📦– Business is Bluming

DTC 221 – Taran Ghatrora on community building through in-person and digital events [DTC]( Banter Wednesday, August 24, 2022 'Cause I want it that way. 🕺 🚨 NEW MENTOR ALERT🚨 DTC is excited to announce another NEW MENTOR coming to [C-Suite Mastermind.]( Rob Fraser, CEO and Founder of Canada's #1 sock brand Outway Socks, has bootstrapped his way to 8 figure sales, and we couldn't be more excited for him to share his knowledge with you. Spaces are filling up, so [lock in your spot today.]( If you’re new to DTC, welcome! You’re in good company with fellow newcomers from Huel, Inkbox, Love Cocoa, Toms, and Chanel. 🤯 In this newsletter, you’ll find: 👇 📦 Blume banks on community – Taran Ghatrora on community building through in-person and digital events [C-Suite Mentor Preview]. 📦 Measure and optimize your performance in real-time with #paid’s Measurement Suite. 📦 Why you should be running sponsored brand ads to your Amazon Store. 📦 How to optimize your first-mile reverse logistics with Loop. 📦 The three steps for top-notch brand positioning. Read till the end to access exclusive DTC swag. 😎 👉 If a pal forwarded this to you, [subscribe]( , so you never miss out. Podcast 🎧 On today’s episode of the DTC pod, we’re going ✨au naturel✨ with Taran Ghatrora, co-founder of Blume and one of our upcoming C-Suite Mastermind Mentors! Blume is a female-founded, all-natural, and eco-friendly skincare company that is working to set a new standard for skin and body care. ‍The takeaways 👇 🤝 Building a community Community is to a DTC brand what tacos are to Tuesdays: a necessity. The best thing about community is that there are a multitude of strategies to effectively build one for your brand, and no matter what, the time invested into those strategies is always worthwhile. For Taran, one avenue that has been more and more successful in this space is focusing on human connection and bringing people together. “What’s been new for us in the past year, and a really great way to bring together the Blume community, is live digital events and live in-person events… For the live digital events,... it could be a Q&A about our founder journey, sharing information about the products,... we [even] did one to celebrate our birthday.” 🥳 🕹️ Gamified retention It’s safe to say that having loyal customers is something all DTC brands strive for. Blume is fostering that community of customers with their gamified loyalty program, Blumetopia. Once signed up, customers receive points for things like shopping at Blume, attending live events, sharing tweets about the brand, and more! They can even get exclusive merch items for hitting point thresholds. “We really like to reward our loyal customers. We’re always giving them perks, like free items, the ability to test new products, [and] hosting events. Retention is a really big focus at Blume.” 💡 The mentor mindset As a mentor at the upcoming [DTC C-Suite Mastermind]( event, Taran is focusing on highlighting the building blocks of her successful journey as an entrepreneur. “For us at Blume, we’ve had so many pivots on what we do, but the why has always remained the same. I think that my core lesson in my entrepreneurship journey is staying true to the why, your community, and always listening to your customers.” 👉 Listen to the full episode with Taran Ghatrora [here!]( Sponsor Stress-Free Influencer Marketing 🤝 #paid No more fussin’ and frettin’ about how that recent influencer marketing campaign went. You’ve been cool as a cuke ever since you paired with #paid. 🧊 The [#paid measurement suite]( delivers ✨custom and exclusive✨ research methods to help you measure and optimize your performance in real-time. #paid knows how important creators are to brands—after all, creators help brands build a real, human connection in this digital age. #paid has the tools to connect brands with their perfect influencer and provide campaign stats. Launch your first stress-free campaign with #paid. 👉 [Find the perfect match for your brand and get your metrics here.]( Amazon Run sponsored brand ads to your Amazon store Want a hot tip from our [advantageous Amazon team?]( Take advantage of competition-free space and run sponsored brand ads directly to your store page. Store pages are one of the few spots on Amazon where listings and ads for competitor products won’t tempt your customer. Your store page is your time to shine! ✨ Another benefit of a dialed in-store page? It can act as a landing page. Build out angle-specific pages that speak to targeted customer segments. You can then run brand ads straight to your store page. Use the page to target what the customer is searching for and tell them why they should buy your product without competitors barging in. 😌 Check out Atlas Protein Bars’ campaign. Their sponsored ad found at the top of search directs through to an excellent Amazon store page. Skip the competition! Use sponsored brand ads to direct customers to your exclusive store page. Thanks to the [Pilothouse team]( for the killer Amazon insights. 🚀 Sponsor How To Optimize Your First-Mile Reverse Logistics Whether the product didn't fit, or the customer changed their mind, returns are a fact of life in eCommerce. Depending on your industry, as many as 40% of your online purchases could end in returns. 