Turn Product Excellence Into Organic Buzz

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PRODUCT EXCELLENCE

🚀 Turn Product Excellence Into Organic Buzz
_{Insights from Caleb Ulffers}

Many brands struggle to get their products noticed and create organic buzz. They often rely heavily on paid advertising, which can be expensive and yield diminishing returns.

The Solution: Product Excellence

Haven Athletic’s strategy focuses on creating an outstanding product that athletes love and organically endorse.

Case Study:

This week, professional CrossFit athlete Chris Harris (233k followers) collaborated with Red Bull USA (1.6M followers) while sporting a Haven Athletic bag. Just the day before, the Haven bag was featured on the homepage of Kane Footwear’s site, thanks to another athlete, Eric Hinman.

Why It Works:

The reason these influencers are wearing Haven’s products is simple: they work, and they love them. Haven doesn’t pay them to wear their products; they choose to because Haven offers the best. They reinvented an old, boring product and replaced it with something thoughtful, intentional, and well-designed specifically for athletes.

Results:

Everything Haven does starts with an incredible product. The basis for impressive margins, mentions, partnerships, and collaborations all comes from having an outstanding product. These organic endorsements happen weekly, resulting in millions of impressions for free. This strategy is one of the key factors that keeps Haven’s Marketing Efficiency Ratio (MER) over 5x and ensures profitable customer acquisition in a challenging business landscape.

Key Highlights:

• Highlighted on the Milwaukee Bucks Instagram

• Partnerships with billion-dollar companies

• Products in the hands of the biggest celebrities and entertainers

How You Can Do It:

1. Invest in Quality: Ensure your product is the best in its category. Focus on thoughtful design and functionality that meets your target audience’s needs.

2. Engage with Influencers: Build relationships with influencers who love your product. Authentic endorsements will resonate more with their followers.

3. Create a Story: Develop a compelling brand story that highlights why your product is different and better.

4. Leverage Social Proof: Share user-generated content and testimonials to build credibility and trust.

5. Maintain Consistency: Ensure your branding, messaging, and customer experience are consistent across all platforms.

People often think Haven is 50 times bigger than they are. They punch way above their weight class, and it all stems from having an incredible product. Start with a great product, then build everything else around it. For more such amazing insights from the CEO of Haven and many more RSVP free for Level Up+ by Chargeflow, and stand a chance to win a Meta Quest 3

GOOGLE PRIVACY SANDBOX

🛡️ IAB Tech Lab Raises Alarms Over Google’s Privacy Sandbox
_{Insights from IAB}

What’s Up? The IAB Tech Lab’s Privacy Sandbox Task Force has published its final report on the Fit Gap Analysis, echoing previous concerns about Google’s Privacy Sandbox and its potential impact on digital media.

The Breakdown:

• Industry Impact: The task force warns that the Privacy Sandbox could impair the digital media industry’s ability to deliver targeted advertising, endangering smaller media companies and brands. This could stifle their ability to compete and grow.

• Major Shift: Anthony Katsur, CEO of IAB Tech Lab, described the Privacy Sandbox as a “massive sea-change” and a significant break from traditional advertising practices. Global digital ad spend is projected to hit $767.12 billion next year.

• Testing Insights: Criteo’s eight-week market test indicated a potential 60% drop in publisher revenue if third-party cookies were eliminated today. Google Ad Manager’s market share could skyrocket, increasing publisher dependency on Google. Additionally, there was a median increase of over 100% in ad rendering latency.

• Regulatory and Technical Hurdles: U.K. regulators have expressed anticompetitive concerns and recommended delaying the Privacy Sandbox rollout until these issues are addressed. The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority identified around 80 issues that need resolution.

The IAB Tech Lab’s findings underscore the significant challenges and potential downsides of the Privacy Sandbox, especially for smaller media entities. The ongoing delays and technical difficulties highlight the complexities and uncertainties of its deployment, suggesting that the digital advertising ecosystem could face considerable disruptions.

HOLIDAY SHOPPING TRENDS

🎁 Salesforce Highlights 2024 Holiday Shopping Trends
_{Insights from Chain Storage} 

What’s Up? Salesforce has unveiled its 2024 holiday shopping forecast, pinpointing key trends that will influence consumer behavior and market dynamics.

The Breakdown:

• The dominance of Chinese Shopping Apps: Salesforce anticipates a significant market share increase for Chinese apps like Aliexpress, Shein, Temu, and TikTok, fueled by consumers prioritizing cost savings over quality. Two-thirds of global shoppers have already used these platforms, with an expected $160 billion in global e-commerce sales outside of China this holiday season.

• Shipping Cost Challenges: Retailers will face higher middle- and last-mile shipping expenses due to global instability and rising delivery costs. Salesforce estimates an additional $197 billion in shipping expenses. To mitigate these costs, retailers should offer free or reduced shipping and promote in-store pickups and returns.

• AI-Driven Shopping: AI will play a crucial role in holiday shopping, with generative AI influencing 17% of online purchases in 2023. As AI adoption grows, retailers should implement AI-powered search features to enhance conversion rates and customer experiences.

• Transformation of Black Friday: Black Friday is projected to remain the leading online shopping day, with 72% of consumers planning to shop online. Salesforce advises retailers to prepare their websites and social channels for increased traffic to maximize this opportunity.

• Maximizing Loyalty Programs: Loyal customers are expected to account for 40% of holiday purchases. Retailers should leverage loyalty data to offer exclusive benefits, such as free expedited shipping and early access to sales, to boost customer retention and sales.

Salesforce’s analysis underscores the importance for retailers to adapt to evolving consumer preferences and market conditions, ensuring they stay competitive and responsive during the 2024 holiday season.

QUICK HITS

👨🏻‍💻 Want to gain expert insights from industry leaders and eCommerce solution leaders like Aftersell, Sendlane, Triple Whale, and Chargeflow? Join us Live at ‘Level Up Your DTC Brand,’ a webinar discussing the latest strategies on how to scale DTC brands on July 17th 12PM EST. Register now for free and stand a chance to win a Meta Quest 3!

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💻 Nearly 60% of Google searches end without a click, with 58.5% in the U.S. and 59.7% in the EU. These zero-click searches occur when users find their answers directly on Google's search page without clicking any links. 

📈 X rolls out revamped ad analytics featuring improved dashboards and metric overviews, aiming to simplify tracking of paid content performance that will include large performance charts, intuitive tabs, and clickable links for easy navigation between campaigns to regain advertisers

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