Creating Long-Term Sustainable Growth in DTC with Brian Peters from Shopify
Season #
2
Episode #
12
As Strategic Partnership Manager at Shopify, Brian Peters is all about using 21st century technology to help merchants get to the next level. That said, at heart, his focus is still 100% on the people. Brian talks to Kristen about VC funding and bootstrapping, building out a retention plan as acquisition costs grow, and navigating the rise of SMS in the DTC space. This week’s episode is all about long-term, sustainable growth and making plays that can pay off in the long run.
Show Notes
- “All great strategies focus on the why.”
- Huge amounts of VC money were poured into DTC in 2018 and 2019, but the brands that will thrive have more than just a growth strategy in mind
- How influencers (and rappers) use a retention- and community-first approach
- A lot of DTC brands think the product will speak for itself, but it’s the little things that make a business stand out in competitive markets
- VC funding v.s. Bootstrapping: “Are you pushing all your dollars to the max?”
- Customer experience is retention
- Navigating DTC text
- “Storytelling forces a brand to stand in the shoes of their consumers and decide whether or not they would buy their own product.”
- Brand awareness trumps all marketing metrics
- Great brands don’t follow the trends- they create their own voice
- The next era of DTC brands will fundamentally reshape commerce
- 6 Rules of Great Storytelling (As Told by Pixar)