😮‍💨 But just because a customer returns an item, doesn’t mean they don’t like your brand. In fact, customers who have a positive returns experience are 84% more likely to buy from your brand in the future. Emphasis on **positive experience** That’s why it’s critical to put just as much effort into [designing an exceptional first-mile reverse logistics experience]( as it is your last-mile delivery and overall shopping experience. Loop has quite literally [written the book]( on how to design an easy and delightful return/exchange experience for eCommerce, and luckily they're sharing it with you today. 👉 [Learn how to make your return experience so good it'll make your customers come back again and again.]( Brand Positioning Is Your Brand Unique, Compelling, and Credible to Potential Shoppers? How you position your brand boils down to be one of the most important parts of running your business. [Ryan Rouse]( took to LinkedIn to share their personal favorite positioning framework. The framework is learned from McKinsey consultant Victor Cheng, who says that having a good positioning serves as a, “Unique compelling credible promise to a potential buyer.” Use these three prompts to scale your business. 1️⃣ Your promise MUST be unique. With so many product options and alternatives, standing out to the consumer and making a sale must factor on a level of uniqueness. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, but be unique in the landscape your product is competing in. Ryan suggests answering the below: - Who do you serve? - What do you offer? - Where are your sales happening? - Why do you do what you do? - When do you fulfill? - How do you do what you do? 2️⃣ Your promise MUST be compelling. Use your copy, ads, and messaging to show potential buyers that your product can solve their problem in a compelling way. Listen to the concerns of buyers and use compelling messaging. When looking for angles, dig deeper than buyers’ surface problems. Check out this example from Ryan about understanding the consumer mindset to make a compelling offer: Do they want to be healthier? (Surface level) Or are they frustrated by how they feel and can't play with their kids because they are low on energy. (Searing problem) Use the searing problem to inform your language and address the problem head-on. 3️⃣ Your promise MUST be credible. Your offer can be unique and compelling, but if you’re not able to convince shoppers you're credible and being truthful your conversion rates will be low. Show first-time site visitors that your brand can be trusted. Here are some elements Ryan suggests showcasing: - Customer testimonials - Specificity - Guarantees - Research reports/trials Remember that brand positioning is a vital step in the success of any business. Uniqueness, compelling, and credibility should be at the forefront of your brand strategy. Quick Hits 🔎 What creators should know about [Google's helpful content update.]( ⚡️ Test with TikTok: How [Instant Page]( can boost conversions and lower-funnel actions. 📺 YouTube announces new targeting options for [CTV Campaigns,]( improved CTV buying tools. ❎ [DoorDash and Walmart]( are ending their partnership. 👀 Shopify adds [collaboration tool]( to connect brands with content creators. SHARE DTC NEWSLETTER 🔥 NEW REFERRAL PROGRAM HAS OFFICIALLY DROPPED 🔥 👊 Want to level up the marketing skills of your teammates and employees? Just grab your referral link below and you'll earn points toward cool gear for every new subscriber you bring to the DTC fam. Here's your unique referral link: [( [Share via facebook]( [Share via twitter]( [Share via whatsapp]( [Share via email](mailto:?subject=Check%20this%20out&body=%F0%9F%94%A5%20Signed%20up%20to%20this%20newsletter%20a%20couple%20of%20weeks%20ago%20and%20it's%20amazing%20for%20DTC%20marketers%20like%20you!+https%3A%2F%2Fsparklp.co%2F47c676d0%2F%3Futm_source%3Demail) [See how many referrals you have!]( 🔊 Have you heard our latest podcasts? 🤝 [Blume]( Banks on Community – Taran Ghatrora on Community Building Through In-Person and Digital Events [C-Suite Mentor Preview]. 📱 Building a high-quality content empire with tech influencer [Justin Tse](. 🗓 Driving 25-month average subscription LTV (so far) with [Kabo and Chargebee](. 💸 “Six Figures in Revenue, Five Figures in Profit Every Day Throughout Q4" [Ridge Wallet's Sean Frank]( Returns! [Free C-Suite Mentor Preview] 🤓 Subscription Program Masterclass with Rashad Hossain from [Ryze Superfoods and Upscribe's]( Dileepan Siva. Don’t forget to [rate the DTC Podcast]( on Apple. (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️) DTC Newsletter is written by [Rebecca Knight](, [Kate Gullett](, and [Jordan Gillis](. Edited by Eric Dyck. Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. NEED MORE DTC? 🚀 [Advertise]( in DTC Newsletter. 💰 Check out our course on [Facebook and Instagram]( ads! 📥 Work for The DTC Newsletter: Send an email to Rebecca, rebecca@directtoconsumer.co, if you’re interested in writing for us! Rate Us [Rate Us]( [Fueled by Pilothouse] [Share]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [LinkedIn]( [Advertise with DTC]( | [Work With Pilothouse]( At Direct to Consumer, we are strongly committed to protecting your privacy and providing a safe & high-quality online experience for all visitors. We understand that you care about how the information you provide to us is used and shared. We have developed a Privacy Policy to inform you of our policies regarding collecting, using, and disclosing information we receive from our Website users. 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