMS

40:50 - Shout out to Joanne Coffey at Jones Road Beauty!

43:40 - Brands who are crushing Conversational Commerce

49:23 - An informed definition: What is conversational commerce?

A lot of talk is around "tech-enabled retention" tools (like email & SMS) as being the primary driver of getting people to come back and buy again... but good CRO is vastly underrated. 

Will Laurenson, a Conversion Rate Optimization Consultant shares his “Big 3” framework for how to get customers to come back and buy again. 

Hint: it doesn’t require fancy tools or apps… but instead returns to the fundamentals of consumer psychology. 

This is a must-listen for anyone looking to improve their eCommerce website experience.

If you’re looking to turn transactional email and SMS into a retention powerhouse for your eCommerce store, then you need Wonderment. Improve customer retention and happiness metrics with proactive order updates and native order tracking pages. Trusted by 400+ leading Shopify brands. Check out www.wonderment.com today. 

Watch the video format of today's episode here.

Follow Blake

LinkedIn

Twitter

Connect with Will 

Learn more about Will and Conversion Advocates here

Ari Murray, VP of Growth at Sharma Brands lays out the perfect seasonal drop strategy for DTC eCommerce merchants. In this episode, we break down the entire framework that she’s used with numerous Shopify brands, how to orchestrate across email/SMS, paid ads, and even order tracking pages, how brands like Rhode Skin and Liquid Death are crushing seasonal drops, and much more. 

We also talk about consumer psychology, the power of using intelligent upsells in your side cart, what’s in Ari’s tech stack (hint: Klaviyo, Rebuy, Postscript, Unbounce, and Wonderment made the list), and how seasonal drops can work for any brand.

If you’re looking to turn your transactional email and SMS into a retention powerhouse, then you need Wonderment. Improve customer retention and happiness metrics with proactive order updates and native order tracking pages. Trusted by 400+ leading Shopify brands. Check out wonderment.com today. 

Watch the video format of today’s episode here

Follow Blake

https://hubs.ly/Q01nwpVn0 - LinkedIn

https://hubs.ly/Q01nwpgB0 - Twitter

Connect with Ari:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/arimurray/

https://twitter.com/arihappywick

Subscribe to Ari’s Newsletter Go-To-Millions: https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/go-to-millions/

Time Stamps for the impatient

1:04 - Who is Ari Murray?

3:15 - How do you time a seasonal drop strategy?

5:07 - How do you decide what kind of product to release for a seasonal drop?

7:11 - The seasonal drop strategy

10:00 - Side cart, post-purchase and tracking page upsell strategy 

11:19 - What to do if you need to ramp up sales velocity post-launch

13:04 - Should you discount seasonal drops?

14:45 - How can we offload seasonal drop inventory after the sales cycle

16:48 - How to run paid media around a seasonal drop

19:14 - what are some of the tools that are powering Ari’s seasonal drop strategy?

20:50 - How to use an order tracking page to cross-promote a seasonal drop

21:52 - Are seasonal drops for every brand? Or do they only work for some verticals?

24:13 Which DTC brands are crushing seasonal drops? -Hailey Beiber’s Rhode Skin

26:00 -  Which DTC brands are crushing seasonal drops? - Liquid Death Martha Stewart Candle. 

27:40 - What’s in Ari Murray’s BFCM shopping cart?
31:19 - Blake's TLDR recap

Ben Zettler, is a leading digital marketing and eCommerce consultant and founder of Ben Zettler Digital. In this episode, we break down how to craft a content strategy that keeps customers engaged pre and post-purchase, how to effectively use content in your email, SMS marketing, and social media strategies, what “great” looks like with lots of brand examples, Ben’s favorite content tools, and much more. 

We also talk about why email and SMS marketing have become echo chambers for boring content, what you can do to avoid that, why placing your brands content strategy in the hands of a junior employee is a mistake, how tools like Klaviyo, Wonderment and Gatsby are key to content marketing and much more.

If you’re looking to turn your transactional email and SMS into a retention powerhouse, then you need Wonderment. Improve customer retention and happiness metrics with proactive order updates and native order tracking pages. Trusted by 400+ leading Shopify brands. Check out wonderment.com today. 

Watch the video format of today’s episode here.

Follow Blake:

https://hubs.ly/Q01nwpVn0 - LinkedIn

https://hubs.ly/Q01nwpgB0 - Twitter

Connect with Ben:

https://benzettler.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/benzettler/

https://twitter.com/benzettler

Time Stamps for the impatient

0:43 - Who is Ben Zettler?

3:45 - How good content over email and SMS can sell without selling

10:19 - How do you think about building a content marketing strategy?

