The ONELIVE Podcast - Your Trusted State of Commerce

Hey merchants! Hey shippers!

Welcome back! To week three of ONELIVE SHIPPING SCHOOL. Remember to think of these as 101 intro courses before we get started with more advanced topics like, how to optimize your pick pack, and more industry trends. So far we’ve covered domestic shipping basics, and international shipping basics which you can grab by subscribing to Your Trusted State of Commerce on YouTube and Following the Show on Spotify. Let’s jump right in.

Today’s episode is Consolidated Shipping 101. We’ll be covering the benefits of consolidated shipping, how to find a consolidator, and if this is the right tactic for all or part of your order volume.

For those of you who don’t know what shipping consolidation is it’s the outcome of combining or consolidating multiple small shipments, traveling to the same destination into one full load or as close to a full load as possible. Let’s get started.

Consolidated shipping is great for:

Minimize spending costs: Shippers are able to pay bulk rates since they are shipping multiple products at the same time instead of sending them separately. If you use less space than the truckload you usually get stuck paying for the entire space. This is especially useful for companies who commonly send a couple pallets of product at a time.

Reduce the risk of damage: Damaged goods are still a big problem for shipping platforms. Consolidated shipping can reduce the amount of touchpoints the freight has to go through. There is less loading and unloading of the product due to the reduced number of transfers. It is also better for customers because it is less likely for something to interfere with the delivery process and cause it to be late.

Enhance quality control: If problems come up with a shipment and it has already been shipped, consolidation gives you more control over target dates and production schedules. You can be notified more efficiently if something goes wrong, which makes it less likely for products to be shipped to the wrong destination. This allows for you to execute quality control once the product arrives at the warehouse.

To recap - Although consolidated shipping is not the best option for every business, it holds many benefits that can be valuable for many.

How to find a consolidator

● Do your research on consolidators and which would fit best with your business.

● Think about what’s important to your customers.

● Once you select a consolidator, you’ll want to create an account with them and agree on rates and terms.

Is consolidating right for you?

● This method is most beneficial for someone shipping palletized freight.

● It is required that your pallets are able to move seamlessly across the dock.

● Shippers should have a full understanding of consolidator shipping and how it works to guarantee accurate delivery.

AND SOME IMPORTANT NEWS this is going to wrap up Season 1 of Your Trusted State of Commerce while we take some time to improve the podcast, get more guests, maybe introduce video?? (say quizically); and add more value to your ecommerce and shipping pipeline! This was Haley Muller for SEASON 1 of Your State of Commerce with ONELIVE. See you soon.

Hey all you cool ecommers, I really excited for today’s episode as it’s the first part of what is going to be a brand new shipping series, ONELIVE SHIPPING SCHOOL. We’ll be covering a variety of topics, starting with the basics, like how to choose a carrier and service, all the way to how improve shipping efficiency from an operational standpoint, and the nuances of the key players in the industry.

Today’s episode is Domestic Shipping 101. We’ll go through the main domestic carriers, typical service options, how shipping rates are calculated, shipping materials that you should be using, and essential tools for improving your shipping department.

Main Domestic Carriers: USPS, FedEx, & UPS

USPS (United States Postal Service) is a great and often under-utilized carrier option. They offer two main services – First-Class Mail and Priority Mail. The First-Class service can be used for packages anywhere from 1-16oz, so anything over a pound would need to be booked with Priority Mail. Both of these services have a transit time of 1-3 days. Within priority mail, you also have a few options like using cubic tiers and flat rate mailers – these are going to be especially beneficial if you sell small but heavy products.

FedEx and UPS are the other main domestic carriers. While USPS is often the best option for light-weight shipments, using FedEx or UPS is generally going to be more cost effective when shipments are over 5lbs. Additionally, these carriers are going to have more extensive service options. Ground Service is the standard service for both of these carriers and has a transit time of 1-5 days, but usually averages 3 days. The Ground service is the most cost-effective, but in today’s world, your customers may be expecting a quicker service that gets them the product within 1-2 days. In this scenario, and also if you ship perishables, you may want to utilize FedEx and UPS’ express services. Both carriers offer options for 2-Day delivery, Standard Overnight delivery, and even First Overnight, which gets the package to your customer by 10am the next morning. You may also want to ship with FedEx and UPS if your products are of a high dollar value. While USPS has proven to be very reliable, FedEx and UPS are definitely easier to get in touch with if you ever do have an issue with a shipment.

