The Exchange

Connect with Joey

Experience This Podcast
Joey's Website

Where to Get the Book:

Physical Copy
Audio Book

Here's This Shows TL;DR:

• Joey explains the problems he was seeing that inspired him to write an entire book about customer retention 
• We cover the importance of the first 100 days after purchase and where that number comes from 
• Retention rates in different industries 
• An overview of the 8 A's Framework 
• A deep dive on the Affirm Phase and how to solve buyers remorse in ecommerce 
• Examples of how to create a stronger Activate Phase via the unboxing experience
• 3 super creative examples of how to be memorable with your unboxing
• Why the Accomplish Phase is not when a customer receives the product 
• Our thoughts on why ecommerce is asking for advocacy too early 
• When and how to ask for reviews and referrals
• The dangers of discounting especially for new customers only

Other Helpful Resources:

Is Ecommerce Doomed Without Customer Retention
Three Chapters of Never Lose a Customer for Free
Creating a Hub of Customer Information Through Your Success Team

The Backyard Quartet:

Exchange Program
Shipping Song
Lifetime Warranty

Connect with Raja + Grant:

Raja Instagram
Raja's Music Instagram
Sunski

Brands Raja + Grant Look to for Inspiration

Peak Design
Allbirds
Marine Layer
Rumple

Here's This Shows TL;DR:

• We ask Sunski about the music video that explains their exchanges program 
• Raja shares the inspiration behind the "Backyard Quartet" 
• We talk about the customer response to the video and whether customers have a better understanding of the program because of it
• We ask Sunski to explain their Returns Stoke program where they let you gift a return for a 50% refund 
• Raja explains why this program has been great for marketing 
• We cover why Sunkski isn't concerned with the program being abused 
• Grant explains the tool they use for augmented reality experiences 
• We go over whether AR has helped reduce returns 
• Grant explains how their AR tool has been super helpful in retail locations through the pandemic

Other Helpful Resources:

The 5 Most Important Things Customers Want to See on Your Returns Page
How to Write a Return Policy: The Questions You Have to Answer

Connect with Tyler:

Linkedin
Clubhouse - @tylerwentworth

Brands Tyler Looks to for Inspiration

The Washington Post
Slim Jim
Dunkin Donuts

Here's This Shows TL;DR:

• Tyler discusses how he and the team decide what to post 
• We discuss the value of being a user of the channels you create content for 
• Tyler tells us what type of content goes to each channel 
• Does being first to a platform help?
• Tyler explains the purpose of organic social and how it impacts the business 
• A tactic that MANSCAPED used to get personal with users on TikTok
• We discuss if it's better to introduce your own team members into your content instead of UGC/Influencers
• Tyler shares an easy tip to make organic social attributable to revenue

Other Helpful Resources:

The Right Way to Use TikTok for Ecommerce
How Beardbrand Uses Youtube to Create a Customer Community

Connect with Juliana:

Linkedin
Twitter
[email protected]

Articles & Resources Referenced

Shopify predictions for 2021 (includes customer retention)
How to segment through an RFM analysis (recency, frequency, monetization)

Here's this Shows TL;DR:

• Why has ecommerce been so slow to adopt customer retention practices?
• Acquisition is so much easier to start and track and that has put retention on the back burner 
• We talk about whether there will always be a cheap acquisition channel
• Juliana's number one tip to understand your experience through your customer's eyes
• Is 2021 the year we will see a record number of brands close up shop?
• Emotions are the true driver of action not discounting
• Is the elimination of the 3rd party cookie the catalyst for rapid retention adoption 
• Why RFM analysis is the best thing you can do for better customer retention 

Connect with Casey:

[email protected]
Twitter

Articles & Resources Referenced

NYT Article on how Spending is Changing
Weekly Changes in Carrier Times
2020 Holiday Shopping Trends
The Future of Online Returns

Here's this Shows TL;DR:

• Shipaggedon was an appropriate name for the holiday shipping in 2020 
• We go over what industries were hit the hardest by holiday shipping 
• We hypothesize on why carrier transit times are still high after the holidays 
• Why fulfillment and returns are a customer experience play and not a cost savings play 
• How you can integrate shipping and fulfillment into your marketing strategy 
• What type of brand shouldn't be using a 3PL 
• Some predictions for 2021

Connect with Marco:

Linkedin
Extempra
His Podcast

Brand's Marco Looks to for Inspiration:

Shopify
Chewy
Well.ca
Coal & Canary

This Show's TL;DR:

• Building the right educational material for your customers
• Why you need your support/success team to be a hub of customer information 
• Information about the customer needs to flow both in and out of that hub
• Examples of how this hub supports incremental improvements and new innovation 
• How Inkbox structures the success team 
• The role of the special projects team
• The difference between operational and experiential KPIs in success
• How to hire the best support/success talent

Other Helpful Resources on This Topic:

• Building a customer-centric return policy
• Saving your support team time with an on-demand returns portal

Connect with Jonathan:

Twitter
Linkedin

The Article Tim and Jonathan are Talking About:

Amazon and Walmart Tell Customers to Skip Returns

This Show's TL;DR:

• Why are Amazon and other big retailers telling customers to keep what they want to return? 
• The constant tug of war between unit economics and an amazing customer experience with returns
• Which is more important unit economics or customer experience
• Is return fraud an issue to consider with some of these strategies?
• Jonathan gives his three pieces of advice on the future of returns

Other Helpful Resources on This Topic:

• Brooklinen's Return Policy Page
• Chubbies CFO on LTV Increases Through Return Policy 
• The Easy Way to Handle Return Fraud
• How to Build a Customer-Centric Return Policy

Connect with Dave:

Linkedin

This Show's TL;DR:

• The evolution of how finance is viewing returns
• Does the finance team agree with doing free returns?
• How finance is evaluating the effectiveness of a returns policy 
• The change from a cost center to a profit center
• What's a net-zero customer and how to avoid them
• Tactics to retain more revenue and even create up-sell potential 
• Tips to convince your finance team to invest in returns

Other Helpful Resources on This Topic:

• A Return ≠ A Refund 
• 4 Strategies to Turn Refunds Into Exchanges
• The Different Types of Returns and How They Impact LTV

Connect with Aaron:

Linkedin

Brand's Aaron Looks to for Inspiration:

Manscaped
Beardbrand
Nike
Away
Puravida

This Show's TL;DR:

• Why BFCM started so early this year 
• What Aaron and Alex think will happen to BFCM in 2021 
• Dangers of discounting 
• Starting the customer relationship during BFCM is not a good strategy 
• Did we actually see shipageddon?
• Don't forget about the return season 
• 2021 is all about content and creativity 
• How you can use a mood board for 2021 goal setting

Other Helpful Resources on This Topic:

• The Right Way to Use Tik Tok in Ecommerce With Stryx
• How Beardbrand Used Youtube to Create a Customer Community
• How to Reduce Refunds Through The Return Season

Connect with Jon:

Twitter
Linkedin
Tik Tok

Tik Tok Accounts to Inspire you:

Chipotle
Washington Post
Manscaped
Bang Energy
Gymshark

Brand's Jon Looks to for Inspiration:

Manscaped
Leaf Shaving
Hero Cosmetics

This Show's TL;DR:

• The mission and vision of Stryx 
• How Jon got started on Tik Tok 
• Strategies to help ecommerce brands get started on Tik Tok 
• Tactics for a more established account 
• The metrics you should pay attention to on Tik Tok 
• When to leverage different social channels 
• The truth about whether Tik Tok is only teens

Other Helpful Resources on This Topic:

How Beardbrand uses Youtube to Build a Community