How often have you heard of this phrase that “being a good detective means good business?”
This means doing mystery shopping looking for inspirations, uncovering needs, or checking out your competition.
On top of mystery shopping, keeping a pulse of what’s going on with online commerce big trends can help you see where things are going and their implications.
In this blog, we want to share some detective work we did on 2021’s online shopping that’s going to excite you — identifying possible gaps in online commerce that could mean new business opportunities.
Here’re some nuggets from a recent report* that we’ve researched:
- 2021 Global ecommerce sale = US$4.89 Trillion => 2024 Global ecommerce sale = US$6.4 Trillion
- Convenience and competitive prices are two key factors people choose to buy online.
- Customer online buying journey begins with Google and Amazon searches.
- Amazon, Alibaba, eBay account for 50% of global sales in 2018, and is expected to increase even more post pandemic.
- People are increasingly buying their groceries online, and will continue to do so even post COVID.
- 62% buys online at least once/month, 26% once/week, 3% once/day.
- Most shopping card abandon rate is due to high extra costs, including lack of transparency on shipping costs, taxes, and fees.
These stats lay out a partial view on what online shopping landscape may look like. As a consumer, I’ve personally experienced some gaps in my buying journey that could be addressed.
For example, my recent experience with Amazon’s grocery buy wasn’t great. It created frustration for me. Their product took longer to deliver. The seller didn’t have good communication about product delivery delays, and their costs is 25% higher than if I were to get them from the store directly.
Another example would be a lack of transparency on shipping costs, taxes and fees at the check-out stage, when we had to abort our shopping cart and go elsewhere.
This is the case of my recent online transaction with Walmart, which I later changed to purchase at Bed, Bath and Beyond, because Walmart’s delivery mechanism did not recognize a campus address with a mailbox number.
There are so many little things that could go wrong in the shopping journey, from customers deciding on things to put into their shopping cart to pushing the check-out button and confirming the purchase.
In sum, as a consumer, I see lots of gaps that these big companies have in their online commerce operations. One bad experience could shake my trust of the company if they don’t pay close attention to win back my loyalty.
With that said, I believe all business owners have the opportunity to do deeper dives into these issues that I’ve experienced from online shopping. See if you have any bold ideas that could solve the problem and make it a profitable business.
Be a good detective and keep an eye on stats and trends in areas where customers experience pain or frustration. You’ll be amazed with uncovered opportunities. They could mean new business revenues for you.
*Source: Online Shopping Stats by Maryam Moshin, Oberlo, June 2021
Photo courtesy: Tamanna Rumee of Unsplash
Does a purse need to be used completely as a purse? As consumers, do we ever imagine a product that could go beyond its conventional use? I believe some of us do!
This belief of maximizing a product’s utility and its lifecycle to the fullest extent has been the underpinning guidepost that drives the birth of Sumsaara’s products, a young start-up company, led by a mother-and-daughter team, Mini Bansal and Jannat Saxena. Saxena is a San Jose graduate in Design. She is also a recipient of the Los Altos Mayor Award at the Los Altos Rotary Art Festival in 2018.
Turning Passion into a Real Business
The three-year old start-up has a great passion in creating and designing everyday consumer products that are versatile, aesthetically-pleasing, and environmentally-responsible.
According to Saxena, their company’s vision from the beginning is to be creative and establish themselves as an innovative brand. They’ve created a rich product portfolio consisting of their Essence Collection, from an evening purse and card wallets to tray puzzles, do-it-yourself jewelry kit, and reversible accessory belts. They take design thinking holistically in that every product which they’ve designed goes through a rigorous refinement process, from its initial form to its final best.
“Every single product is handcrafted, made in small batches. We select materials that are environmentally-friendly, ranging from cork fabric and wood to the packaging of our products,” said Saxena. “Because of our product’s versatility and its multi-faceted usage, each item is unique and can be adapted as a displayable work of art, or be re-used and made into a new creation by end users.”