In addition to these main players, there are also several regional carriers like LaserShip, which focuses on the east coast, and Lone Star Overnight, which is services the southwest region. If your customers are located in the same region that you ship out of, then using regional carriers in addition to the main carriers we mentioned, may be a great option for your shipping department.

Recap: USPS is best for lightweight non time-sensitive shipments. FedEx and UPS are better for products that weight more than 5 pounds or are time-sensitive.

How Rates are Calculated: Zone, Weight, & Surcharges

Ship Zone is determined by the carrier and is the distance between the origin and destination addresses. If you’re shipping within your state or region, you may have a zone 2 or 3 shipment. If you’re shipping across the country, it’s probably a zone 8 shipment. The higher the zone, the higher the ship price.

Hey all you cool ecommers, I hope you’re doing well.  We’ve already discussed the value of using Print on Demand especially during this time of economic uncertaining, but this week we want to get more focused and tell you why you should be using the Print on Demand service, Merch by Amazon. 

Last week we talked about why expanding into different marketplaces is important because it allows you to get more potential customers viewing your products, it allows you to pitch your product in a different way based on the channel you’re using, and it gives your business more security, in the event that you run into an issue with one of your marketplaces.  Well these reasons also hold true for why you should move the print on demand part of your business to Merch by Amazon. 

Merch by Amazon 

Merch by Amazon is Amazon’s Print On Demand solution that makes it simple for you to get started selling your branded merchandise directly from your product page on Amazon.  We already know that Amazon has millions of visitors every day, so using their POD product means that you’re able to take advantage of their customer reach, combined with the great benefits of POD solutions.  With Merch by Amazon, there are no out-of-pocket costs to getting started with this service, you have incredibly low overhead and low risk in selling these branded products.  When getting started with Merch by Amazon, you’ll be placed in tier 1, which restricts your uploading maximums, until you sell a certain amount of items.  So essentially, the more you sell, the more designs you’ll get. If you’re already working with ONELIVE for our ecommerce services, chances are, you’re already using our own POD app, MerchCast, which allows you to quickly design and sell your branded products.  If you’ve already invested time and effort to develop some brand images, there’s absolutely no reason not to also be using Amazon’s POD services.  So let me tell you how Amazon and ONELIVE have teamed up to make Merch by Amazon successful for you. 

ONELIVE + Merch by Amazon 

Merch by Amazon is part of the Amazon Music’s initiative to provide the world’s best merch offering, focusing on authenticity, fan relevance, and connecting artists with all of their fans.  All that to say, Amazon has been highly selective when accepting new applicants for the Merch by Amazon program.  But, ONELIVE and Merch by Amazon have partnered up to develop a newly formed Artist Merch team, to help our ecommerce clients every step of the way.  When working with ONELIVE and Merch by Amazon, the Artist Merch team take a white-glove approach to getting you set up with your new POD store.  You’ll have the benefit of being quickly accepted to the program and because you’re part of the ONELIVE network, you’re not restricted to the standard uploading maximums.  We’ll also help you secure a branded vanity URL that’s concise and easily searchable.  We’ve already seen some of our brands sell tens of thousands of orders, strictly through organic Amazon searches, and zero advertising spend.  This tells us that your customers are already on Amazon and want your product, and we’ll help you get it there.

 For more information on ONELIVE’s exclusive partnership with Merch by Amazon, please reach out at podcast@onelive.com. 

Stay healthy everyone, and see you next week.

Hey all you cool ecommers! I hope you’re doing well today.  So here on the podcast, we talk a lot about Shopify-centric topics and it’s no secret that we love the Shopify platform, but it would be remiss if we didn’t tell you about other places you could and should be selling your products.  So today we’re going to cover why you should be selling your product across multiple marketplaces and tell you how you can make it happen. 

The ecommerce climate is incredibly competitive today, as customers know they have multiple options when it comes to getting a single product.  They may know to buy something directly from your brand’s website, but even if they know this, so many consumers will fall back on familiar patterns like searching on google and using google shopping, or just going straight to Amazon or eBay.

