The Six Core Principles of eCommerce Growth with Kunle Campbell, co-founder of Octillion (episode 453)
Kunle Campbell is the host of the 2x eCommerce Podcast, and co-founder of Octillion, a consolidator of ‘clean’ FMCG/CPG brands. AND now he’s the author of the brand-new book “E-Commerce Growth Strategy: A Brand-Driven Approach to Attract Shoppers, Build Community and Retain Customers”.
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Dive in:
[03:44] Failed attempts at writing a book and changing career.
[07:36] Evolving career in digital marketing and eCommerce.
[14:38] Customer-centricity key to understanding and serving customers.
[18:02] Creating habitual buying process for high customer loyalty.
[24:06] Archive.com for managing social media.
Motivation for Writing the Book
Kunle embarked on his book journey as a personal challenge and an aspiration to become a subject matter expert.
Despite initial setbacks, he found renewed motivation when his work on a commerce-focused conference led to visibility and collaboration with Kogan Page, sparking an 18-month journey of creating the book.
A Comprehensive Approach to eCommerce Growth
Kunle’s book looks at eCommerce in a holistic way, extending beyond traditional marketing.
The first chapter deals with the mindset needed for eCommerce growth. It covers the different aspects of growing a business, from marketing and storytelling to customer service and technology.
Kunle emphasizes that business growth involves teamwork and diverse metrics. He wants to help brands by giving them a clear understanding of the different factors needed for sustained growth. This includes customer behavior, data, and the major marketing elements.
The 6 Principles for eCommerce Growth
📈 The customer is front and centre
📈 Optimise experience for habitual purchase
📈 Hone a culture of experimentation and continuous improvement
📈 Channel agnosticism
📈 Brand driven attitude
📈 Cross Functional Growth
Customer-Centric Strategy
One of the core principles highlighted in the book is customer-centricity. This involves understanding customers at two key levels: data collection and psychographic insights. Using this approach helps businesses provide value, anticipate customer needs, and foster loyal relationships.
He also emphasizes the need for systems such as website tracking to understand customer behavior. He says it’s important to guide customers in the right direction, even if the desired outcome isn’t an immediate purchase.
To serve customers effectively, you need to understand their behavior. This includes understanding their triggers, gaining their attention, and engaging them. Putting the customer at the forefront of everything you do as a brand is the main concept behind growth.
Repeat Purchase Behavior
Kunle emphasizes the importance of building repeat business. This involves optimizing the customer experience to encourage customers to repurchase.
He cites real-life examples and suggests that it’s better to focus on consistent buyers instead of always looking for new ones. This approach builds loyalty, like how people tend to stick with familiar brands when shopping.
Holistic Mindset Shift
The six core principles are interlinked and should be embraced collectively. If one is missing, the whole structure suffers. Building a successful eCommerce brand requires adopting all principles, rather than choosing only specific ones.
The principles, such as customer focus, optimizing for repeat purchases, continuous experimentation, channel flexibility, and cross-functional growth, combine to form a solid foundation for sustainable growth.
eCommerce Book Top Tip
- Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters by Richard Rumelt
eCommerce Traffic Top Tip
- Influencer marketing done right, which means it should be performance-driven and reduce friction.
Tool Top Tip
- Archive for turning your socials into profitable channels
- Cogsy inventory management and forecasting tool
Carbon Top Tip
- Invest in high-quality items that are durable, and you’ll naturally buy less frequently. Prioritize quality over quantity because this leads to more sustainable choices.
Interview Links
- Grab a copy of Kunle’s book, E-Commerce Growth Strategy: A Brand-Driven Approach to Attract Shoppers, Build Community and Retain Customers
- Kunle on LinkedIn
- Listen to Kunle’s episode on the Keep Optimising Podcast
- Listen to Kunle and other experts in episodes 307 and 313 of the eCommerce MasterPlan Podcast
Related episodes
- Discover the perfect DTC Playbook with DTC veteran Mike Stevens (episode 390)
- How to Apply All Four Types of Scarcity Marketing with Mindy Weinstein (episode 422)
- Create More Profit with bestselling author Ciara Stockeland of Inventory Genius (episode 441)
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