Tuesday, July 2

🗣 Running a B2B and want to reach 45,086 DTC Brands? Start here

Ask Ibrahim: If you need advice for your business, ask our DTC expert here

WHAT’S HOT ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Sajith wrote a brilliant article on TAM and shared his thoughts on X. If you’re a Founder, especially someone trying to raise funds, definitely recommend reading this article!

You can read the full article on X here.

PIXII

Pixii is a creative AI made for DTC marketers.

• Pixii does it for you: one prompt creates ads and social posts in your brand

• Editable designs: take full control in the canvas

• Rapid versioning: create dozens of variants and sizes in minutes

 Sample customer ROI:

• $15K per month saved on photoshoots

• 30% increase in CTR

• 11 hours per week saved

Start with a 7-day free trial. It's $30 per month thereafter.

The Power of Social Proof in Marketing: 4 Game-Changing Strategies

Hey there,

I have spoken about social proof in previous posts, but here's ""The Why"" it works.

Here are five strategies that you might not be fully leveraging yet:

1. “Wisdom of The Crowd” Social Proof

Ever notice how seeing “10,000 customers trust us” instantly makes you feel more confident about a product? That’s the wisdom of the crowd in action. Highlighting numbers like units sold or customer count shows potential customers that they're not alone in trusting your brand.

For example, Ahrefs prominently displays the number of users and the size of its database. This is a powerful way to build trust quickly.

2. Expert Endorsements

Imagine having a big-name influencer or expert vouch for your product. Sounds amazing, right? This can be a huge growth driver for both DTC brands and SaaS companies.

But what if you can’t afford big names? No worries. Look for credible figures in your industry, even if they’re not celebrities. For instance, a respected doctor endorsing your health product can add substantial credibility, even without a massive following.

3. REAL User-Generated Content (UGC)

Forget the staged content with paid actors. Real reviews and testimonials from actual customers are where the magic happens. Authentic, happy, and honest feedback from your customers talking about their genuine experiences is incredibly persuasive.

4. Testimonials

We couldn’t skip testimonials. They’re probably the most common form of social proof. But here’s the kicker: don’t just rely on testimonials alone. Mix it up with the other strategies we’ve talked about. Authentic testimonials, numbers, expert endorsements and real UGC can create a compelling narrative.

Wrapping Up

Social proof is your secret weapon in the marketing arsenal. By effectively using the wisdom of the crowd, expert endorsements, real UGC, and testimonials, you can build trust, establish credibility, and drive more conversions.

Start integrating these strategies today and watch how your brand takes off. Remember, the key is to mix and match – don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Let’s make your marketing efforts more impactful!

Cheers to your success!

IBRAHIM’S NUGGETS

Hey, there!

I hope you’re having a great week so far. I was texting our CFO about some of the ways that brands could increase the strength of their own balance sheet, and wanted to share it with you.

For many brands, this last quarter of 2024 has been a little stressful. The DTC landscape continues to change (though it always has). We’ve clearly entered a period where the CPAs are higher, and PRoAS (Profitable RoAS) is lower. So, how do you protect yourself in the best way?

In my opinion, this is the perfect time to batten down the hatches and reintroduce higher levels of operational and financial discipline into your business as we close out the year. Here’s 4 quick tips from our CFO and I on how to increase the strength and quality of your balance sheet through Q3/4.

1. Audit your spend

I do this every month and look for places that we can cut along with the CFO. You’d be really surprised at how many founders don’t have a clear understanding of exactly what they are spending on. Go line by line and look for areas where you can either reduce your spend or cut it entirely as you move forward.

You’ll likely find subscriptions that don’t require the same number of licenses or seats (check Figma especially, they will begin charging you for anyone who views your Figma project with a shared link), or just software/subscriptions that you no longer need. Do this for your employee cards, and the card you use, yourself. Every dollar saved is a dollar of profit in your pocket.

2. Renegotiate contracts with vendors & partners

Again, as a founder, I think you’d be really surprised by how many people are willing to renegotiate with you if you just ask. If you need to, email your vendors and ask for extended payment terms. You’ll be surprised how many are okay with it, though not all will be (nor should you expect someone else to be ok with it).

Some people recommend asking for discounts, but being on the vendor side, I can tell you that if you’re paying a discounted price, you’re likely getting discounted service, too. You won’t get the team that goes above and beyond for you, you’ll just get the bare minimum done.

When you sign any contract, look to make sure there is an out clause in the contract. Software companies that require a contract, usually have a lock-in period for 12 or 24 months — DO NOT AGREE to that! Make sure you have an out clause that ideally is a 14 day out clause, but you can be ok with up to a 2 month out clause period.

Another interesting stat from my CFO is that even for large brands (he’s worked with multiple), 90% of external spend is concentrated in the top 20 vendors that you use. So while it might seem daunting to do this audit and try to renegotiate, even if you only address the top 10 vendors that you use, you can still save a TON.

3. Hiring Overseas

If done right, hiring overseas can save you a TON of money, especially for roles that don’t have much upward mobility. Obviously not every role can be outsourced, but I have had great experience hiring a graphic designer, customer service agents, a community manager, developers, influencer co-ordinator, and video editors overseas with Oceans.

This can turn a $75K to $120K salary in NYC into a $20K to $30K salary. It’s a game changer when you do it with the right partner, and understand how to build remote culture and train.

If you have design requirements, definitely recommend checking out Delesign. You can find affordable designers that don’t compromise with quality. I’ve personally used them, so would highly recommend!

4. When necessary, do layoffs

This is probably one of the toughest things to do as a founder, but sometimes it’s necessary to do.

If you can’t foresee needing a position or department in the future, sometimes, you just have to cut it. That said, I really encourage founders to attempt to do this with empathy. Be kind, offer a reasonable severance, thank them for their work, and if there were no other issues than the team needing to be downsized, try to support that person in whatever’s next for them.

Life and careers are really long so you never know when you might be working with or interacting with that person again. If you can, do your best to leverage your network to help this person get another role. I’ve had past clients reach out to introduce candidates my way, in case I know a role for them, and many times I can connect them with someone looking for their skill set within 48 hours. Ask your network if they can benefit—everyone wants good talent, and it’s often a hefty expense to pay recruiters.

Ok, that was a quick summary of our text convo. Did I miss anything that comes to mind for you? You can share here.

IN THE NEWS

A last-mile delivery startup rounds out its management team with e-commerce veterans

Japanese E-commerce Giant Mercari to Give Away Bitcoin in Promotion Drive

E-commerce business Cocktail Courier buys software firm Thirstie

Have any questions that you need help with?

Ask here - and look out for Fridays Issue where Ibrahim will answer them.