At a period where sales are plunging rapidly and stores are shutting down globally, the question most of us ask is: how do you create an epidemic-proof brand that can weather through the most challenging times of the decade? Surely, we are all excited to learn from brands that managed to grow their business in spite of the current situation.

So in today’s episode, Kunle interviews the founder of a direct-to-consumer brand creating an entirely new sports game called Crossnet that is rapidly growing at a 4X Year-on-Year rate despite the current slowdown in retail. You don’t want to miss this one so do stay tuned!

Crossnet is volleyball reimagined – so instead of the typical two-sided court setup of volleyball, Crossnet is a four-square volleyball game that can be set up on sand, grass, or indoors.

Their growth rates are impressive:

2017 set up and prototyping

2018 – $75k

2019 – $2.5m

2020 – $8-10m (estimated)

Covered Topics:

• What is Crossnet
• How the idea for Crossnet was born
• The Crossnet Story
• Leveraging Facebook Advertising
• Email Marketing

Podcast Show Notes:

• 01:52 – Figure out how the eCommerce industry is affected by the COVID-19 pandemic through Klaviyo’s COVID-19 Daily Pulse Update. Check out Klaviyo
• 03:48 – Who is Chris Meade and what is Crossnet?
• 06:09 – How did you come up with Crossnet?
• 07:52 – How did you move that idea into reality?
  • Created prototypes in 2017
  • Looked for a manufacturer – Alibaba
  • Began selling in 2018
• 10:18 – What were things like in 2018?
  • $74,000 in revenue
  • Doubled down on capital
  • Actual demo on the beach through playing
• 13:50 – What was your strategy in 2019?
  • $2.25 million in revenues
  • Leveraged on organic user-generated content
  • Social proof – customer reviews
  • Incentive Programs for users to submit video of themselves playing
• 16:14 – How long did you run the video ads?
  • 12 months
• 16:50 – Marketing Strategy
  • Facebook ads
  • Facebook Ad Spent: $200 – $5,000
  • Email Marketing – target site visitors
• 18:11 – Get the easiest way to backup your Shopify or BigCommerce store and undo unwanted changes with Rewind.io… Mention you heard about them at 2x eCommerce Podcast and get a ONE MONTH FREE TRIAL
• 20:18 – Managing content to match target demographics
  Determine your target market – Who is actually making the purchase?
  • Create content for your target market.
  • Influencer Marketing
• 21:43 – 2020
  • $8-10 million in estimated revenue
• 22:12 – How has retail distribution changed the business
  • Increased brand awareness
• 23:47 – What is your vision of Crossnet?
  • Used in gym classes to teach volleyball – Physical Education
  • Leisure play
  • Tournaments
• 26:04 – 2020 Projections
  • 70% Website Sales
  • 30% Retail Sales
• 26:55 – Facebook Advertising
  • CPA – $20 – $30
• 29:39 – Where can you attribute the success of your Facebook Advertising?
  • Stronger Creative
  • High-quality content
  • Good Customer Feedback
  • Brand Recall
• 32:35 – Other Acquisition Channels
  • Email Series
  • Pop-ups
  • Website: Spinner Wheels
  • YouTube Ads
  • Google Ads
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
• 36:48 – Lightning Round
  • How do you hire people? – “I identify from weaknesses.”
  • What are your tools for managing Crossnet? – Facetime, Skype, Google Drive
  • What has been your best mistake to date? – “Influencer marketing is not for us.”
  • If you are to look at yourself five years ago, what advice would you give? – “Stay patient. Be a little bit more patient. Things will all work out and life changes really quickly so be prepared for it.”
  • Are you a morning person? – “No. I’m trying to be good at it.”
  • What two things you can’t live without? – Gym, laptop.
  • What book are you reading? – Double Your Profits by Robert Fifer, Wolf on Wall Street by Jordan Belfort
• 46:20 – Join the 2xEcommerce Facebook Group

Topic Takeaways:

• To be successful at Facebook advertising, you must first be able to determine who your target market is. Who are the people who are actually making the purchase? With that, you can tailor-fit the content of your ads.
• Invest in organic traffic and leverage on user-generated content as your social proof.
• Design an email marketing campaign funnel that captures the different profiles of your major consumers.

Tweetable Quotes:

Stay patient. Be a little bit more patient. Things will all work out and life changes really quickly so be prepared for it.

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