15. Navigating the E-Commerce Technology Landscape with Derric Haynie, Chief Ecommerce Technologist at Ecommerce Tech

Derric Haynie is the Chief Ecommerce Technologist at Ecommercetech.io. He researches and discovers the right apps and software solutions for Shopify stores and brands selling elsewhere in e-commerce. Half of Derric’s day is spent in demos and the other half is spent consulting clients—and it shows! He joined the E-Commerce with Coffee?! podcast for a fascinating conversation about tech and app solutions in e-commerce.

It all started when Derric grew his own e-com tech company and went through over 200 tool demos of other apps as he positioned his own.

Today, especially after 2020 and its whirlwind implications to e-commerce, tech solutions are more important than ever. Yet, most of the tools out there for e-commerce brands either solve problems they don’t know they have or are redundant app-to-app.

That’s where Derric comes in. He advises brands on which tools make sense considering all the unique factors in play. Some tools aren’t made for small brands, for example, and others are made exclusively for them! Still, other tools don’t work if you have over or under a certain sales volume, etc.

Whatever the case for each brand, Derric and his team are there to advise. In this episode of E-Commerce with Coffee?! Derric comes in with all his knowledge to talk about the fast-moving tech landscape. Listen in for his insights on what tools are changing e-commerce and what brands should do about it.

What to listen for:

• Who would want to listen to demos for a living? Derric Haynie, that’s who. Derric spends half his day reviewing tools and the other half advising companies; listen in to hear the full story of how Derric got here.
• Getting buy-in from leadership on new tech solutions is much harder than it should be. Derric offers some wisdom on how to get that buy-in so your business can grow.
• What's in an effective demo? Derric spells that out in the interview. “You have to explain ‘here’s why this is important and here’s how it makes you money,’” Derric says. This answer is far more important than any app’s functionality. “There’s a lot of feature parity right now, so tech companies need to communicate their differentiation factor.”
• Price testing is one of the four “Ps” that Derric says too few brands are doing. Depending on how fast or slowly you want to move inventory, there are ideal times to either raise or lower price points. Derric muses, “everyone's forgetting that you can change your price!”
• “Somewhere between review, loyalty, and SMS [software solutions], most brands are missing at least one of those,” Derric observes.
• Consumers are moving even more into buying with their hearts, and the savviest brands are figuring that out fast. This requires greater transparency and a louder voice about the practices and values important to each brand.
• “Unique, individual brands selling unique, individual products,” Derric repeats. Listen to the full episode for additional tips, predictions, and more!

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