In this episode, host Josh interviews Jeff Campbell, a digital marketing expert and co-founder of AI Commerce. They discuss effective strategies for e-commerce sellers on platforms like Amazon and Walmart, focusing on increasing repeat purchases, leveraging first-party data, and tracking key metrics such as ROAS, CPC, and customer lifetime value. Jeff emphasizes the importance of consistent data analysis, understanding break-even points, and balancing efficiency with growth. He shares practical examples and actionable tips for optimizing advertising spend and expanding sales channels, providing valuable insights for both new and experienced e-commerce entrepreneurs.
Chapters:
Introduction to Jeff Campbell and AI Commerce (00:00:00)
Josh introduces Jeff Campbell, his background, and AI Commerce’s focus on e-commerce marketplaces.
Strategies to Increase Repeat Purchases (00:00:32)
Jeff discusses the importance of first-party data, email collection, and retargeting to drive repeat sales.
Key Metrics and KPIs for E-commerce Sellers (00:02:49)
Discussion on tracking impressions, clicks, CPC, CPO, customer acquisition cost, LTV, and the relationship between paid and organic sales.
Tools and Frequency for Data Tracking (00:04:26)
Jeff recommends using Excel or dashboards, and emphasizes daily tracking with monthly/quarterly insights.
Competitive Strategies and Market Trends (00:05:26)
Explains aggressive spending strategies, increased competition, and the need to monitor KPIs closely.
Balancing Volume and Efficiency Metrics (00:06:17)
Jeff highlights the importance of balancing sales volume and efficiency (Roas), and avoiding analysis paralysis.
Identifying the Two Most Important Metrics (00:07:17)
Focus on breakeven Roas and sales volume as the primary metrics for most sellers.
Importance of Long-Term Data Trends (00:07:58)
Josh and Jeff discuss not overreacting to short-term data, but focusing on monthly and quarterly trends.
Case Study: Food Brand and Revenue Formula (00:09:05)
Jeff shares a food brand example, explaining the revenue formula: traffic x AOV x conversion rate.
Optimizing Traffic Sources and Channel Diversification (00:10:23)
Describes switching to Walmart for cheaper CPCs and the impact on overall revenue.
Using Data for Dayparting and Efficiency (00:11:31)
Jeff explains using conversion and CPC data by hour/day to optimize ad spend and efficiency.
Three Actionable Takeaways for E-commerce Sellers (00:12:32)
Josh summarizes: know your numbers, review metrics monthly/quarterly, and expand channels only after mastering the basics.
Closing and Contact Information (00:15:23)
Jeff shares how listeners can contact him and learn more about AI Commerce.
Links and Mentions:
Tools and Websites
"AI Commerce": "00:00:31"
"Excel": "00:04:26"
"Google Sheets": "00:04:26"
Key Concepts and Metrics
"First Party Data": "00:01:14"
"Cost Per Order (CPO)": "00:03:22"
"Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)": "00:04:26"
"Average Order Value (AOV)": "00:10:23"
"Conversion Rate": "00:10:23"
Transcript:
Josh 00:00:00 Now. I'm super excited to introduce you all to Jeff Campbell. Jeff is a digital marketing veteran and e-commerce entrepreneur and professor at Wake Forest University. His strategic vision and operational approach have led multiple successful business acquisitions and exits. Jeff currently leads AI Commerce, a global digital agency focused on marketplaces and e-commerce, which he co-founded in 2020. So with that introduction, welcome to the show, Jeff.
Jeff 00:00:31 Thanks for having me, Josh. I'm excited.
Josh 00:00:32 What is there anything that you've done with your agency or with previous experience to really start turning a business that the average order for? I guess the average number of orders per customer, instead of it being one, you start increasing it to 2 to 3 because that's where you start to get this flywheel of, all right, I can spend I could even spend more to acquire this customer that it's not even break even. I'm losing money on the front end, but I make it up in the long in the long run. So are there any strategies or advice you would share to our listeners in order to help get those second, third, fourth sales and repeat purchases?
Jeff 00:01:14 Yeah, I can't stress enough how important first party data is, specifically email addresses.
Jeff 00:01:19 So if you can get them to your website to somehow register a product or an, you know, there's some rules with Amazon, you know how how you can get information, what you can stick in the box, etc. but, figure that out because I think that first party data is going to be so crucial for brand owners in the future for targeting as as privacy laws will hopefully come out soon. And, and, and the data sharing of of the platforms are probably going to stay heavily with the platform. So, here and now, rant over about one p data. You know, Amazon and most of these platforms have some sort of retargeting, right. So if you know that you're you're hawking air filters and they go out every three months and you need a replacement. Use your email database if you have it, use some of the the first party data of your platforms. Be it Amazon or Walmart. A lot of that does take some DSP work, which comes with a higher price tag. But retargeting is one strong, strong way to to remind people about the previous purchase and time to to repurchase.
Jeff 00:02:24 I think that's probably the big one. Again, the email relationship and again, having first party data to be able to do that and then from there create and lookalike models. Right. So understanding the behaviors of those folks and starting to target people, to make maybe their first purchase because they look a lot, a lot like or they act and behave like, past purchasers of yours too. Works really well for that initial. And then you can retarget them as well.
Josh 00:02:49 Yeah, it makes great sense. I love that now, Jeff. I would love to dive in further into these profitability or just overall metrics that people should be tracking that become those mile markers that lead to scale. And let's dive deep into what each of those, you know, metrics mean and how, you know, let's say take an an Amazon e-commerce seller today, how they should be tracking them now, and maybe some of the tools they should be using to make sure that they're setting up the correct foundation.
Jeff 00:03:20 Sure, sure.
Jeff 00:03:22 so, you know, I, I'd really look at making sure you are tracking the standard, you know, impressions, clicks, click through rate, you know, cost, CPC, etc.. we always want to look at that variability as CPC. That's really important. some, some of the other ones, the new to brand metrics where you can get them, the cost per orders and kind of go into that customer acquisition cost and LTV. so CPO cost per order is, is important. and then as we as we know, especially with Amazon and some of the other marketplaces are starting to do this. The reliance and relationship between paid and organic. The more you pay to get some keyword wins, the more you're going to see yourself organic. So you have to compile some of those sales from both paid and organic channels against the cost of the advertising, because there is a relationship there. So looking at that total Roas or that total ACOs or tacos, as the hungry people like to say is important as well.
Jeff 00:04...
