04. Today and Tomorrow in E-commerce Marketing with Ben Zettler from Ben Zettler Digital Media

In this episode of E-Commerce with Coffee?! we interview Ben Zettler of Ben Zettler Digital Media. Listen to the episode to hear about his start in managing the online presence of professional athletes, and how he then moved to digital consultation and e-commerce for brands on Shopify.

The expertise Ben acquired from all this hyper-niche experience informed everything he’s done since then—and that’s been a lot.

Since starting his own e-commerce consultation firm, Ben has worked with hundreds of brands selling on Shopify. He’s worked with established companies who are just migrating from another e-com platform to Shopify, and he’s also helped build brands from the ground up.

Some of the topics Ben touches on in this episode include marketing channels, dropshipping, and the KPIs a brand on Shopify really needs to know.

Ben has some interesting advice on market saturation, too. This, mind you, is coming from a guy who successfully started and sold his first online sunglasses brand in just a few short years.

This episode of E-Commerce with Coffee?! covers a lot of ground for the brands interested in ramping up their online strategy with Shopify. Hear what Ben has to say!

What to listen for:

• Ben's preferred hot beverage is tea, not coffee—that still has caffeine, right?
• Ben also talks about the evolution of Shopify from when he opened his store (number 41,000 on the platform, compared with the 2 million storefronts there now)
• Social selling is something Ben talks a lot about, namely the shift from idle scrolling to “discovery shopping”
• Ben then explains the marketing channels you “own” and how they're more relevant today than ever
• According to Ben, the name of the game in marketing these days is to get users interested enough in what you're saying that they'll opt-in
• 99% of the brands Ben works are on or moving over to Shopify, which gives him extraordinary insights into best practices on the platform
• Ben also talks about “overthinking” the saturation of your market—because it doesn't necessarily happen that way (and Ben explains why)
• There was a recent craze for dropshipping businesses, but Ben has seen why this doesn't work—listen to how he talks about getting behind unique products instead
• Unless you're getting 20% or more of your sales from email and text marketing, Ben talks about the opportunity that your brand is missing
  

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