Their products’ re-usability adds the carbon-footprint reduction dimension that most consumers these days look for and appreciate in responsible companies.
Saxena and Bansal said Sumsaara’s products make their customers happy and bring a smile to their faces, making them great gifts for families and friends.
Expanding Portfolio into Multi-Folds
The pandemic has helped Sumssara evolve their product focus from creating items that are stylish and easy to carry, to items that their customers can enjoy making at home with their friends and families.
Their next plan is to introduce additional new items to allow their customers to be the “creators” as well. Taking their base product framework and letting customers create things the way they want them. This concept is in lockstep with today’s emerging trend of “the creator economy,” where consumers who are users of the product can build and showcase products of their own.
When we asked Sumsaara to reflect on their journey and lessons learned through the pandemic, they believe that their success rests on the fact that they started small. By building clientele and satisfying early customers through solid products and efficient customer service, they were able to sustain with more new sales, repeat buys and referrals that will allow them to scale and go big when they are ready.
In the future, the duo hopes to open a studio to help young adults with designing and manufacturing their own products, using the approaches that they have gathered and curated in their business, and encouraging others to follow their dreams and make things happen.
Sumsaara will have a booth at the Los Altos Arts & Wine Festival in September. For more information, visit www.sumsaara.com. Sign up for their newsletters to get updates on new product releases, and their participation in other fine craft events in the Bay Area.
**An edited version of this article is also published in the Los Altos Town Crier June 2021 online and digital editions. **
(Check out Our Quick, 3-minute clip from the Workshop)
“I don’t know anything about Personal Branding. A topic that I have avoided in my entire career. I did not know that it’s about messaging, social media, and platform. So, this has been very educational for me.”
~ Sam, Business Coach ~
A couple of months ago, I taught a Personal Branding Workshop to an intimate group of BerkeleyHaas alumni attendees who were eager to evaluate and improve their personal branding efforts. Audience took away valuable, personal branding arsenals that they can apply right away.
Here are top 3 takeaways for attendees:
- You need a road map. Don’t leave your personal brand to chance. Control your narratives.
- You need to be intentional. Invest your energy and time in the right places to create impact.
- You need to start with an anchor. Use the anchor content/channel as your springboard that leads to greater reach and exposure.
Questions from the audience prompted me to offer the following specials. They are intended to help entrepreneurs and founders who have yet launched their products or started their companies, and that they don’t have strong digital footprints nor strong human networks.
These specials offer exceptional values. They will transform how you define who you are, inject focus and disciplined in being strategic on how you build your personal brands with a clear roadmap. The outcome could help you attract early adopters, raise additional funding, or find great people to join your team.
Personal Branding Lite (Strategy Session Only): $700
Sign up and enjoy our introductory pricing
What you’ll get:
- Discovery and assessment on current personal branding challenges
- Identify and address gaps with recommendations
- Strategize Personal Branding roadmap focus and determine execution priorities
- A 30-day follow up on execution progress and make adjustments
Personal Branding Premium ( Monthly Coaching Session): $1,400 (Fee for first month. Subsequent months will enjoy reduced fees)
Sign up and enjoy our introductory pricing
What you’ll get:
- Develop a 90-day Personal Branding roadmap, including content topics and channel strategy
- Guidance on how to create engaging content and marketing assets
- Content review and feedback (email/phone calls combo, 2x/month)
- A bonus 30-day follow up on execution progress and make adjustments
Introductory pricing good through December 9, 2021. Contact us if you have any questions.
Why Content Marketing?
These days, we all need a content marketing calendar, regardless of what you sell, or size of your business.
We need content to drive our marketing messages and customer engagement through various channels: from blogs and emails to social media and podcast.
If you are a small business owner, you are probably the content owner. Or, you may have a small team who can help you with creating, posting, monitoring and analyzing your content distribution results.
How do you ensure everyone gets onto the same page? By creating a content marketing calendar could just be the answer.
