Expanding your ecommerce to new markets is not all glitter & shine. It takes resources, planning and great execution.

"When the pie grows, everyone enjoys a bigger piece.” Andrew left behind his finance career to start his D2C business BEVVO.

Is leadership age restricted?

Thomas Grabner shares effective strategies that successful brands use to consistently generate more sales from returning customers.

He talks about why product-market fit matters more than most metrics in ecommerce. Thomas also explains how to use educational content to engage first-time buyers and keep customers coming back.

And how to effectively use CRM channels like WhatsApp or print to improve engagement and customer lifetime value.

Key Takeaways:

• Product-market fit is essential for ecommerce success; you cannot scale without it.

• Encourage customer feedback to continuously improve your products and better understand their needs.

• Engage customers from their first purchase with content that adds value and drives product use.

• Don't be fooled by any tools’ metrics; focus on driving incremental sales & profit.

• Build and leverage communities—let your loyal customers sell for you.

Timestamps:

(0:00) - Introduction

(1:06) - Starting a 7-fig business with 18 years

(4:46) - What has changed in Ecommerce since COVID?

(7:21) - What Successful Brands Do Differently To Grow

(9:00) - How to Engage Customers by Educating Them

(13:13) - The 3 Most Common Email Marketing Misconceptions

(19:13) - Segmenting Campaigns: The Dos and Don'ts

(21:15) - The Challenges of Implementing Subscriptions

(24:58) - What to Consider Before Launching a Loyalty Program

(28:44) - How To Build a Community That Will Sell Your Product

(35:16) - How To Leverage WhatsApp and Print to Increase Your CLV

(42:33) - How to Gain Value From Customer Support

(49:09) - The #1 Retention Metric to Look At

Check out ⁠the full transcript on Forwrd Thinking⁠.

Resources:

Mailody: ⁠www.mailody.de⁠

Connect with Thomas: [email protected] & ⁠LinkedIn⁠

About the Guest: Thomas Grabner

Thomas is the founder & CEO of Mailody, the leading email marketing & CRM agency in the German-speaking market with hundreds of successful references and working with leading D2C brands such as Glow25, Giesswein, Junglück, Everdrop and many more.

At just 18 years, Thomas started his now 7-fig agency business, which has allowed him to gain insights from hundreds of D2C ecommerce brands and also share valuable lessons as an entrepreneur and business owner.

About the Host: Christian Hoppe

Chris started his journey in marketing and ecommerce 15 years ago and quickly made a name for himself by scaling the D2C operations for waterdrop from $5 million to $100 million in just three years.

His expertise has also led him to work as a fractional CMO with multiple 7- to 9-figure brands.

Today, he drives growth for winning ecommerce brands through Forwrd Agency, while also investing in and operating his own portfolio of businesses.

Connect with Chris: ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠ & X/Twitter⁠⁠

Get every update—follow and subscribe now 👇

⁠⁠Blog & Newsletter⁠⁠

⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠

⁠⁠X / Twitter⁠⁠

⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠

⁠Apple Podcasts⁠

Want to be a guest or sponsor an episode?

Contact us at: ⁠⁠[email protected]

Johannes Mansbart shares how WhatsApp transforms customer service into a revenue generator in ecommerce, how to nurture clients and increase CLV—from personalized marketing to operational efficiency—and why it’s fundamental for ecommerce brands.

Key Takeaways:

• Treat customer support as opportunity; learn from & be close to customers.

• Analyze who are your best customers & create more of those.

• Make support tickets your best sales channel & boost CLV.

Timestamps:

(0:00) - Introduction

(1:37) - Johannes’ Entrepreneurial Journey

(4:11) - Why should Ecommerce Businesses Use WhatsApp?

(6:40) - Customer Support Is a Gift, Not a Burden

(9:28) - The ROI of a positive customer support ticket

(12:08) - How to Stay Lean: Validate Before Launching

(15:20) - How to Nurture Ecommerce Leads with Educational Content

(15:53) - For Which Businesses Does WhatsApp Work Best?

