The eCommerce Marketing Podcast walks you through everything that goes into ecommerce marketing — from inbound marketing to paid advertising to conversions. Learn the strategies top marketing experts use to grow their businesses.
In this episode, Steven Pemberton shares his journey from a corporate job to becoming a successful e-commerce entrepreneur. He discusses the challenges he faced, including anxiety and business failures, and how he transitioned to helping other brands grow. Steven emphasizes the importance of customer service, effective marketing strategies, and the lessons learned from his experiences with Amazon. He also delves into the significance of conversion rate optimization and paid advertising in driving business success. In this conversation, Steven Pemberton discusses the critical importance of optimizing websites for SEO and conversion rates before investing heavily in paid marketing. He shares success stories of brands that transformed their sales through strategic changes and emphasizes the need for long-term vision and planning in business. The discussion highlights the balance between micro and macro perspectives in marketing and the necessity of understanding customer intent.
Key Episode Takeaways:
- I was one of the youngest managers in this Fortune 500 company.
- My wife went from crying over returns to making over a million dollars.
- We had to restructure the business to up the profit margins.
- I had never experienced anxiety attacks until I started my business.
- We were about a hundred thousand dollars in debt overnight.
- We were able to help 137 underprivileged kids have Christmas.
- Amazon should be a leverage tool, not the only channel.
- Customer service drastically increased our conversion rate.
- Lifestyle photos helped customers visualize products in their lives.
- Standardization in branding and product presentation is crucial. Optimize your website before investing in paid marketing.
- Small changes can lead to significant increases in conversion rates.
- Focus on problem-aware customers to expand your market.
- Learning marketing skills can be done independently at low cost.
- Success in business requires a long-term vision and planning.
- Don’t just chase high buyer intent; consider all customer stages.
- Be willing to experiment and learn from failures.
- Zooming out can provide clarity and reduce stress.
- Understand the mechanics of customer buying behavior.
- Diversify your marketing and sales channels to mitigate risks.
If you feel Steven and his team at Elevatum can help your business, you may visit: https://elevatum.digital/
For show transcript and past guests, please visit https://www.ecommercemarketingpodcast.com
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Past guests on the ecommerce marketing podcast include Neil Patel, Nemo Chu, Luke Lintz, Luke Carthy, Amber Armstrong, Kris Ruby and many more.
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In this episode of the E-Commerce Marketing Podcast, Arlen Robinson interviews Steven Pemberton, co-founder of Elevatum Digital. Steven shares his journey of growing two e-commerce businesses, including transitioning from corporate life, the challenges of Amazon, and eventually helping businesses with paid marketing and conversion rate optimization (CRO).
The conversation covers Steven’s background in building million-dollar storefronts, overcoming hardships like being shut down by Amazon, and eventually moving into consulting, helping businesses scale from $500k to $5 million in revenue. Key topics include customer service, product positioning, and the importance of diversifying sales channels and CRO to improve performance before focusing on paid marketing strategies.
Key Takeaways:
Building an E-commerce Business (00:30 – 03:36)
Steven shares his journey from corporate life to supporting his wife in starting an e-commerce business, which grew to $1 million in revenue.
Importance of hard work and realizing that in business, unlike in corporate jobs, there’s a significant delay in seeing the payoff for effort.
Amazon’s Influence and Challenges (10:07 – 15:47)
Steven discusses the major issues e-commerce businesses face with Amazon, including sudden account shutdowns.
He emphasizes the importance of not relying solely on Amazon as a sales channel and diversifying revenue streams through independent platforms like Shopify.
The Power of Customer Service (18:41 – 23:26)
Excellent customer service was a major factor in improving Steven’s conversion rates.
The difference in results when customers receive quick responses and personal interaction, highlighting the impact of strong customer relations on repeat purchases and word-of-mouth marketing.
Effective Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) Strategies (23:26 – 28:07)
Standardizing fonts, image sizes, and creating lifestyle images for product listings are crucial for a cohesive brand experience.
Steven advises working on high-converting product pages first and testing small changes like button colors or product descriptions to enhance user experience.
Paid Marketing Strategy (28:07 – 33:57)
Paid ads should not be prioritized until the website (the “bucket”) is solid, meaning optimized landing pages, good customer service, and a smooth customer journey.
Steven recommends segmenting ads to attract both high-intent buyers and those who are just problem-aware, to nurture potential customers through the funnel.
Importance of Testing and Patience in Paid Marketing (36:58 – 38:43)
It’s important to continually test and iterate on ads and CRO, allowing for failures to find what works.
Don’t overreact to short-term performance; zoom out and analyze the data over a longer period (e.g., 30 days) to make informed decisions.
Lessons in Scaling Businesses (39:58 – 44:02)
Steven shares the lesson of zooming out and having a long-term vision for the business.
He stresses the importance of being paranoid enough during the high times to diversify and defend your business against potential future challenges.
Guest Contact Information:
LinkedIn: Steven Pemberton
Website: elevatum.digital