14:00 - Conversational SMS as a content marketing strategy

15:35 - Should content be focused on driving sales?

20:23 - How do you differentiate content for non-purchasers and returning customers?

26:09 - How do you orchestrate content post-purchase?

33:17 - If Ben was starting a CPG brand, here’s what he’d do from a content perspective

35:35 - How to orchestrate social media and retention channels like email and SMS to be most effective

38:18 - If Ben was starting a beauty/cosmetic brand, here’s what he’d do from a content perspective

40:27 - Why Gatsby is a gem for creating an influencer marketing strategy 

47:00 - What are the top retention marketing tools that Ben can’t live without?

Stuart Arsenault, CEO at Junip gives a reviews & UGC masterclass for DTC eCommerce brands. 

In this week’s episode, we break down how leading Shopify brands like Jones Road Beauty and Olipop capture high-quality reviews, how to 4x your UGC submissions, timing and orchestration best practices, how to optimize your review capture motion, and what the future of reviews and UGC looks like. 

We also talk about flying cars, Shopify Unite, the golden rule of eCommerce, “it depends”, and Blake’s height. 

If you’re looking to turn your transactional email and SMS into a retention powerhouse, then you need Wonderment. Improve customer retention and happiness metrics with proactive order updates and native order tracking pages. Trusted by 350+ leading Shopify brands. Check out wonderment.com today. 

Watch the video format of today’s episode here - https://youtu.be/wO9sevLArf0

Follow Blake

https://hubs.ly/Q01nwpVn0 - LinkedIn

https://hubs.ly/Q01nwpgB0 - Twitter

Learn more about Junip here
https://junip.co/

Connect with Stuart:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuartarsenault/
https://twitter.com/stuart_abc

Time Stamps for the impatient
Who are Junip & Stuart- 1:39

Why do customer reviews matter for retail/eCommerce brands? 2:51

Why quality over quantity in review capture? 4:08

Why was Junip built to be optimized for mobile? 6:38

How else can we optimize our websites for review capture? 10:43

Is it OK to ask for a review on a first purchase/when is the right time to ask for a review? 15:26 

The Wonderment/Junip Integration 18:46

The future state of review capture real estate + adding review requests on the tracking page 22:02

Why are reviews and UGC critical in driving repeat business? 24:58

The power of responding to negative reviews: 27:43

Jess Cervellon, Head of Customer Experience at Feastables gives a customer experience masterclass for DTC eCommerce brands.

In this episode, we discuss how Feastables approaches customer experience and engagement, how they're using conversational SMS to connect with customers, how they’ve tackled shipping delays and improved logistics, and what role CX plays in creating repeat, loyal customer relationships. 

If you’re looking to turn transactional email and SMS into a retention powerhouse for your eCommerce store, then you need Wonderment. Improve your customer retention and happiness metrics with proactive order updates and native order tracking pages. Trusted by 300+ leading Shopify brands. Check out www.wonderment.com today. 

Watch the video format of today's episode here - https://youtu.be/hQSHuPO2nGc

Follow Blake

https://hubs.ly/Q01nwpVn0 - LinkedIn

https://hubs.ly/Q01nwpgB0 - Twitter

Learn more about Feastables over at https://feastables.com/

Connect with Jess https://www.linkedin.com/in/jess-cervellon/

Time Stamps
1:15 - Who is Feastables
1:55 - “What is the day in the life of a CX leader like?”
3:58- “What are some of the CX challenges you’ve faced in such a fast-growing brand?”
4:25 -  How to retain launch customers
5:49 - What sort of CX strategies actually take a customer from a first-time to a repeat purchaser and ultimately a brand loyalist
9:00 - “How do you deal with shipping/logistics challenges as a CX leader?”
12:45 - Why invest so much into a transactional email, SMS, and tracking page set up? 
13:40 - How Feastables is using Klaviyo + Wonderment to personalize their transactional emails and provide help with the most relevant information to the customer. 
15:35 - Overview of Feastables Transactional SMS setup
17:25 - How Feastables is using SMS to scale customer relationships and retain them
21:59 - How Feastables approaches its branded order tracking page to improve the customer experience & drive repeat purchases
25:50- How Feastables approaches communicating order delays with customers and uses data to improve the supply chain to mitigate future delays. 
28:07 - How “not” to communicate shipping delays
29:37 - What sort of results has Feastables seen from implementing a transactional setup into their customer experience strategy?
30:35 - Advice on how to improve CSAT, NPS, and Customer Effort Scores via transactional notifications. 
33:00 - What’s next for Feastables and the transactional channel?
34:25 - Where can we purchase Feastables?
35:29 - Top 6 takeaways from the entire episode