How do you then create a robust content marketing calendar?
Let me share some Pro-Tips based on my own experience.
7 Pro-Tips for a Robust Content Marketing Calendar
1. Identify themes for the year across your business
These are topics or news that you are passionate about following. You want to share them with your audience consistently because they speak to your brand and what you care about. They can be organic, unplanned, fresh content that you want to share, repost, or have deeper conversations with.
2. Align your content with product launches, major sales and marketing events
These are priorities for your business and can benefit from planning. Use a monthly calendar to plan out how you want to launch these activities. You want to give enough time to stage and distribute them in various social media and digital marketing channels in a coordinated effort. For example, one of my initiatives this year is to talk about “Becoming an Entrepreneur.” I will be creating a series of blogs and social media posts in a story-telling fashion that will lead to several workshops that I will be launching in the spring of 2021.
3. Assign content developers and owners
Typically, in a small-team environment, you may be the content owner and developer. It could work to your benefit because you own the brand. You would want to own your voice and represent the real person behind your product. Given enough planning and execution time, this task is not as daunting as it sounds.
4. Plan content details a month or two in advance
With planning, you have a bit more time to create or find images for your blogs, social media posts, or do a video production. For examples, I use Ubersuggest to find key words to be included in my blog post. Google Keyword Planner is another great tool on keyword search. I love using Unsplash.com to find ready-images that I can use for my blogs and social media posts, as long as you give credits to the photographers. Canva.com is another option to use your own images to create great social media and digital content.
5. Be intentional and consistent with your posting
Don’t post and run. If your intention is to engage in that channel, e.g., LinkedIn, Instagram, or Pinterest, don’t just post your content and run. Make sure you spend time engaging consistently with other people’s posts besides those of your own, and give your deepest thoughts to what they say. You will be surprised how much the engagement strengthens the relationships within your community before you can start doing social selling.
6. Repurpose content to extend reach
You don’t have to create different images or content for different media. For example, your Instagram post can be shared in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest with a slight modification to the copy, tone, and images. Because each medium has its own personality and demographics, you want to maximize your reach and exposure, tuned to the channel’s user makeup and its strength.
7. Monitor and review your channel and Google analytics
Check in with analytics offered by each social media channel. Also review your Google analytics to monitor overall traffic from your digital media assets. See where your efforts are giving you most gains. Monitor indicators that make sense based on objectives of your websites (e.g., ecommerce vs. non-ecommerce). Then modify your content based on data, your business and marketing goals.
By following these tips, you can develop your own content marketing roadmap with consistency, investing time and energy in the right places. And that’s an important step in making your marketing sustainable in this digital age.
** An edited version of this article will appear in the Los Altos Town Crier Business Matters Column **
2020 was a tough year in terms of helping clients survive the storm brought by the pandemic.
Because of my work as a business advisor for the San Mateo Small Business Development Center (SBDC), I was able to lift many clients up and created amazing impact for many small businesses.
Collectively, clients were able to access relief fund at state and federal levels. As a result, they were able to keep their business afloat. Some were able to pivot online or plan an exit strategy.
Total relief fund accessed: $125K
Total incremental sales achieved: $400K
Total jobs retained: 14
Total new jobs created: 8
Phenomenal, I could not be happier!
We are offering a High-Value Business and Marketing Igniter Coaching Program
Starting January 2021!
Only 3 Seats Available
Trial Pricing: $750/person (for 8-weeks)
(A total value of $1,850/person)
First Kick-off Zoom Coaching Session: Jan 26, 11am-12:30pm PST
Missed it? Sign up to get updates on when our next coaching program is going to be.
Are you a busy professional transitioning out of corporate because of burned out?
Do you want to go after your passion and start your own thing?
Do you want to make it crazy good and impactful in 2021? I’d love to work with you!
