Calla Shoes’ Winning Formula: SEO, Customer Feedback, and Strategic Partnerships (episode 606)
Jennifer Bailey is the CEO Founder at Calla Shoes, sellers of women’s shoes for bunions, wide feet and problem feet. Founded in 2016 they now sell via their Shopify store and are on track for £2million in sales this year.
In this episode, Jennifer reveals how Calla Shoes grew from a personal frustration into a £2 million global eCommerce brand. Discover the customer-first mindset, SEO strategy, and partnership approach that helped the business scale to customers in 92 countries while staying laser-focused on solving a real problem.
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Dive in:
[06:15] Embracing constant learning in eCommerce
[07:49] Global marketing on a budget
[10:09] Searching for wedding shoes with bunions
[13:15] Embracing unique needs in footwear
[16:43] Listening to customer feedback
[20:50] Collaborations with podiatrists and influencers
[23:02] Listen to Jennifer’s Top Tips!
Build Around a Real Customer Problem
Calla Shoes exists because founder Jennifer Bailey could not find stylish shoes that worked for her bunions. Instead of accepting the problem, she built a business around solving it. That focus helped her stand out in a crowded footwear market. Many eCommerce brands try to sell to everyone. Jennifer’s story shows that solving one specific problem exceptionally well can create a loyal customer base and a strong brand.
SEO Is Still One of the Best Long-Term Growth Channels
When Jennifer launched Calla Shoes, she had almost no marketing budget. That forced her to focus on SEO, organic content, social media, and community engagement. Nearly a decade later, organic traffic remains one of the company’s biggest growth drivers. While paid advertising costs continue to rise, SEO keeps delivering customers over time. The lesson is simple: investing in organic visibility can create a sustainable foundation for growth.
Customer Conversations Reveal What Data Can’t
One of Jennifer’s biggest advantages is her commitment to speaking directly with customers. She regularly gets on the phone and listens to their experiences, frustrations, and needs. Those conversations have influenced product development and even led to best-selling products. Analytics can tell you what customers do. Direct conversations help you understand why they do it. The most valuable insights often come from listening rather than measuring.
Let Customers Shape Your Product Strategy
Jennifer admits that some of her early assumptions about customer needs were wrong. She believed customers wanted fashionable high heels, but many were looking for simple everyday shoes. Instead of sticking to her original vision, she followed the feedback. That customer-led approach helped Calla Shoes develop products people genuinely wanted to buy. For eCommerce brands, growth often comes from adapting to customer demand rather than trying to create it.
Partnerships Can Accelerate Trust and Growth
Calla Shoes has grown through strategic collaborations with podiatrists, influencers, and complementary brands. These partnerships help the company reach new audiences and build credibility. Recommendations from trusted experts carry far more weight than traditional advertising. The strategy works especially well in specialist markets where trust is critical. This episode offers a great look at how partnerships can become a powerful customer acquisition channel when approached the right way.
eCommerce Book Top Tip
- Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight
eCommerce Traffic Top Tip
- Invest in SEO early. Jennifer credits organic search as a major growth driver and believes it provides a sustainable foundation when paid advertising costs are high.
Tool Top Tip
Carbon Top Tip
- Embrace the circular economy. Calla Shoes reduces waste through a resale marketplace for pre-owned shoes and a repair service that helps extend product life.
Interview links
Related Episodes
- How Vivobarefoot Achieved Astronomical Growth and Scaled to 8 Figures (episode 480)
- Dubs: From a Lockdown Idea into a Booming, Award-Winning Brand with Stuart Davis (episode 505)
- From $6M to $68M: The Xero Shoes Strategy Behind 10x DTC Growth (episode 577)
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