Friday Q&As

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Q&A’s WITH IBRAHIM

Question from Santiago (E-Commerce Account Strategist: As a DTC E-Commerce Shopify Store strategist/consultant, How do you navigate communicating best with Shopify store business owners that want the quick-fix and one-sentence reason for why their sales are down, when it reality, it takes a full audit to look at all the data and strategy to determine the root cause?

For example, it sounds to them as excuses when I point out things like: I see that the it's clear what the store sells but no mention of what problem they solve, lifestyle images don't represent the best use of the product, website load-time isn't optimal, CTA buttons not in the best place, they have a "me too" product that isn't advertised as well as the competitors, etc, the list goes on.

My Response: You need to direct them to DTC Daily :D

On a serious note, I’ll share a few things below that might help:

1. Set expectations early

   • Start by explaining that e-commerce success isn’t achieved through shortcuts. Use relatable analogies, like comparing their store to a car that needs more than a quick fix for long-term performance

   • Example: “Imagine your store is a car. If it’s not running smoothly, it could be anything from low oil to engine trouble. A quick fix might address one symptom, but a thorough check-up ensures we catch and resolve the root causes”

2. Use data driven insights in the beginning itself

   • Share some immediate, data backed observations to show areas of improvement if possible. Use key metrics they can easily grasp, like conversion rates or page load times. This can be used as a hook!

   • Example: “Your homepage loads in 4 seconds, and research shows that for every second of delay, there’s a 7% drop in conversions. This could be a major factor impacting your sales”

3. Simplify complex explanations (we usually expect them to understand them all)

   • Create simple infographics or charts to illustrate areas of concern. Visuals can make complex issues more digestible!

   • Example: “Here’s a quick chart showing how improving your page speed can lead to higher conversion rates”

4. Provide a high level summary first

   • Offer a brief summary of potential issues and their impact on sales, without diving into technical details initially

   • Example: “From a quick look, there are a few key areas to address: site speed, unclear messaging, and product differentiation. Improving these could significantly boost your sales.”

   • You can suggest actionable items they can tackle while you perform a full audit

   • Try positioning the full audit as an investment because if it helps, it is!

5. Try addressing quick fixes with some caution

   • Explain drawbacks: Be upfront that quick fixes might help temporarily but aren’t substitutes for long term impacts

   • Example: “We can tweak your CTAs now, which might offer a slight improvement, but a strategic audit will be impactful over the long-term” (this is just a generic example, but you get the gist)

   • Make it clear that sustainable growth requires addressing foundational issues that quick fixes often miss

   • Example: “Quick fixes can only do so much. To truly drive growth, we need to look at the bigger picture and address the underlying issues”

6. Provide them a roadmap

   • Present the audit as part of a phased approach. This makes the process seem manageable and keeps the owner engaged..

   • Example: “We’ll start with immediate improvements, followed by a detailed audit and strategic recommendations. Here’s a timeline outlining what you can expect at each stage”

   • I love it when someone provides a roadmap on what to expect at each phase, and with regular, timely updates

Not to mention, always under promise and over deliver, not vice-versa. If you do all of this, and still find them complaining, you need to find better clients!

Question from Paul hoff (Founder): What is the best way to target high worth buyers of luxury garden furniture?

My Response: Assuming you’ve already done your research for this niche and figured there’s a market that you can tap into, here are a few things I’d suggest:

• If you’re going after a premium audience, your website/LP needs to look and feel premium. I’d invest some time, money and effort into it!

• Your #1 focus should be on content in my opinion. Content sells.

• Your content quality should be high-quality

• What do I mean by high quality?

  • It should highlight the craftsmanship, materials, and design of your furniture

  • Create content that blends your furniture into luxurious lifestyle settings, showing how it enhances outdoor living experiences. You need to build aspirations among your potential consumers!

  • Encourage your customers to share images of their outdoor spaces featuring your furniture, providing real life examples of your products in use, and you can use these pieces for marketing

• Optimise your website for SEO, and try building backlinks (off-page SEO) with blogs that have volume + great domain authority (DA) score. This will in turn to boost your DA score eventually, and drive organic traffic to your pages

• Partner with a bunch of Designers, Architects, and high-end real estate companies

• Since you sell furniture, the average repeat purchases is extremely low in DTC, so in this case, make sure your customer acquisition costs are baked into your margins

• Don’t run paid media ads assuming you’ll turn a profit in the future, that is, relying on the lifetime value (LTV) of a customer—that won’t work in this niche

• Since it’s not a product that customers can subscribe to every month, figure out if you can also sell a product that people can subscribe to, like a furniture polish for instance

  • In this case, you don’t sell polish to primarily to make money, but to stay on top of the head of your customers

• Most importantly, partner with influencers. While I usually recommend brands to go with micro influencers, in this case, I’d definitely suggest going with mega influencers, although you can partner with micro influencers to create a bunch of content!

• Run Google Ads, Meta Ads, and in your case particularly, it could definitely be worth while to test out Pinterest ads

• If you manufacture your own products, see if there’s opportunities to white label your products. This isn’t ideal if you’re looking to build a “brand”, but this can be great for scaling!

• For your VIP customers, send them direct mails with handwritten notes, offers, etc.

That’s all I have on top of the head for now. I know this can be a lot of work, but building a luxury brand isn’t easy either. Hope that helps though.

Alright folks, that’s it for today.

Have a great weekend ahead!

SARAL

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