Eleah Portillo is a Fractional CMO at For Wellness, a performance-based wellness brand. As a marketing consultant for DTC and ecommerce brands, she has 20 years of experience managing growth-driven marketing strategies. Eleah is also an Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurial Marketing at Loyola Marymount University.

In a competitive ecommerce market, simply designating yourself as a luxury brand doesn’t make you one. You must first identify your precise customer demographic, but some brands may misidentify their consumers, leading them to create a dull brand story that doesn’t resonate. How can you specify your target audience and achieve luxury brand status?

As a fractional marketer for wellness brands, Eleah Portillo resonates with companies that have universally relatable and authentic brand stories. She found herself drawn to a company that offers wellness products for golfers despite not having any knowledge of the sport. Achieving this widespread reach requires identifying and focusing on your target customers’ needs and purchasing preferences to establish a direction for your brand story. You must also craft your products to appeal to these demographic components, driving product demand through a community of loyal followers.

Tune in to the latest episode of Ecom Experiences as Samir Balwani welcomes Eleah Portillo, a Fractional CMO at For Wellness, to talk about crafting a luxury brand in today’s ecommerce landscape. Eleah addresses the evolution of media-buying and how to integrate retail media into performance marketing, how to optimize the ecommerce flywheel, and how brands can establish relationships with media-buyers.

Will Prout is the Head of Growth at Titan Casket, which manufactures easily accessible and customizable caskets. As an experienced DTC marketer and growth hacker, he specializes in helping consumers in overlooked industries. Before Titan Casket, Will was the Director of Growth Marketing at Perry Health and the Senior Manager of Paid Acquisition at Fabric Technologies.

Niche spaces like the funeral industry are often hindered by tight buying windows and one-time purchases, necessitating creative marketing campaigns and consumer education. How can you solve these problems to move your startup in the right direction?

Upon entering the funeral industry, growth marketer Will Prout discovered that funeral homes often pressure people to purchase overpriced caskets just before the funeral, leaving them with few choices for planning and customization. By developing fun characters, creating educational social media content, and including celebrity features, Will and his team entice customers to purchase customizable caskets in advance on ecommerce sites. If you’re struggling to educate and market to consumers, you can offer innovative product solutions rather than exhausting all your marketing resources, allowing you to boost sales and streamline growth.

In this episode of Ecom Experiences, Will Prout, the Head of Growth at Titan Casket, joins Samir Balwani to talk about revolutionizing the funeral industry through creative marketing and product strategies. Will explains how he educates consumers on the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) Funeral Rule, the surge of AI in marketing caskets, and the value of continuous learning in niche industries.

Mila Mendez is the Vice President of Digital Media and Ecommerce at RéVive Skincare, a luxury skincare line where she oversees the global strategy and operations of the brand’s online presence and performance. She also collaborates with cross-functional teams and external partners to optimize the customer journey, enhance the brand’s image, and drive revenue and profitability. As the former VP of Ecommerce at Milk Makeup and Laura Geller Beauty, Mila has a track record of growing ecommerce channels and platforms for consumer luxury brands.

Are you struggling to balance high-quality content production, rising acquisition costs, and global ecommerce distribution? How can you keep your existing customers engaged while expanding into new online marketplaces?

Mila Mendez spearheads ecommerce and digital efforts for a luxury skincare brand, so she understands the importance of consumer engagement and education in scaling. Consumer product brands must produce quality, informative content daily, ensuring their messages reach target audiences across multiple channels. Mila accomplishes this by leveraging influencers who specialize in the brand’s sector to build awareness and educate consumers on the products. Once you’ve identified and engaged your target audience, you can expand into new markets by segmenting your customer base and creating exclusive offers.

In this episode of Ecom Experiences, Samir Balwani interviews the VP of Digital Media and Ecommerce at RéVive Skincare, Mila Mendez, about how she scales and innovates in the competitive skincare industry. Mila emphasizes the importance of educating consumers on product value, adapting marketing strategies to various cultures, and maintaining a strong customer base through innovative retention strategies.

Jesse Nuttall is the Head of Ecommerce at Goal Zero, which provides portable, cost-effective power solutions for the Congo. As a senior business leader, he has over 15 years of experience developing digital marketing strategies that have propelled revenue growth for large- and mid-sized companies. Jesse provides strategic thought leadership on digital strategies, revenue growth, partner development, and trends in online channels.

Maintaining your brand’s edge in an increasingly competitive ecommerce landscape can be arduous, especially with disruptive new technology and other industry shifts creating distractions. How can you stay ahead of the curve and position your brand as the go-to option for consumers?

With the advent of AI, augmented reality, and automations, ecommerce leader Jesse Nuttall has become an expert in prioritization. He performs cost-benefit analyses to ensure he makes decisions that propel the business forward amid competition. Some top-priority decisions involve generating brand awareness by building customer relationships and communicating a product’s benefits over similar ones from competitors. With competitors appropriating market share and commoditizing products, positioning your products as superior is vital.

Tune in to the latest episode of Ecom Experiences as Samir Balwani hosts Jesse Nuttall, the Head of Ecommerce at Goal Zero, to discuss tackling competition among technological advancements. Jesse talks about brand differentiation, the importance of networking and being a lifelong ecommerce student, and AI’s impact on the ecommerce industry.