High Value, Business and Marketing Igniter Program (BMIP)
Give me 8 weeks, and I’ll give you a high-value coaching program that’s fun, focused, based on your strengths and satisfies your deepest needs.
What You’ll Get
You’ll walk away with an awesome experience:
- Enjoy the most productive, 8 weeks of high-caliber business and marketing coaching in your life, experience a full burst of energy, creativity and mental boost.
- You’ll feel free, knowing that you’ve unpacked your most powerful ideas, developing a clear roadmap with focused efforts to test and prepare for your big launch, and making it fundable.
- You’ll feel happy and fulfilled, knowing you are investing intentionally by working with right resources who can help you get there.
How It Works
Phase I: Idea & Business Igniter
Date: Jan 26 – Feb 16, 2021 (4 weeks)
- 1.5 hours of intimate, small group coaching and engaging discussion to align your vision and personal goals to begin your awesome entrepreneurial journey.
- Followed by a 60-minute, 1:1 individual coaching tailored to your needs, and get you ready to work on a clear strategy and plan to execute on your idea.
- Up to 3 voice mail/email/text to address individual questions.
Phase II: Focused Marketing Booster
Date: Feb 23 – March 16, 2021 (4 weeks)
- 1.5 hours of intimate, small group coaching and engaging discussion. Develop a business and marketing launch roadmap using “Lean Canvas” approach.
- Followed by a 60-minute, 1:1 individual coaching to help you refine your Lean Canvas plan, and put you in full control with a clear strategy and focused efforts to launch your product.
- A bonus 45-minute 1:1 to help you finalize your Lean Canvas framework and prepare for a 1-minute pitch to your peer group
- A 45-minute peer-to-peer review to allow each participant to pitch their ideas and get feedback to make it fundable.
Free giveaway: A simple workbook to capture your ideas and coaching session discussion.
Would you take me up on this offer?
Yes, sign me up! Email jenny@jennyhuangmarketing.com. Put “Let’s Make Waves” in the subject headline.
I will share out program schedule and payment details to committed sign ups.
 (An edited version of this article will be published in the Los Altos Town Crier in December 2020)
The extended pandemic calls for businesses to invest in online tools that will enable them to engage with existing and prospective customers in more effective manners. Today, businesses not only need to have functional websites, they also need their websites to be ready in understanding their customers’ browsing behaviors, and responding to live inquiries instantly, without long delays that could turn prospects away.
That’s where marketing automation comes in – an enabling tool that engages with visitors who come to your website and have a way to identify their interest level. Then direct them to the right places to get answers and help, and move them along their buying journey.
Enhancing User Experience
With consumers having more conversations online via websites and social media channels, marketing automation tools on your website need to be multi-faceted beyond live chat. Depending on what stage of the buying cycle that your customers are in, some may feel more comfortable if they can choose how they want to engage with your brand. For example, someone who is still searching for solutions may want to watch a demo video instead of being pushed to chat to a representative right away. While others may be beyond their initial searches, and are ready to ask hard questions comparing a short list that they already have in mind.
There are many website marketing automation tools that do well in engaging with customers. Ones who can help businesses achieve greater results take into consideration of using technology that involves artificial intelligence and live human interaction to solve simple to complex issues.
Livehelp, Acquire, and ZyraTalk are a few SaaS marketing automation tools that I’ve researched and studied. Each varies in flavor based on their offerings and types of customers that they are serving. Among the three, I’ve had the best experience with ZyraTalk because they filtered my chat conversation and learned questions that I asked were beyond what a typical bot could do. They directed me to connect with a live human if needed. That’s how I was connected to their Chief Marketing Officer, Bradley Scruggs, for further exploration of their tool.
Going Beyond Live Chat
ZyraTalk is a game changer in the SaaS marketing automation space. Their platform automates webchat, Facebook Messenger conversations, and SMS conversations with 95% of them fully managed by AI-based technology. Once a conversation is completed, a customer service representative of the business using ZyraTalk can come in and take care of major issues.