Key Advantages of Selling on Multiple Marketplaces 

Selling on these marketplaces will allow you to tap into these consumer patterns, so that you reach more customers that wouldn’t have otherwise seen your product.  To reach the most shoppers, you’ll want to look into marketplaces like Amazon, of course, Google, Ebay, Walmart and there are so many more of these big guys that have tons of consumer traffic and will get your product in front of millions of buyers. 

Diversifying where you sell will also increase your chances of making a sale, and this isn’t just because of the traffic on these marketplaces. Different marketplaces have a different look, a different vibe, and different rules that will all influence how your product is presented to shoppers. This essentially means that you’re able to pitch your product in a different way, and still close the deal. You don’t just have one shot. 

Selling across various marketplaces also gives your business more security. For example, as we all know, Amazon frequently changes their rules, adjusts seller rates, and can just plain suspend your product, and they’re not the only marketplace doing this.  If you’re only selling on Amazon, you could be losing on significant revenues if something like this happens and your only shot for selling the product is lost until you figure it you.  Selling your product in two or even three places, means that if you run into an issue with one channel, you’re still at least able to sell your product elsewhere while you troubleshoot the issue. 

Quipt: A Tool for Selling on Multiple Marketplaces 

These reasons are compelling, but there is also a lot of work involved in selling on different marketplaces, which is why it’s essential that you use the right tools, and here at ONELIVE we’ve partnered with Quipt, a platform that makes selling on multiple marketplaces as streamlined as possible, so you can confidently move forward in increasing your profit and reducing your operating costs. 

Quipt Features: Monitoring Inventory & Listing Products

The Quipt inventory module a ton of useful information for seeing what products you have in stock, cost of goods and recovery of those costs, and the suggested retails price (SRP) that you send to each channel.  From the inventory page, you can also click into each product to see which marketplaces it’s listed on, that channel’s listed price, and more.  From here, you can easily activate or deactivate which channels the product is listed on, simply be moving the toggle to ‘ON’ or ‘OFF’ and filling in the SRP.  Getting your product live on each marketplace is so easy!  Once an item is listed on a new marketplace, you can even schedule things like special pricing promotions.

Go to ONELIVE.COM/START to get started with global ecommerce technology  today.   Email podcast@onelive.com for more info.  You’ve mastered the domestic market,  you’re now noticing consistent  traffic on your site from international IP addresses, and you’ve done  the market research and know there’s demand for your product abroad.   But expanding internationally is complex as you need to know how to  market yourself to other countries, your shop needs to support  international payments and languages, and most importantly, you need to  plan how to give your new international customer the best purchase  experience possible.  Too often, this experience is complicated and  expensive, largely due to the complications of shipping and customs.    In our past episodes we’ve lightly touched on shipping internationally,  but did you know that duties and taxes aren’t part of your shipping  rates and that they aren’t actually calculated by the carrier?  You  receive rates from a shipping partner, like ONELIVE, but duties and  taxes are a whole other thing, and often, these fees are higher than  your actual ship costs, so it’s paramount that you know what you’re  dealing with and can calculate expenses and either adjust your product  prices or your operation budgets accordingly.    Harmonized System & HS/HTS Codes  Duties and Taxes are calculated through different Industry  Classification Systems, but to keep things simple, we’ll focus on the  Harmonized System, which is administrated by the World Customs  Organization, or WCO.  The Harmonized System is an international  classification system that’s used to classify physical products by  assigning unique 6, 8, or 10-digit codes.  These codes are called  Harmonized System codes (HS codes) or Harmonized Tariff Schedule codes  (HTS codes), and allow customs authorities around the world to identify  products accordingly and calculate duties and taxes.  These numbers  consist of three or four sections, separated by periods, with each  section getting more descriptive of the product.  (ex: personal  clothing.t-shirt.white)  Getting these codes correct is important for  making sure your product doesn’t get held in transit and that duties and  taxes are calculated properly.    There are plenty of online resources that can help you find your HS  codes, but the second piece of that is then finding the set duties and  taxes, calculating these for each product on your shop, and monitoring  changes in customs and trade regulations.  This is a lot of manual and  time-consuming work and it’s difficult to get it all right, yet so  important to your ability to expand internationally.  That’s why at  ONELIVE we have an incredible trade partner, Zonos, the #1 duty and tax  technology, that decodes cross-border commerce and wildly simplifies the  international shipping process all the way from the back end of your  store to the customer receiving their product. Zonos: The #1 Duty & Tax Technology  Zonos can classify your entire product catalogue with HS and HTS codes,  which is done automatically when you connect Zonos to your shop, which  we can help with.  Zonos even has patent-pending technology that can  classify your product, simply with an image.  You just upload your image  and it returns an HS code.  How cool is that!  Once Zonos has  classified your products, the application can then calculate duties  & taxes, quote your customers, and aide in the checkout process. Go to ONELIVE.COM/START to get started with global ecommerce technology today.   Email podcast@onelive.com for more info.

