November 16, 2023
Episode 42

Eli Weiss, Retention @ Yotpo

In this episode, we meet Eli Weiss.

Eli ran Customer Experience at Olipop and Jones Road and recently joined Yoto, as VP of 

Retention and Advocacy.

In this episode, Eli shares his perspective on how to deliver an amazing customer experience in an omnichannel setting. 

Topics covered

  • Omnichannel vs. DTC experience
  • Olipop and Jone’s Road’s omnichannel presence
  • The value of an omnichannel customer
  • Customer experience 
  • Impact of brand hype on customer purchase behavior

Takeaways

  • In retail, discovery to purchase lifecycle can be very quick, i.e. you see something and buy it right away, whereas the online journey has many different touchpoints. 
  • Omnichannel for Olipop and Jones Road were very different because Olipop is primarily meant to be consumed cold after purchasing in retail, versus Jones Road, which was primarily DTC with a few of their own stores. 
  • The commonality of each brand's omnichannel approach is giving the customer the experience and journey that they want, vs. obvious attempts to sell which are cringeworthy.
  • You can learn a lot from looking at existing customers' omnichannel journey data. Eli did this via Peel Insights
  • Another way is to learn directly from the customer. Eli conducted 60 hour-long Zoom interviews to understand why shoppers cross from DTC to retail, and vice versa. 
  • Eli shares that Jones Road’s omnichannel customer was a substantially higher value than single-channel purchasers. 
  • Retail 1st customers often have higher LTV because they get sales assistance instore and figure out what they want to buy repeatedly. Brands should strive to replicate that experience online 
  • QR codes are not necessarily a repeat purchase mechanism but a customer journey mechanism.
  • Jones Road replicated some of that sales-assisted experience with quizzes. 
  • Education was also critical to make sure customers received the right product for them and knew how to use it
  • The shortcut for product education is having a “cool” product. Because Olipop’s strong branding, the bar to educate customers on product benefits at times was way lower. The hype got people excited to drink it. 
  • Olipop was very successful at marketing it as an indulgence product 
  • If you want to perfect your omnichannel presence, talk to customers about what they love and hate about your product
  • Customer experience is more than support; its the entire brand experience
  • The most important part of retention is acquiring the right customer
  • Customer experience could roll up to marketing or operations but should roll up to someone with empathy, humility, and curiosity
  • Most brands are sleeping on retention and CX

Please let us know your thoughts about the episode!

Where to find Eli:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eliweisss/

​Website: https://www.eliweisss.com/

Where to find Kait Stephens:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kait-margraf-stephens/

Website: www.brij.it 

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