Kaleigh Redington is the Director of Marketing at Zen Habitats, a company that creates innovative reptile enclosures and products, and the Marketing Director at WeGro Co, a pet marketing agency. At Zen Habitats, she transitioned from a Brand Manager to the Director of Marketing in less than two years. Kaleigh has over seven years of experience in UX design and social media, digital, influencer, brand, email, and SMS marketing.

Leveraging niche marketing in a startup can be a rich and valuable learning opportunity for driven professionals. How can you accelerate both brand and career growth using this strategy?

Marketing specialist Kaleigh Redington knew nothing about reptiles and wasn’t the least bit interested in them. Yet she was the first employee on the marketing team of a reptile enclosure startup, spearheading the brand’s growth from a sales boom during the pandemic to a significant decline shortly thereafter. Kaleigh notes the value of community building through creative and educational social content and SMS marketing in sustaining growth in a niche market. This includes affiliate and influencer marketing with industry experts and boosting SEO through informational articles.

In today’s episode of Ecom Experiences, Samir Balwani welcomes Kaleigh Redington of Zen Habitats and WeGro Co, who shares her experience navigating a niche market. Kaleigh talks about the importance of adapting strategies in response to market trends, how to empower your marketing team, and Zen Habitats’ new product offerings.

Andrew Mosko is the VP of DTC, Ecommerce, and Marketing at Juiced Bikes, an e-bike company focused on sustainability and meticulous engineering. With a focus on balancing brand awareness and performance marketing, he has led strategies around promotions, online merchandising, and digital campaigns. With experience in both large and small organizations, Andrew emphasizes data-driven decision-making and fostering an innovative team culture.

The ecommerce space is flooded with innovations and consumer expectations, pushing brands to stay agile amid fierce competition. How can you navigate a market saturated with quick, cheaper alternatives to stay competitive?

Ecommerce and marketing leader Andrew Mosko oversees Juiced Bikes’ response to a competitive e-bike landscape by focusing on product quality, consumer education, and precise engineering techniques. He emphasizes analyzing data to make strategic decisions grounded in consumer trends and marketing campaign performance. To differentiate yourself from the competition, Andrew recommends educating customers on your product’s unique value proposition through clear communication, guiding them to make informed purchases.

In this week’s episode of Ecom Experiences, Samir Balwani sits down with Andrew Mosko, the VP of DTC, Ecommerce, and Marketing at Juiced Bikes. They talk about data-driven marketing strategies and customer engagement for a specialty brand. Andrew also discusses future-proofing your brand, how to stay relevant among rapid growth and competition, and the implications of AI and other technological advancements.

Jennifer Peters is the Senior Manager of Ecommerce at OLLY, a gummy vitamin brand. In her role, she leads the DTC ecommerce program, managing retention, warehouse management, web development, and inventory oversight. Jennifer is adept at navigating the complexities of FDA regulations for supplement branding and excels at finding innovative solutions to emerging challenges in the ecommerce space.

For brands in a highly regulated industry like vitamins and supplements, merging compliance with ingenuity is crucial for achieving growth and customer engagement. How can these brands navigate a turbulent landscape to reach their consumers?

As an ecommerce leader spearheading DTC strategies for a vitamin company, Jennifer Peters has adopted an agile and proactive approach to managing customer acquisition alongside shipping and privacy laws. Her strategies include personalizing the customer experience to differentiate offerings from industry giants and leveraging reviews and feedback to identify new audience segments. Jennifer also advises sharing customer data and insights across internal departments to inform product and marketing strategies.

In this episode of Ecom Experiences, Samir Balwani welcomes Jennifer Peters, the Senior Manager of Ecommerce at OLLY, to discuss tackling industry-specific challenges in ecommerce. Jennifer addresses how to use AI to optimize customer behavior analysis, the importance of customer empathy, and how to maximize ROI from your ecommerce tech stack.

Jen Yu and Alex Penfold are the Co-founders of Jaxon Lane, an award-winning California-based skincare brand. After Alex became dissatisfied with existing men’s skincare products and began using Jen’s products instead, the husband and wife team founded Jaxon Lane to offer high-performing skincare for men. Jen is also the Business Enablement Lead of Google’s food division.

In a market saturated with countless choices and fleeting trends, standing out with genuinely superior products could be the difference between temporary success and establishing a legacy brand. How can brands achieve this competitive edge?

Husband-and-wife duo Jen Yu and Alex Penfold recognized a gap in the skincare market. They began designing effective products using Korean manufacturing techniques and a strategic brand personality. Differentiating your brand and products in a crowded market often requires launching an initial standout product to gain attention and drive consumer interest. Your first product should serve as a baseline for future products that can address unmet needs and connect customers to your brand.

Join Samir Balwani in today’s Ecom Experiences episode as he interviews Jen Yu and Alex Penfold, the Co-founders of Jaxon Lane, about building an innovative and disruptive skincare brand. Together, they talk about the risks and rewards of a long-term growth strategy, how to maintain sales momentum with seasonal products, and the brand’s quick trajectory.