Go to ONELIVE.COM/START to get started with global ecommerce technology today. Email podcast@onelive.com for more info.   How does Gatsby work?    Gatsby is an app that connects you to connect with your customers’ Instagram profile data, so you can identify the influencers and micro-influencers in your customer base.  Gatsby provides a field for your customers to add their Instagram handle, which can be added to your Klaviyo pop-up, checkout page, or many other places in your Shopify store. Influencers are incredibly valuable for increasing your brand awareness, but micro-influencers can be a hidden power house. Gatsby defines micro-influencers as Instagram users that have over a thousand followers.  By expanding your understanding of who has influence, you’ll find that you have more influential customers than you may have anticipated, and micro-influencers can be even more valuable for your brand.  This is because on average, micro-influencers have a higher engagement rate than an influencer  with 100,000 followers, for example.  Since micro-influencers likely know the majority of their followers and don’t use Instagram as a key revenue source, their followers will likely perceive their content as more authentic than a macro-influencer or celebrity.    Once you’ve got access to your customer’s Instagram profile data, what are some ways you can use it? A common use-case is to launch a micro-influencer campaign around a specific product.  For example, you can use insights from Gatsby alongside data from Klaviyo and Shopify to identify a group of customers with a specific number of followers that purchased the product you’d like to feature.  You can then send out an email campaign through Klaviyo to invite those targeted customers to mention the product on Instagram. Create an ongoing and fully-automated influencer campaign that is totally hands-off.  You can put your outreach into autopilot by automatically organizing customers into different groups based on Instagram influence. You can then create custom offers to them based on the influencer group they’re in. You can also use a Gatsby dataset to build look-alike audiences in Facebook or Instagram. Influencers and micro-influencers are valuable to brands because of their reach and ability to share information word of mouth.  By building audiences that look like your existing influencers, you’ll likely find more customers that are also influencers. How do you qualify a micro-influencer and how are they incentivized to share your product? About 30-40% of micro-influencers opt in to share your product, but they must first take a brief survey.  Gatsby values authenticity above all else, so the first question on the survey gauges how enthusiastic the customer is about your brand or product.  If they don’t love your brand, they aren’t incentivized to post.  If a customer does express that they love the brand and if you’re able to validate their Instagram information, they’re incentivized to post about your product.  Since you’re working with micro-influencers, the customer usually isn’t looking for a cash incentive.  Instead, brands most commonly offer a discount toward their next purchase, or even inexpensive merch. See more on Gatsby’s blog. Go to ONELIVE.COM/START to get started with global ecommerce technology today.   Email podcast@onelive.com for more info.

