Marketplace Jungle

Today’s guest doesn’t yet sell on Amazon. Nor does she have a team of marketplace experts at her side. In fact, until fairly recently, she was still working at HSBC while getting her first foray into eCommerce up and running, and it’s this fresh perspective into D2C eCommerce along with an impressive work ethic which has helped her to turn an idea for doing some good in the world into a 6 figure eCommerce business. Lucy Jeffrey [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucy-jeffrey/] is the founder of Bare Kind [https://barekind.co.uk/]; an ethical socks company which dedicates 10% of all profits to various animal charities around the world. For Lucy & Bare Kind, marketplaces play a key role in helping to keep the dream alive; but unlike most D2C brands you hear about, this isn’t an Amazon-first business; it’s questionable if that would even align with the ethical standards set by their brand. Instead, Bare Kind have found their success from a surprising source; B2B marketplaces such as Faire & Ankor Store. So much so that one of Lucy’s biggest problems - not unfamiliar to an Amazon seller - is that too much of their revenue is coming from one external channel. In this episode, we talk about the risks that entails, as well as Lucy’s experience on getting to this point. Expect to learn; * How Lucy managed to turned a side hustle into a 6-figure business * What steps Lucy takes to balance cashflow when 60% of the revenue comes in November & December * How Bare Kind were able to start selling on Etsy despite not offering handmade products * Why selling on B2B marketplaces should be a no-brainer for any D2C brand * Lucy’s experience finding agents and distributors to continue expanding their business internationally, and her criteria for finding the right partners for this * Why lead generation is an essential part of selling on B2B marketplaces, and how Lucy finds potential customers who she can drive towards these I hope you get a lot from of this episode, but if you want more, Lucy has created a course designed to help other businesses learn how to succeed on B2B marketplaces. You can get 20% off this course with the code JUNGLE20 at www.wholesaleautopilot.com [www.wholesaleautopilot.com].

James Gurd is co-host of the Re:Platform podcast and an experienced consultant in the field of platforming (i.e. switching from one shop system to another). He's helped House of Fraser, Victoria Beckham, Mars, Colgate & more to coordinate their own re-platforming projects, so he's well-positioned to share his tips, tricks & advice to help you figure out which shop technology is best suited to complement your marketplace business. Whether you're just getting started with shop number 1, or looking to upgrade as your business scales, James has tips to help you understand which questions you should be asking to figure out which technology is right for your business. Expect to learn: - What the difference is between a content-management system & a shop system - Whether it’s best to use plug-ins from a shop ecosystem or work with external technology and integrations - How to add value to your shop without simply offering discounts left, right and centre - How much customisation you should add to your shop before it starts to take more away than it adds

Being able to reach buyers outside of your home country is one of the major reasons for selling on marketplaces. Amazon offers many solutions to help sellers test out new markets, but by taking a few extra steps to overcome these hurdles yourself, you'll open up a world of new potential sales channels - and that's the purpose of this podcast; to explore the marketplace opportunities beyond Amazon, and what steps are necessary for you to build a successful marketplace business rather than just an Amazon business reliant on FBA. Today's guest is Andy Cooper, head of sales and marketing at Global eCommerce Experts (GEE) - a full-service solution provider, which tackles all aspects of expanding your eCommerce business internationally. In this episode, expect to learn: - Which marketplaces Andy's team see perform best across their 2.5k sellers - Who or what a responsible person is when it comes to setting up shop internationally - What compliance factors you need to take into consideration from business to product and packaging - What you can do to reduce the environmental impact of your products

Jamie Roller is Associate Director of Growth Channels at Dr. Squatch - a 9-figure DTC-first brand who have really nailed not only the Amazon game, but have managed to build a strong international presence through their own DTC website and complement their US business with channels such as Walmart & Target. Dr. Squatch produces high quality, organic men’s health products and have managed to carve themselves out a niche for offering unique products to their growing & loyal audience.

Matthew Ferguson is Co-Founder & Director of Services at Rich Insight, a specialised marketplace agency which helps brands and retailers of all sizes with the day-to-day operations and management of multiple marketplaces. In-house vs agency is always a big topic for marketplace sellers and opting for the latter often leaves sellers with a bad taste. There’s no end of agencies and consultants who claim to offer marketplace expertise only to find out later that they’re only familiar with Amazon, or only with managing PPC campaigns or highly focussed on private label sellers. But for traditional retailers or growing consumer brands, finding an agency which can really manage all aspects of the marketplace business can be challenging. In this episode, expect to learn: - What questions you should ask yourself to help you decide which technology you need to help manage your marketplace business - Why we at eCommeleon ended up entering the saturated Channel-Management space when our original idea was to replace Microsoft Excel for eCommerce businesses - What impact Matt sees AI having on the eCommerce industry - Matt’s advice for building a team to manage your marketplaces and his tips to help you find the right agency if you prefer to take that route