Agency approach to D2C, pre and post-IOS14, Chloë Thomas | D2C Stories

Hey there, great people of the D2C community who are building fantastic things! This is your host Berkay writing.

This Friday on D2C Stories:
🧐 Treating your brand like a marketing agency with Martha Krueger, Founder of Giften Market
👤 Influential person of the D2C space: Chloë Thomas
🏷️ Discounts on leading Shopify tools
📚 Free resources on inventory management
🗞️ Aaannd weekly updates from the D2C world

🧐 Treating your brand like a marketing agency with Martha Krueger, Founder of Giften Market

Alright, here comes our favorite part: Podcast highlights!

🎁 In the 9th episode we did with successful D2C entrepreneurs, we had a fantastic conversation with Martha, founder of the Minnesota-based gifting D2C brand, Giften Market.

One thing that continually strikes me about D2C founders is how they bring their wealth of previous knowledge and experience into their new ventures. This diversity of backgrounds and experiences is what sets them apart!

Martha is a prime example of this phenomenon. She approaches her D2C brand with a unique agency perspective, largely drawn from her previous experience in the marketing world. Our discussion on these topics was truly inspiring!

After an “ugly sweaters startup” she found during her college days and a long and successful career managing a social media marketing agency, Martha found great success in customizable gift baskets D2C.

And she told us everything from $4 CAC to how she found success during the pandemic!

^{You can also listen to the episode on Spotify, Google, or Apple Podcast!}

And here are some highlights from our chat!

👩‍💻 Digital marketing background. Martha has always carried an entrepreneurial spirit within, but the pivotal experience that truly shaped her career was her time at her former social media marketing agency, Social Lights. The invaluable nine years she spent there laid the groundwork for her eventual success with Giften Market.

🤦🏻‍♂️ Bad timing to start a business. Wanting to start her own gifting business, Martha had initially signed a lease for a physical retail kiosk just before the COVID-19 pandemic. And when the pandemic hit and all stores were closed permanently… She was left with a lease amounting to $6,000.

🫂 The virtual hug collection. But the pandemic also brought opportunities to Martha. In May 2020, she swiftly launched her online business, just in time for Mother's Day. She noticed that people unable to visit their mothers due to restrictions were searching online for 'Mother's Day gifting.' This turned out to be a golden opportunity!

🤑 $4 CAC. Martha wasted no time and rolled out her first social media campaign in the same month. And, boy, was it a massive success! She managed to acquire new customers for as little as $4! However, it's important to note that this was before the era of IOS14.

🤝 Post IOS-14. Things have certainly changed, especially with the IOS14 updates. Nowadays, their primary investment is in Google ads, primarily due to the strong search intent and conversion potential on that platform.

🤯 The agency mindset. Now, the part that left a significant impression on us: During our conversation, Martha emphasized her approach to treating her brand like a marketing agency. But what does that actually entail?

Certainly, the product's importance can't be downplayed. However, in the current landscape, marketing takes center stage. Understanding this, Martha views everything as a marketing responsibility.

She says:

"Giften Market is so marketing-focused that I think just going ahead and saying we're a marketing agency for ourselves, for our own brand... is a good mindset to have. Because then I don't feel as overwhelmed by all the marketing tasks. Instead, I'm inspired by them... And, at that point, the products become almost secondary."

Her approach places strong emphasis on packaging, consistent promotion of her brand identity, active engagement on social media, and appearing in various avenues to introduce her brand to the audience.

🤫 One tip Martha shared: Behind-the-scenes videos create high conversions.

@giftenmarket

Fall chocolate is here! 🍁🍫🤗✨ We can’t get enough of this packaging by @goodiogoods 😍 - could it be any more giftable? #asmr #chocolate #ch... See more

This mindset, she says, keeps her from being “bogged down by the marketing tasks.”

How about that?

🏄‍♂️ Vendor community. Giften Market's website boasts an impressive 800 individual SKUs. The company's strength lies in its close-knit community of 150 vendors with whom they have strong and mutually beneficial relationships!

💪 Influential person of the D2C space: Chloë Thomas

You might recall that we kicked off this segment last week with Christian Alexander Endresen, the co-founder of Float Analytics. For this week, we couldn't think of a better fit than Chloë Thomas, Podcast Host and Author at eCommerce Master Plan and Editor in Chief for eCommerce Tech.

Chloë is quite the dynamo; she hosts two podcasts (Keep Optimizing and Ecommerce Master Plan), has authored numerous e-commerce books, and consistently delivers high-quality content on LinkedIn. When she drops a comment on your post, the LinkedIn algorithm even labels it as 'Influencer Activity' – it's impressive!

No doubt, she's a true content creator! Take a peek at some of her fantastic LinkedIn posts.

Soooo we really encourage you to connect with Chloë to get some ecommerce wisdom! 😊

🆇 TWEETS OF THE WEEK

1. Well… I guess I agree

2. Is influencer marketing… umm how to put this?? Dead?

3. Check out the results of this poll and the conversation below. It’s eye-opening!

SOCIAL MEDIA

Did you enjoy our newsletter? Follow us on social media for more content on best practices, tips, and insights!

📚 FREE RESOURCES

And here are the free resources on all things inventory! Enjoy them and let us know what you think.

🏷️ DISCOUNTS ON LEADING APPS

If you’re a subscriber to this newsletter, well, we have more to offer. Just contact us over email to ask for a list of discounted tools, ranging from CX to inventory optimization.