I am so glad you’re here this week, because there are some new developments in the ecomm space that we’re chomping at the bit to talk to you about.  So let’s imagine for a minute, what could be if one of the best ecommerce platforms partnered up with the most useful social platform for businesses… well, you’d have the incredible toolset of an online business, and the access to millions of potential new customers.  This week, we’re talking about the newly announced Facebook Shops and their integration with Shopify. That’s right, you’ve probably heard of them – Facebook and Shopify are teaming up to open up the ecosystem of ecommerce.  Facebook Shops is a new shopping experience that allows you to create an online store, natively on Instagram and Facebook. One of the greatest benefits of Facebook Shops, is the simplified customer experience.  Let’s look at the current customer journey: A lot of you already have your product catalogue listed on Facebook and Instagram, so let’s say a new customer is browsing your page and wants to make a purchase.  As soon as they click on that product, they’re redirected to a different page with a different layout, where they then need to add the product to their cart and then go through the checkout process.  It’s not terrible… but it’s a little clunky.  Since Facebook Shops is native,  all while staying on the same page, the customer can add that product to their cart and check out, and if they’ve made a purchase on a Facebook service before, they can even use a card on file to speed up the checkout process even more.  The next beautiful thing, is that since your Facebook Shop is integrated with Shopify, the order information will be sent to your Shopify store and inventory levels will be updated. Another thing that we’re excited about the ability for shoppers to discover your product using some of the built in features.  Within Instagram there will be a dedicated shopping tab where you can learn about new products that are catered to the customer based on their interests.  There will also be a shopping destination inside explorer where shoppers can see a variety of products, allowing you to reach new customers that may not have otherwise known about your brand. It’s also worth discussing how customizable Facebook Shops are.  By this point, we all understand the importance of having a brand story that your customers can connect to, and Facebook Shops allows you to tell that story.  The shop displays are completely customizable and you can choose what products and images are displayed on your page.  This means you can choose the content that you think drives home that brand story.  This is the best way to get loyal customers for life, and with this in mind, Facebook Shops also has a feature that allows you to connect your Shopify loyalty programs and display points and rewards as the customer navigates your shop across the various Facebook apps. Getting set up with Facebook Shops is free and easy.   Facebook Shops will be ready in just a few weeks for accounts that have already been approved to use product tags on their Instagram profile.  Once it’s live, it will automatically become available to you and you’ll receive a notification.  If you’re not already using product tags on Instagram, Facebook Shops won’t be available to you for a couple of months, but you’ll want to prepare your store in advance, by installing Shopify’s new Facebook channel app and syncing your products. This is just the beginning of Facebook Shops and there are many more features to come that we can all look forward to.  There will be integrations with messaging apps like Messenger and WhatsApp, and even augmented reality features to allow your customers to try on your cool products, or see what they look like in their space.

Go to ONELIVE.COM/START to get started with global ecommerce technology today.   Email podcast@onelive.com for more info.  Most of us understand the importance of Facebook and Instagram, but TikTok is newer to the scene and we want to give you all the inside information you need to see the true potential of this incredible platform.    TikTok is a video sharing application that allows creators to post videos that are anywhere from 15-60 seconds.  The videos are short, so the goal is to post fun, creative, and interesting content.  The content mainly consists of dance videos, comedic skits, lip-syncing, pranks, and duets.    Today, TikTok has a whopping 800 million active users, and it’s currently the most downloaded app on the apple app store.   And may be thinking, “great, but they’re all teenagers”.  Think again.  Around 50% of users are actually over the age of 24, which means that a lot of users have jobs and money, and you’ll want to get your products in front of them, which you can accomplish with TikTok ads and linking features.    In addition to the incredible amount of users on platform, another reason to advertise on TikTok is that they’ve developed a smart pixel helps you collect useful customer data, so your ads are getting in front of the right people.    Keep it short and interesting.  You can technically go up to 60 seconds with a single video, but you’ll get the best engagement by staying under 15 seconds.  This means you need to start with a hook in order to keep your viewer’s attention.     You also want to think about the layout of your content.  TikTok’s interface partially obscures the bottom and right side of the screen, so make sure your content is centered and even to the top left of the screen.    TikTok videos automatically play sound, so be sure to consider the audio component of your video when developing your content.    Finally, we’d advise you to keep in mind that creator-led content usually outperforms other asset types, so be sure to include your creators at the beginning of your video.    There are new skills to learn when starting to create content on TikTok, but we’re confident it’s worth the effort.  New TikTok ad users are diverting 30% of their current ad spend from other channels over to TikTok, which tells us that they see the opportunity and they’re seeing results.     We hope you’ve found this podcast to be a helpful intro to the fastest growing social platform, but there’s  a lot of unpack here.  So if you need any help getting started, need advice on ad spending, or you are already using TikTok ads, but could use some additional help, please reach out at podcast@onelive.com.   Please tune in next week as we talk about a very exciting new development with Shopify and another social platform.    Go to ONELIVE.COM/START to get started with global ecommerce technology today.   Email podcast@onelive.com for more info.

