Hey , 

Happy Tuesday, as you know my plan is to usually get this email out on Mondays, but this weekend I decided to take a day trip with my wife and daughter and go blueberry picking. Turns out, she stopped helping once she learned that she could eat the blueberries right off the tree. So... she definitely had a blast and I did too. Long story short this email is coming to you this morning. Anyways, let's get into it

Last week we discussed retention strategy for retail and received a lot of great feedback. I also got a lot of questions about where people should invest in e-commerce, so I want to tackle that topic today.

PS. If you were forwarded this newsletter, please 

click here to subscribe

. 

Customer Retention in E-commerce

E-commerce retention starts at the moment a customer makes a purchase. There are three critical points in the customer’s post-purchase journey to address: After Purchase, Loyalty, and Advocacy. Let's dive into each of those areas below.

  After First Purchase 

At this point, the customer is taking a risk that your product will satisfy their needs, while aligning with their values. As a company, you need to assuage any anxiety on both of these fears.

Welcome SeriesWelcome new customers with an automated e-mail and SMS sequence using a tool like Klaviyo. It should include:

• Welcome message from the founder

• How to use the product

• Testimonials from other users

I use

Maverick

to create personalized videos at scale for all my customers. Check it out and message me if you want an intro to their founder.

Product ExperienceMake sure you have a top-notch product experience. For food and beverage companies, first and foremost your product should taste great.

Unboxing ExperienceYour product should arrive in good condition, and be what your customers expect or more. Make the experience memorable by matching your branding with the packaging. Use a company like NoIssue to create branded packaging materials.

  Getting to Loyalty

Loyalty starts at the second purchase. Don’t assume the customer will come back on their own, you need to nurture them. The number of customers who purchase twice determines how well your product is satisfying their needs.

Second Purchase E-mail Automation

According to Relo, the average time between orders is 33 days for Food and Beverage companies. Use an automated e-mail to nudge them to purchase again 3-4 weeks after their first purchase. Sometimes you can encourage that second purchase with a discount. While you don’t want to train customers to always expect a discount, getting that second purchase can go along way to building usage habits. 

Personal Outreach

Write a text-only email “from the founder” to help each customer feel individually welcomed. People buy from people they like, so build a connection with each customer. This can still be automated, but try and respond to each outreach.

Rewards Program 

This can be a points based or an automatic system. I recommend sending automated rewards after key purchase milestones ie. (2nd order, 5th order, 10th order) so customers don’t have to do any work to manage their rewards. You can nudge them to get to the next milestone.

  Advocacy 

The best customers are those that not only regularly use your products but tell all their friends about them as well. Encourage your best customers to share your products and reward them. Here are some ideas:

Subscription Upsell 

After the second purchase, encourage your customers to sign up for your subscription plan so they won’t have to worry about running out again. Discounts or free shipping are great motivators.

Referral Program 

Create a referral program that rewards customers with money for each new referral of a friend or family. Incentivize both the giver and the recipient to maximize redemption. 

Video Testimonials 

Ask customers to record a video testimonial and share on social media. Then get their permission to use the video for your paid advertising campaigns. UGC ads are some of the highest converting right now. 

Branded Swag 

Send customers branded swag to wear and use out in public (but please make it really cool)

Let me know what you think about this thinking by sending me an email.

Jordan Buckner

Foodbevy

MANAGE YOUR INVENTORY AND SALES

Starting out, it's easy to track your business in a Google Spreadsheet, but as you grow, everything begins to break. If you've gone through this pain, then you need a management system to track everything from inventory to sales. 

Sherpa ERP

is a business management software for CPG companies that manages:

• Inventory Management

• Ingredient Procurement

• Customer Information

• Manufacturing

• Fulfillment

• Wholesale and E-Commerce Sales

• Financial and Reporting

Pretty much everything in your business. Best of all they have a free plan for emerging CPG brands.

Let me know if this is a problem for you and I can introduce you to their team.

WEBINAR: MASTER YOUR TIME

Wednesday, August 3rd

Do you always feel like you’re running out of time? When I started TeaSquares, my plan was to be acquired in 5 years. It was an arbitrary timeline and put an incredible amount of pressure on me and my team every day.After 5 years we were nowhere close to being acquired and we felt defeated. As entrepreneurs, we set unreasonable expectations that success should happen faster than what’s possible and constantly find ourselves disappointed.

Join me for a webinar with Sari Kimbell, business coach to CPG brands as we discuss mindset strategies on how to master your time.

MASTER YOUR RETAILER DATA

Are you growing in retail but losing a grasp on what's happening with your business? I've found that once you surpass about 100 stores it becomes really challenging to understand what's happening at each one. That's why I recommend using Crisp. 

Crisp is a powerful platform that allows you to build a comprehensive sales dashboard to see all your retail, distributor, and online sales in one place. It's built for emerging brands and used by companies including Mid Day Squares.

How can Crisp Help?

• Measure and increase velocity

• Track and measure distributor chargebacks

• Flag slow-moving stores / cities / regions

• Identify expansion opportunities

It can very easily help you make more money and save costs. We negotiated a special offer with Crisp. Benefits include a

data strategy consultation, reduced pricing, and a free 60-day trial.

NEW PODCAST EPISODE: 49. Build a Brand That Stands for Something

What does your company stand for? Many people think that a brand is your logo, font, and colors, but those are just markers. "Brand" is a promise you make and how you go about making that promise real.Join me as I talk with David Lemley, President of Retail Voodoo as we discuss how to build a brand that stands for something, and why that's central to creating customer loyalty.

Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Podcasts

DISCOUNTS

- Mindful Goods 

is an awesome Amazon expert that can quickly get you started or optimize your pages for strong ROI. 

Get 10% of their services 

 use code FOODBEVY.

- Maverick Lab 

allows you to create individually personalized videos (with a customer's name) welcoming them to your community. Foodbevy members save 40%. Reply to this e-mail for an introduction.

Check out their demo here.

- Chop 

is a

rebate platform

that allows you to drive in-store trial, collect customer shopping data, and build customer profiles to further drive your business. Foodbevy members save 20% off. E-mail me for the discount.

- Stripe 

is now providing $20,000 in fee-free processing for new and EXISTING customers.

Save over $600

The Accountrepreneur 

is your go-to outsourced CPA and CFO firm for the food and beverage industry. Receive

 a free financial assessment + Foodbevy Members get 20% off services for one year.

- Airtable

 can store information in a spreadsheet that's visually appealing and easy-to-use, but it's also powerful enough to act as a database that businesses can use for customer-relationship management (CRM), task management, project planning, and tracking inventory. 

Receive $2,000 in free credits

With your help we're building an amazing community of Food and Bev entrepreneurs helping each other!

Jordan