09. DTC Customer Acquisition with Steve Dinelli, Chief Digital Officer at Barrington Media Group

Steve Dinelli, Chief Digital Officer at Barrington Media Group, joins this episode of E-Commerce with Coffee?! to talk about the direct-to-consumer (DTC) e-com world.

Steve first tells the story of his own surprising trajectory, from starting a customer acquisition firm out of his garage to later arriving at Barrington Media Group with years of high-profile work (and success) to speak to.

The journey taught him many lessons, and over the interview, Steve points to multiple topics where he feels differently now than he did just a few years ago.

The DTC landscape is changing. The cost of customer acquisition has gone consistently up for more than half a decade, and now Steve says there’s no sign of it stopping. The barrier of entry to DTC is now so low, Steve explains, that even teenagers are starting Shopify storefronts and seeing success. The booming competition is what has driven prices up.

Steve explains how hitting the right notes with your target customers only looks simple from the outside. Even the most tangible results are powered by some of the most agile and market-conscientious strategies behind them.

Listen to this episode of E-Commerce with Coffee?! to hear about these key DTC strategies for yourself.

What to listen for:

• Steve tells a fascinating story of how he got into digital marketing and customer acquisition as a “for fun” project on the side, and how it quickly snowballed. Steve’s story is like so many others in digital marketing today because many of the roles the pros have didn’t even exist five years ago.
• Steve then gets into how much lower the barrier of entry is today for online brands. Even teenagers, he says, are getting in on Shopify dropshipping. The lower barrier of entry has come with higher barriers (i.e., more competition and bigger investments) to acquire customers. “I’ve seen things over the last five or six years become a lot harder for DTC brands,” he says.
• The success of other DTC brands seems so tangible to the brands looking in that success in e-commerce seems more easily attainable than it is. With more competition now than ever, Steve breaks down what brands need for their own e-commerce success.
• Steve’s also learned a lot recently about the offline world that fascinates him, like with direct mail. Listen to the episode to hear what Steve says about paper types, envelopes, and other must-consider details that shape how prospects receive a message.
• Steve also has his own two cents on working with marketing agencies who “do it all” versus single-silo experts. He’s had his own evolution in recent years on which he prefers.
• DTC brands need to “start on Facebook and Google,” Steve says. “Get traffic and see if your product is going to work.” Then (and only then) is it time to look at other paid customer acquisition channels and strategies.
• Knowing where your customers come from is the most important part of customer acquisition, Steve explains. Listen to the full episode to hear what he has to add about Google versus Facebook.

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