Why Video Content is a MUST

The TL;DR:

• Let’s Chat D2C: Video Marketing and how to leverage it with Videowise.

• What I’m Thinking about this Week: What I wish I knew about selling a business 12 months after DRINKS acquired Electriq.

• The D2Z Podcast: In this week’s episode, I sat down with Arvind Krishnan, Founder of Swym, a shopper engagement platform.

• App Highlight - Videowise: An ecommerce video platform that helps brands and retailers create interactive and shoppable video experiences on online stores to increase engagement and uplift conversion

• Building the Ultimate Shopify Customer Experience with Okendo: I was lucky enough to help put together a 65+ page ebook with Okendo covering all things customer engagement that helps improve retention and increase LTV.

• Upcoming Events: I’m presenting my “10 Steps to Building a Retention Program” at ChargeX in D.C. from 4/26-4/28 and have discounted brand tickets if anyone wants them.

Random tip: Don’t overcomplicate things.

Let's Chat D2C: Video Marketing with Videowise

TikTok-style short-form videos are how people want to consume content, so why not leverage this on your own DTC storefront? Video content is one of the easiest ways to engage your customers with content they’re used to consuming, resulting in more time spent on site and an increase in conversion rate.

Video Marketing

91% of shoppers want to see more videos from brands and retailers in 2023. So, it’s pretty obvious you need this as a part of your marketing strategy, and working with an Ecommerce Video Platform becomes imperative.

Since its launch, Videowise has evolved into an end-to-end Ecommerce Video Platform, allowing DTC brands & retailers to take seamless control over their entire video infrastructure.

Videowise helps them create interactive and shoppable video experiences on online stores to increase engagement and uplift conversion.

“Tradition video platforms allow videos to be embedded just one video per page at a time. From day one, we built Videowise specifically for Ecommerce to help online stores manage and publish video at scale on a virtually unlimited number of product pages, collection pages, or blogs. It’s been a tremendous time saver for our clients.” - Claudiu Cioba, CEO at Videowise

Because Videowise was explicitly designed for Ecommerce, merchants can use it for omnichannel distribution and embed videos at scale on unlimited product pages.

Businesses already leveraging Videowise can expect an increase in revenue by offering their customers a more engaging and frictionless shopping experience.

Dr. Squatch saw a 3.2% increase in revenue per session in the first 30 days alone.

Unlike traditional video platforms, Videowise offers a commerce-centric video infrastructure that protects page speed, saves merchant time with automation, and provides more insights with advanced video analytics that help you optimize your video marketing strategy.

Reduce the purchase friction with shoppable videos and engage shoppers in interactive videos with quizzes, forms, polls, buttons, and more.

Why Electriq Uses It

It was a no-brainer for me to roll this into our preferred tech stack for our clients. People LOVE consuming TikTok and IG reel content, so why wouldn’t we try and emulate that experience on our client’s storefronts? Check out how immi leverages Videowise below.

What I’m Thinking About This Week: What I Wish I Knew About Selling My Business 

If you’re an entrepreneur reading this newsletter, one of your goals may be to sell the business! So, almost a full year after DRINKS acquired Electriq, I started to think about the things I wish I had known going into it. It was my first ever company and exit, so I got fortunate that everything worked out as it did, but there are still some takeaways I’ll keep in mind for the next venture!

What I Wish I Knew

Looking back, I wish I had known before the acquisition process started that it would take more time than expected, especially with everyone working remotely across different time zones. There were holidays, and sometimes days would go by with very little progress.

I had gotten ahead of myself regarding timing since it was such a clear-cut deal. However, things dragged on, and I wanted the process to wrap up so I could move on and focus on the more significant opportunity. This was the most frustrating part because I was so bought into the new opportunity that I had already mentally shifted my focus to what we could accomplish together after the merger. I remember feeling anxious and impatient because I had already started planning the next steps in my mind. DO NOT DO THIS.

The acquisition process can be lengthy, complicated, and unpredictable, and it's crucial to have patience and remain focused on your EXISTING BUSINESS during this time. As an entrepreneur, it's essential to be adaptable and ready for unexpected challenges that may arise during an acquisition. I always ask myself, what if the deal had fallen through? Luckily, it didn’t, but if you’re selling your business, do not get carried away and think something is a done deal before it is.

Don’t Get Distracted

Knowing how long the acquisition process can take, I would have invested less mental energy and time exploring the joint opportunity. I would have been disappointed if the acquisition didn't go through, and it would have been a struggle for me. However, it's essential to recognize that these delays and setbacks are a part of the process, and it's crucial to remain patient and focused on the larger goal.

Post-Acquisition Takeaways

Now that some time has passed since the acquisition, I’ve dug into some of the takeaways and lessons learned from these first 12 months of integration. I'll highlight these in next week's newsletter!

This Week’s The D2Z Podcast

#55 – Making Shopping More Personal with the Founder of Swym

🎧Listen Now 🎧

In this week’s episode, I sat down with Arvind Krishnan, Founder of Swym, a shopper engagement platform. Specifically, we explored the following:

💰 How to convert a customer and capture as much information as possible to create a personalized experience for them.

📲 Balancing merchant requests and their own internal priorities in your product roadmap.

😎 Leveraging a customer success team to ensure proper product adoption.

🚀 Key learnings from building and sustaining a software business for ten years, all while navigating the challenges of remote work.

App Highlight - Videowise

❓What is It: An Ecommerce Video Platform.

🏅Differentiator: Videowise helps brands and retailers create interactive and shoppable video experiences on online stores to increase engagement and uplift conversion. Unlike traditional video platforms, Videowise offers a commerce-centric video infrastructure that protects page speed, saves merchant time with automation, and provides more insights with advanced video analytics.

💰Starting Price: Starter Plan $99 (for online stores with under 20k visitors/month)

🚀How we use it:

1. Create shoppable and interactive videos with bulk actions and automation. In minutes, we can embed thousands of videos on all the needed product pages, blogs, or landing pages. It allows us to manage and publish videos at scale.

2. Offer unique experiences and keep our shoppers hooked using quizzes, polls, coupons, forms, and more commerce-centric interactions on your videos. We can go beyond just watching and better engage & convert shoppers.

3. Commerce-centric video analytics. Electriq can track, analyze, and improve every aspect of our client’s video performance to make data-driven decisions and optimize your video strategy.

4. We also use it for omnichannel video distribution (emails, landing pages, PR articles, QR code to video, shareable video links, etc.)

Watch the walk-through video I put together of Lifetimely here and my “Using Lifetimely for Shopify CLTV Reporting & Analysis” here.

App Highlight - Videowise

I was lucky enough to help put together a 65+ page ebook with Okendo covering all things customer engagement that helps improve retention and increase LTV. You can check it out here!

Upcoming Events

 I’m presenting my “10 Steps to Building a Retention Program” at ChargeX in D.C. from 4/26-4/28 and have discounted brand tickets if anyone wants them.

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