Tips on Working From Home  In light of the current pandemic we know that a lot of you are newly working from home, which can definitely take some adjusting.  But here at OneLive, we were an early adopter of the work-from-home model, and since we’ve been at this for a while, we thought it would be a good time to get our team to share their best tips and tricks from working from home.    Maintain your old schedule   Try to maintain your old schedule, as best as possible.  You’ve been working in an office environment for years, so you’re probably used to scheduling time for your commute, maybe client lunch meetings, and even a tentative sign-off time at the end of the day.  Now that you’re working from home, you could technically roll out of bed and open up your laptop, or jump back into work right after dinner and work through the night.  But we’ve found that to maintain work-life balance and increase productivity, it’s best to actually put in writing your work vs play hours.  In lieu of your drive to the office, maybe go on a fifteen minute walk.  No client to meet with for lunch?  Schedule in lunch time away from your computer.  Instead of working up until dinner, schedule in an end of day activity to signify the end of the work day.    Get ready for your work day  Your company may not do a lot of video conferencing, but maintaining your morning routine of changing into a presentable outfit, or putting on mascara, will help you feel a little more normal, confident, and ready to tackle your work day.    Set up a dedicated workspace  In addition to making sure you look and feel your best, set up a defined workspace that feels good to you.  This may just be a corner in your living room where you have a small desk with all of your office supplies, or it may be a proper home office.  The point is, instead of pulling out your laptop and working from the kitchen island or your sofa, find a space that is dedicated to work.  Also try to create a setup that’s ergonomic for your proportions.  Ergotron has a great calculator for helping you determine the ideal positions of your equipment.  Go outside! (but maintain your distance)  Last and certainly not least, get outside for some fresh air.  Fresh oxygen can increase the levels of serotonin in your body, making your feel happier and more relaxed.  Not only can time outdoors affect your mood, but it can also positively affect your immune system, by exposing you to a variety of microbes and helping your body generate the bacteria needed to fight off harmful pathogens.  When scheduling in your day, be sure to add in blocks of time for going on a quick walk, or even just taking a breather on your balcony.    We hope today was helpful for you all who are newly transitioning into the work from home lifestyle.  Once you’ve mastered how to make the most of your day and stay positive during these strange times, we think you’ll find that there are plenty of upsides to working from home.     Go to ONELIVE.COM/START to get started with global ecommerce technology today.   Email podcast@onelive.com for more info.

Hey all you cool ecommers, thanks for tuning in this week as we discuss the incredible potential of Shopify Flow.    If you’re on Shopify Plus, but aren’t taking advantage of Shopify Flow, you’re missing out on what is perhaps the single most valuable tool of the platform.    What is Shopify Flow?  Shopify Flow is an automation app that allows you to streamline countless backend processes of your store that would normally have to be done manually.  With just a couple of clicks, you can get this app to automate tasks that may have otherwise cost hours of your valuable time.    Shopify Flow can automate a variety of tasks, like managing inventory, monitoring high-risk transactions, segmenting customers, and more.  It’s an incredible tool for saving time and allowing you to focus on growing your business.    OneLive can help you get started:  It’s important to know that Shopify Flow is only available for Shopify Plus customers.  If you’re not already using this robust level of Shopify, you’re in the right place, because here at OneLive we’re experts in Shopify Plus and can not only build your shop, but get it loaded with a variety of enterprise level applications, to include Shopify Flow.   Getting started with Shopify Flow is easy, but especially when working with our account managers that are experts in all things Shopify.  Here’s how to get started with the app.    Setup of Shopify Flow:   First, you simply download the app from the Shopify App Store.  You’ll see that there’s a library of templates that you can use to get started right away, but you can also create your own with a few clicks.    Your Shopify Flow will have three main components:   1.) Trigger event 2.) Condition of that event 3.) Action.    Creating a new flow:   To create a new flow, you first need to start by selecting a trigger event.  Then, add conditions.  If your trigger event meets your conditions, then the Flow will implement the action that you’ve created.    Example: Manage Inventory  You’re finding that a few times a month, you’re running out of stock of a few products.  You monitor your store every single day, but sometime you just don’t see that an item is low on inventory, until stock is dangerously low and it’s too late.  In this scenario, your Flow trigger event would be the inventory quantity changing, the condition would be the specific inventory level, and the action could be to send you an email.  You could also have Flow send a notice to tools like Slack, Asana, and more.  That way, you’re never blindsided and you’re notified to reorder your product with plenty of time before you ever run out.    Example: Customer Segments  In this next scenario, you sell a variety of home goods products, but you write a weekly blog that discusses all things kitchen and food related and you often offer discounts on you kitchen-specific products.  So, how do you make sure you’re not sending sign-up requests to your customers that only really visit your store for candles?  You create a flow where the trigger is that an order is placed, the condition is that it is a kitchen or food product, and the action is to tag these customers as “food lovers”.  Then, when you’re ready to send out invites to subscribe to your food blog, you can easily refer to the “food lovers” customer segment.  That way, you’re increasing your changes of newsletter signups and future purchases from your store.    For even more information and ecommerce tips, send us an email at podcast@onelive.com  Stay healthy everyone and see you next time!  Go to www.onelive.com/start Email: podcast@onelive.com for more.

