On today’s episode, Kunle reflects back on 2020 and shares his 5 biggest eCommerce lessons and 3 biggest life lessons. It has been a landmark year in many respects and the lessons learnt this year will surely endure in the near future.

2020 started off much like any other year: businesses were making plans and strategies to expand and diversify. But come March, the world came to a grinding halt. Nobody really knew where this would lead to and when things would be “normal” again. Uncertainty ruled the world!

But as some of the dust began to settle, one thing was clear – the “business model” of our world is going to change. Stores and businesses pulled down their shutters (many of them for good). People were stuck at home. Human interactions, which we took for granted all along, suddenly disappeared from our lives.

In many ways it was chaos. But with chaos also comes opportunity. As most of our lives moved online, eCommerce got a real shot-in-the-arm. eCommerce growth fast-forwarded nearly 4-5 years. The businesses that could pivot and adjust to the new world have recorded their best year to date.

We’ve seen a huge shake-up in the way we do business globally. This is going to fundamentally change both sales and marketing strategies going forward. In today’s episode I share some of my key learnings from a year full of learnings, and hope that these will help you and your business in 2021!

Here is a summary of some of the most important points made,

• • Clicks and traffic are not as important as audience building
  • Relying on paid acquisition is not a long term strategy
  • Marketing should be driven by customer service feedback
  • In-person will rebound despite the eCom boom
  • Being able to reduce the pain caused by uncertainty helps you create meaningful impact

Covered Topics:

On today’s interview Kunle discusses,

• Key tenets for successful marketing in 2021
• Building a feedback loop that helps the business grow
• Why countdown timers still work in eCommerce
• Being strong and flexible in everything we do
• Doing meaningful work to create real impact
• Why uncertainty is always certain

Timestamp:

• 6:25 – Why traffic is not as important as audience building
  • “Understanding WHO you are talking to allows you to frame HOW you talk to them, and connects to your WHY”
  • Persona + Narrative
  • “Right now the biggest currency in the World is Attention”
  • Influencers offer a shortcut to reach audiences
• 10:55 – Focusing on paid acquisitions means you’re a renter
  • Relying on paid acquisition is not a long term strategy
  • It is suitable for newly launched brands
  • Aim should be to become an”Owner”
  • You own your eMail / SMS list
• 13:15 – Product and Marketing have to work hand-in-hand
  • Marketing should be driven by customer service feedback
  • A streamlined structure makes you more agile
• 16:45 – Retail is not dead
  • In-person will rebound despite the eCom boom
  • Physical interaction is an integral part of shopping experience
• 25:20 – Countdown timers do work
  • Good to place these in the header of your site
• 26:25 – Optimise for strength and flexibility in everything you do
  • Works on both back pain and business
• 28:10 – Focus on meaningful work and relationships
  • Say yes to things that resonate with your inner self
• 29:45 – We’re all hardwired to hate uncertainty
  • We always want to control our circumstances
  • With uncertainty comes opportunity
  • Being able to reduce the pain caused by uncertainty helps you create meaningful impact
  • “There’s uncertainty in a certain future”

Takeaways:

• Audience building is the key to successful marketing
• It is important to own and not rent your acquisition channel
• Be strong and flexible in everything we do
• Meaningful work will help create real impact

Links & Resources

• Paul Marchant article
• Principles by Ray Dalio

Tweetable Quotes:

“There’s uncertainty in a certain future.”

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