(18:23) - WhatsApp as Lead Generation Channel

(20:30) - Focus Beats Diversification—Stick to One Thing & Don’t Stop Too Early

(23:56) - Advice for Business Owners and Entrepreneurs

Check out ⁠the full transcript on Forwrd Thinking⁠.

Resources:

Chatarmin: ⁠www.chatarmin.com⁠

Connect with Johannes: [email protected] & ⁠LinkedIn⁠

About the Guest: Johannes Mansbart

Johannes is the founder of Chatarmin.com, a company providing WhatsApp marketing tools for ecommerce platforms.

As a serial entrepreneur with a background in online marketing and his “no bullsh*t” approach, he brings in a unique expertise and interesting views to WhatsApp for ecommerce businesses.

About the Host: Christian Hoppe

Chris started his journey in marketing and ecommerce 15 years ago and quickly made a name for himself by scaling the D2C operations for waterdrop from $5 million to $100 million in just three years.

His expertise has also led him to work as a fractional CMO with multiple 7- to 9-figure brands.

Today, he drives growth for winning ecommerce brands through Forwrd Agency, while also investing in and operating his own portfolio of businesses.

Connect with Chris: ⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠X/Twitter⁠⁠

Get every update—follow and subscribe now 👇

⁠⁠Blog & Newsletter⁠⁠

⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠

⁠⁠X / Twitter⁠⁠

⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠

⁠Apple Podcasts⁠

Want to be a guest or sponsor an episode?

Contact us at: ⁠⁠[email protected]

Matthew Holman shares from 5 years of experience helping ecommerce businesses master subscriptions, increase profitability & maximizing lifetime value.

He explains why subscriptions are not just a revenue model but also a way to generate more of your most valuable customers, how to create compelling offers that go beyond discounts by using post-purchase survey data to understand customer behaviour & desires.

Key Takeaways:

• Target customers who will gain the most value, rather than aiming for everyone.

• Analyze customer data to tailor subscriptions that meet specific desires.

• Always sell the outcome, not the product.

• Leverage customer insights to refine offers, improve retention & boost CLV.

Timestamps:

(0:00) - Introduction

(0:23) - About Matthew Holman, the Subscription Doc

(2:10) - Why Should Ecommerce Businesses Look Into Subscriptions?

(3:41) - For Which Brands Does Subscription Work?

(5:20) - The Two Types of Subscriptions

(7:37) - Post-Purchase Surveys: Using Customer Feedback To Create Compelling Offers

(12:25) - How To Best Onboard New Subscribers

(16:05) - How To Measure Success in Subscriptions

(18:48) - How to Incentivize Subscriptions Without Discount Codes

(22:14) - Subscriptions vs. Memberships vs. Loyalty Programs

(24:48) - Selling the Outcome, Not the Product

(27:52) - How to Increase Subscriber Engagement

Check out the full transcript on ⁠Forwrd Thinking⁠.

Resources:

⁠The Subscription Doc Blog & Newsletter⁠

Connect with Matthew: ⁠Twitter/X⁠ & ⁠LinkedIn⁠

About the Guest: Matthew Holman

Matthew is the founder of Subscription Prescription, a weekly podcast and newsletter for ecommerce business owners to stay on top of subscriptions.

With his deep passion for helping others, he is also part of different ecommerce movements including Marketers Unite, Sharehouse, and Commerce Catalyst, aiming to bring people together and help them grow.

About the Host: Christian Hoppe

Chris started his journey in marketing and ecommerce 15 years ago and quickly made a name for himself by scaling the D2C operations for waterdrop from $5 million to $100 million in just three years.

His expertise has also led him to work as a fractional CMO with multiple 7- to 9-figure brands.

Today, he drives growth for winning ecommerce brands through Forwrd Agency, while also investing in and operating his own portfolio of businesses.

Connect with Chris: LinkedIn⁠⁠ & X/Twitter⁠

Get every update—follow and subscribe now 👇

⁠Blog & Newsletter⁠

⁠YouTube⁠

⁠X / Twitter⁠

⁠LinkedIn⁠

Apple Podcasts

Want to be a guest or sponsor an episode?

Contact us at: ⁠[email protected]

CWFii4gPUgCQ2mt4X9kL⁠