Ecommerce Unlocked

Wyatt Moss is an ex-Google employee. From his time working at Google he learned what worked and what didn't when it came to advertising on Google. Fast forward a few years and now Wyatt personally manages the strategy and execution of millions of dollars in monthly ad-spend. Wyatt uses his insider knowledge and decade of experience to optimize digital advertising spend for his clients.

We dive into utilizing google ads in your business, when it makes sense, when it doesn't. We also chat about when you should use an agency or not. Paid advertising can be overwhelming, especially when it comes to all the functionality that google ads provides. We talk about some of those intricacies and how to increase your ROAS.

If you're interested in reaching out to Wyatt about his services, you can reach him through his website https://www.mossdigitalstrategies.com/.

Jeff Oxford is a specialist in eCommerce search engine optimization. He walks us through the newest as well as the time tested techniques in SEO. Obviously he does this all day everyday and would love to have more clients to work with, but Jeff also drops some truth bombs on how a small startup business can start getting SEO traction without breaking the bank on hiring an agency.

We talk with Jeff about a few key things that any brand can implement in order to start ranking well for their desired keywords. He even tells us how to effectively vet a new agency to make sure they are a good one (because we all know there are more mediocre ones than actual good ones!)

Search engine optimization is a zero sum game, so it will always have to play a role in your marketing efforts even if you pull back on it for a year or two. Your competitors are most likely coming after your position so don't get lazy with your SEO game!

To contact Jeff just go to his website 180marketing.com.

With all the supply chain issues we've experienced over the past 2 years with no end in sight, many brands are looking to alternatives to manufacturing in Asia. The obvious answer for manufacturing in North America is Mexico.

Jorge Arana is an experienced Mexican businessman who has started and operated many different businesses within Mexico and the US. He takes us through different options that brands have when looking to move manufacturing or just second sourcing in Mexico. There are even industries and products that he doesn't recommend trying to manufacture in Mexico due to government regulations and tariffs.

We discuss when it makes sense to make the move to Mexico and when it doesn't. In the end, Mexico is a viable solution for manufacturing many types of products. With labor rates similar to China and shipping times of only a few days (instead of months) to the US, Mexico is becoming a larger player in the manufacturing world.

For more information on nearshoring visit https://viastara.com/solutions or to contact Jorge via email at [email protected].

Hunter Stutz, from Pitted Labs, talks to us today about the ins and outs of walmart.com. Pitted labs started out as an amazon agency and has expanded into multiple different channels including a fulfillment center and VC firm. One of their most unique expertise is on taking brands who sell on Amazon and expanding their reach to Walmart.com

Hunter dives into how Walmart.com compares to Amazon, why a brand would want to sell on Walmart.com, how to be successful on Walmart.com, and what expectations they should have while selling on Walmart.com. Spoiler alert, it won't be as big as Amazon, at least not yet, but as an early adopter your brand will be able to capture traction on Walmart.com before it really takes off.

If you are interested in talking with Hunter and Pitted labs, please visit their website here.

Gabe is a master at driving traffic through many paid advertising channels such as Facebook ads, Google ads, influencer marketing and more. Most of his experience has been in driving sales for direct to consumer eCommerce brands. He recently moved into the fintech Saas world, where he is able to take the principles of marketing a physical into a service based software business.

Gabe walks us through how he builds his frameworks, or funnels, and how building a strong foundation of touch points with your traffic works no matter the industry or product.

Connect with Gabe on Linkedin.

Amazon is a beast, but it's becoming even more important to sell your product on their platform. In this episode we discuss what it takes to sell on Amazon, why you should or shouldn't sell on Amazon, and who you should hire to help you do it.

Josh is the founder of a top tier Amazon consulting agency and shares all of his expertise on how to approach Amazon as an existing brand or as a new product.

Just like it's become necessary to have a social media presence (if you're not on facebook or instagram, do you even exist?!) the same thing is happening with Amazon. In order to keep and find new customers Amazon can be a part of a solid marketing and sales strategy.

But just being on Amazon isn't enough, there are so many intricacies of the platform that you want to make sure you approach it in the right way. There are agencies built to help you do that, or you can tackle it yourself by hiring someone in house to manage it. No matter how you approach Amazon, this episode will give you perspective to make those hard decisions.

If you're more interested in what Josh does or connecting with him, follow him on linkedin here.

As your product goes from idea to international best-seller you'll go through various growth stages. Working with a third party logistics (3PL) company can really help you go from a basement operation to a full-fledged business. However, working with a 3PL comes with its own issues and isn't right for every brand, in this episode we get into all those details.

You'll hear how Braden first took the plunge into the 3PL world and how him and his partners have turned their 3PL into a thriving business. We also talk about what the brand/3PL relationship looks like from the warehouse side, giving perspective to brand owners and operators.

We go over when you should rely on a 3PL and when you shouldn't, what kind of different 3PLs are out there, and how to pick the right one for you.

This episode will broaden your perspective on working with the warehousing world.

For more information about launch fulfillment you can check out their website here

It's no secret that return rates just come with operating a product based eCommerce business, but how much time and effort do you put into making sure your return policy is a great marketing tool? 67% of customers check the return policy before purchasing and 92% will buy from you again if the returns process is easy. It's time to use the power of returns to increase your sales and promote customer loyalty.

In this episode we will get into how to craft a solid return policy, why you should make returns easy for your customers, how to promote exchanges instead of returns, and how to automate the entire process.

Statistics mentioned in this episode:

• 92% of consumers will buy something again if returns are easy
• 67 % of customer check the return policy before check out
• 30% of all online orders are returned

Returns platforms we talk about in this episode:

• Return Magic- Bare bones return policy and cheap
• Loop Returns, Returnly - High end and branded solutions
• Klaim Easy - New player in the high end branded returns space
• Happy Returns, Doddle, Narvar - In store returns

Contact us at [email protected]

From Target to Home Depot, Eric Child has over 16 years of experience in creating products and selling them direct to consumer and through big box retailers. In this interview we dive into when it makes sense to take a product into retail, how to work with the big dogs, mono-branded vs. big box, is the retail industry dying, and so much more!

SMS marketing is a relatively new marketing channel and many brands have yet to jump in. In this episode we will talk through where SMS marketing is currently at, where it's going, and how you can start taking advantage of it's amazing benefits today!

SMS Benchmarks

Platforms we talked about today:

Postscript

Emotive

Attentive

Klaviyo

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