“We help businesses engage with prospects the first time they set foot on a website, using our AI-powered webchat. After a business completes a job, messaging goes out to the customer to capture a review. It may seem that the relationship would end there, it doesn’t,” said Bradley. “We’ve taken a step further to keep customers continuously engaged with the business even after a job is done. Automated messaging goes out on behalf of the business allowing them to stay top of mind and strengthen trust with their customers over time, which could eventually lead to incremental sales.”
According to Bradley, ZyraTalks’ larger goal is to help companies be more efficient, by allowing them to offload their engagement with customers using an omnichannel AI-based platform. This helps a business’ employees so they can redirect their energy in additional revenue-generation roles.
Companies, however, are still responsible for all of their marketing efforts. “ZyraTalk’s webchat has proven to increase online lead conversions significantly.” said Bradley. “One notable customer story is that we’ve helped a $20 million home-service company increase their online revenue by $400K, from that of previous year. This is one of our many success stories.”
Recently, ZyraTalk has expanded their Growth Engine beyond chat to include additional product offerings with review automation and re-engaging with past customers, which have already proven to be a big game changer for their customers.
ZyraTalk powers thousands of local businesses nationwide. They are keen about helping local services companies in Silicon Valley get better business results. “We plan on ramping up our marketing efforts in early 2021, specifically in the Silicon Valley area, because customers in this area are naturally more excited about the technology,” said Bradley.
For more information about ZyraTalk, visit www.zyratalk.com
 Marketing Transformation– The Focus Part
Now that you’ve taken your business through the initial fun process, let’s put your thinking cap on and build an initial framework to start transforming your marketing today!
*First, Know your niche. Identify your target audience who would love what you have to offer. Then go deep into the type of person (people) who would appreciate most of what you are offering.
*Second, Find your edge. You know what you are good at, and what you are passionate about in helping your customers. Go find and sharpen that edge.
*Third, Create impactful solutions. Develop solutions that are just as meaningful for you as they are impactful for your customers.
*Fourth, Craft awesome marketing. Focus on tried-and-true methods that you are excited about. Make it bulletproof like a launch where you have pre-in-progress-post phased approaches.
Lastly, stitch all of these together. You will have an initial framework to further refine and begin the marketing transformation for your business.
 Marketing Transformation – The Fun Part!
2021 will be here in a blink!
2020, despite its ups and downs, gives us the best pathways to learn how to handle fast-changing consumer behaviors with onset of COVID.
It’s also a year that gives us the best springboards to test, launch creative business and marketing ideas to help our customers stay relevant, and extend great experiences to their customers.
2020 has accelerated us to think bigger about our business, and be bolder with our marketing and customer experiences that we want to cultivate. It prepares us for transformation in marketing.
And it has definitely transformed how I think I need to market my business.
To transform, we need to step out of our comfort zone, and take our aspirations to a higher level, with vested interests and focus efforts. So we can visualize what that transformation may look like.
To get there, let’s first dive into The Fun Part!
Take your business through this initial process:
*Reflection: Take a day of two off and clear your mind from all the clutters
*High Fives: Assess your 2020 progress and give yourself a pat on the back or high fives. Celebrate with a glass of wine or what makes you tickle about the good that you have done.
*Aspirations: Be present with your professional and personal aspirations that you have for next year. Unload them onto paper.
*Kick Ass: Align your aspirations with your business model and brand. Let’s go kick some ass with our next marketing tips.
Stay tuned for more…
Berkeley Innovation & Entrepreneurship (Virtual) Forum
Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020, 6-9pm PST (Nov. 15, 2020, 10-1pm Beijing Time)
I am thrilled about sharing my knowledge on personal branding at the Berkeley Innovation & Entrepreneurship Forum. It’s a privilege to be a keynote among a roster of esteemed leaders and speakers.
Get agenda details and register here (cost is free):
https://lnkd.in/gT56kr4
Hope to see you there.
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