This morning, I joined another brilliant video seminar from Bread & Jam, hosted by Jason and Tara.

Today there were 3 speakers on the Founder's Panel:

► Nicola Simons Founder of Single Variety Co.

► Amy Moring Co-Founder of Hunter & Gather

► Ella Rauen-Prestes Founder of Fitbakes

Amazingly, their sales are going through the roof during the corona virus (eg increase of 458% YOY), so here are my 10 TOP TIPS from the session, paraphrased to my own words:

  1.  Website 
    • Interestingly, all 3 ladies use Shopify for their website structure and e-commerce. Plus, they all said they are very happy with the platform.
    • They use multiple payment options, including Paypal (which charges a higher commission, but can be up to 50% of customer choice when paying.)
  2. Product
    • Create a 'Selection Box' with lots of flavours for your new customers to try the first time. Price point this at the 'free delivery' to make it a no-brainer for customers.
    • Bundle top sellers for customers who are lazy and want to click a few buttons and not search too much.
  3. Driving Customers to Website
    • Facebook ads usually return ROAS  (Return On Ad Spend) of 4, but currently returning 6.5!
    • Email marketing - do it more regularly than usual, send 'helpful' content, such as recipes. They recommended Klaviyo software.
    • Google Ads - start small and grow over time.
  4. Customers
    • Since the corona virus, they are reordering more regularly. EG instead of monthly, they're reordering fortnightly.
    • Consumers are conscious that they need to support smaller brands for them to survive the Corona Virus epidemic. So they're keen to buy direct.
    • For great customer service, Zen Desk covers lots of platforms, Amazon, Shopify, Facebook Messenger etc. and pulls all queries into one place.

Here's a video I made that includes the points from above, in the context of bigger brands such as Aldi and Heinz...

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Sy8nq57t2ps" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I’m offering FREE advice for your independent business during the Corona Virus outbreak…I have created a PDF with free advice during the Corona Virus outbreak, If you’re an independent business owner, right now you’ll be wondering:

  • What’s happening?
  • What changes do I need to make?
  • What do I need to communicate?
  • What Government help is available.

CLICK HERE to visit the page which has all the details you need.

I hope this is helpful, on a business or a personal level. If there's anything else I can do to help, please get in touch.

Vic

External links:

Bread and Jam host lots of brilliant webinars like this one, check out: http://breadandjamfest.com/

► Nicola Simons - Nicola is the founder of Single Variety Co, award winning fruit preserves and chilli jams stocked in Wholefoods, Harvey Nichols and over 200 independent retailers across the UK. Since the COVID-19 Crisis started her webshop sales have increased by x3.5.

► Amy Moring - Amy is Co-Founder of Hunter & Gather having previously worked in sales for Mars and Lily's Kitchen. She heads up sales and marketing at Hunter & Gather across eCommerce, Independents, wholesale and export. Hunter & Gather have a specific online strategy and they utilise their website for both D2C and D2B - which has been key for driving growth for the brand throughout this lockdown period.

► Ella Rauen-Prestes - Ella has 25 years of tech background in global companies such as Vodafone and Shell. She has a BSc in Computer Science, MSc in Marketing and an MBA. She founded Fitbakes in 2018, with an ecommerce strategy, and 2 years later they are on track to reach a £400k turnover.