We know that you’ve focused on building and growing your Shopify store, butif you’re not currently using Google Shopping, you’re one step behind your competitors.  So let’s start out by looking at what google shopping is and why you should use it.  Google Shopping creates the results that populate at the top of the google page when someone searches for a product.  The item is displayed with a photo, a price, and a description.  Humans are visual creatures, so even though you may have great SEO built your site and it may populate a top result to a google search, having your item displayed visually is even more important.  Not only should you use Google Shopping because it pulls on our visual nature, but because of how widely used Google is, it will get you closers to thousands of potential customers that may have never known about your brand.  Luckily for you, getting set up on Google Shopping is simple.    Here’s how to do it: First, you’ll need to download the google app on your Shopify storeBe sure to have your mailing address, phone number, and email added to your shop, to ensure you’ll be accepted by google shoppingYou’ll also need to add some basic information to set up a merchant center account, so be sure to have that ready.    Once you’re in the app, you’ll see that the product in your shop will be synced with Google - Before listing products, Google will need to approve your product, so this page is also where you’ll see if a product has or hasn’t been approved.  If it’s not approved, it’s usually because the terms you use to describe variants may be different from google.  Luckily, the app will give you a reason for denied approval, so making these changes is simple.    When you’re adding your products, be sure to provide as much information as possible, in order to increase the frequency of your products populating for a google search.  Once your products are added, you’ll want to set up the google ads, to make sure your great products are consistently at the top.  Thanks for tuning in this week as we discussed the important growth opportunity that is Google Shopping.   Go to ONELIVE.COM/START to get started with global ecommerce technology today.

With the craziness that is the economy right now, it’s no surprise that businesses are looking for new ways to make more sales, decrease costs, and delight both existing and new customers. POD is a great solution for achieving just that.  So, what is Print on Demand? Print on demand is a service that allows you to create custom products, as your customers order them. So, instead of ordering inventory from your manufacturer and sitting on the product until it sells, you’re simply uploading a product design to your store, and once an order is placed, the product is made. POD also takes advantage of the supply chain method, known as drop shipping, where the product is moved directly from the manufacturer to the customer, so you never have to touch it or incur unnecessary transportation costs.  Now that we’ve covered what POD is, let’s talk about some of the key benefits that make this business model particularly popular during the COVID pandemic. One of the biggest advantages here is low overhead. Instead of fronting the cost for inventory, your business is only paying for the amount of product that is ordered. And because you’re not physically handling the inventory, you’re not paying for excess storage space or paying for labor for physically handle the product.  You’ll also never have problems managing your stock. So not only will you never be left sitting on excess inventory, you’ll also never go out of stock, and in a time when companies are seeing wild and unpredictable changes in demand, the built-in safety of this model is huge.  Another upside of POD, are the low barriers to entry. OneLive makes getting started with Print On Demand easy. We’ve already partnered with vendors that have multiple locations in each state, which is especially important right now, when shelter-in-place ordinances vary across the country. It also means that your product is never more than a state away from your customer, which makes for quick turnaround and low ship costs. Additionally we’ve built a custom app, known as MerchCast, which makes designing your new product a breeze. You simply choose the product, of which there are thousands, upload your png file, position your image on the product, and launch to your store. Your customers will be wearing and using your cool product in no time at all.  While POD for OneLive isn’t new, the the way our customers have been using it during the COVID pandemic is. In the past month, we’ve seen shops double and even triple their POD orders. Here’s what they’re doing: Instead of primarily selling apparel, our clients are pivoting to meet the demands of the new shelter-in-place lifestyle and focusing on home good product. Our top seller this week has been quality knit blankets. These aren’t just the fleece blankets with your image printed overtop, but the image is actually knit into the product. This makes for a high quality product that your customers can snuggle up with while binge watching The Office, for the 9 thousandth time. We’ve also seen a sharp increase in protective gear like face masks and bandanas, which keep your customers save while promoting your brand.  I hope you’ve learned today why Print On Demand is your best friend when it comes to streamlining overhead and responding to unpredictable demand during the COVID pandemic.  Go to ONELIVE.COM/START to get started with global ecommerce technology today.   Email podcast@onelive.com for more info.

Thanks for tuning in today, as we discuss how to keep your products moving during a global pandemic.   When we set out to develop enthralling content for our ecommerce friends, it’s safe to say, we couldn’t have predicted that today’s episode would be titled “Shipping during a global pandemic” But, as fate would have it, the spread of COVID has had dramatic impacts on the shipping landscape, and today we’re going to provide you with some tips on how to navigate the every-changing waters.   But first, let’s talk about some of the major changes taking place in the supply chain.    Commercial and cargo flights have been cut by as much as 90%, depending on the airline o   This means that air freight capacity is limited AND delayed  Carriers are also changing their delivery methods – in order to combat the spread of the virus, while getting goods to consumers o   Be cautioned that this means they’re coping with added costs and have ultimately implemented temporary surcharges   This all sounds grim, so let’s fast-forward to our hot tips for maintaining your supply chain and getting your product into your customers’ hands.   Rely on your shipping partner to do the heavy lifting  If you have an important import or a time-sensitive shipment, contact your shipping rate provider who has the closest working relationship with the carriers.  For instance, here at OneLive we keep in close contact with our regional reps and can quickly escalate delivery issues to find the best solutions.  But for best results, notify your shipping contact *before* issues occur.  Once you have that shipment booked, send us the details and we’ll monitor your shipment’s entire journey  Anticipate your product needs and order in advance We know it can be difficult to forecast your supply needs, but, when possible, place.orders.early.   Do you typically order on a monthly basis from your manufacturer in China?  Cool. Place an order and generate a label for double the product quantity. Like right now.  Take a proactive approach when it comes to customer service Along with just about every other human being, you’re feeling the side-effects of the COVID pandemic, so, you might assume that your customer anticipates the additional day, or five, that it may take to get their order Well, think again.  You’ve delivered exceptional service to your customers for years.  They think you can move mountains (or in this case, eradicate a global pandemic) and get them their package in the same quick fashion you always do.  But this time, you may not be able to.  So, before they have the chance to reach out to your support team or leave a less-than-stellar review, caution your customers that shipments may be delayed.  While carriers are responding exceptionally to the current challenges, and may ultimately get your package to your customer on time, in this case, it’s best to undersell and over deliver  In conclusion, supply chains have been ravaged by the COVID epidemic so now, more than ever, it’s important to lean into your relationships with your shipping partners, place orders as far in advance as possible, and proactively keep your customers informed.     If you’d like more information or custom feedback on your shipping needs, email me at podcast@onelive.com.    Be sure to tune in next time as we discuss an alternative supply model that reduces your costs, increases your revenue, and provides your customers with the coolest gear on the block.    Stay healthy everyone and see you next time.   Go to ONELIVE.COM/START to get started with global ecommerce technology today.   Email podcast@onelive.com for more info.

You're not alone. We can win together. Tell me: how can we do that right now?  Today we're going to discuss what to do when the industry gives you lemons. It's tough out there in the new Coronavirus economy for ecommerce brands of all kinds. That's you: bands. That's you: sports teams. That's you: popular lifestyle brand. Today we want to share some ideas on things you can implement right now. Go to onelive.com to start now or email: podcast@onelive.com to learn more.