The Perspective #22

Author

Oddit Team
February 23, 2023

Welcome to the 22nd edition of The Perspective by Oddit! 

Twice a month we send out actionable tips for creating brand-first and conversion-optimized customer experiences from the best brands in the world! 

In this edition 🗞:

  • Brand-first breakdown with Dorsal Bracelets

  • 5 questions with Founder Vasa Martinez

  • Test this: "Our favorites" vs "Best Sellers"

  • New brands we discovered this month

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If you missed our last editions, you can read them here!

Brand-First Breakdown: Dorsal Bracelets

Dorsal creates charmingly aquatic-themed, ocean-saving jewelry — And every purchase removes 1 pound of plastic from the sea.

A whopping 154,504 pounds has now been removed thanks to this mission! This number is rising — up from 138,084 pounds removed since we featured Dorsal's Founder, Chad Ross, within the 12th edition of The Perspective as part of our Founders Five section.

We're breaking down various parts of the Dorsal Bracelets website and offering a couple of tweaks to make it an even better user experience and conversion machine. Let's jump in!

Cart With items

Suggestions To Test:

Suggestion 1: Declutter your free shipping bar into a standard one. The added information on here is taking away your users’ focus from checking out.

Suggestion 2: Pull up the item in your cart and reformat the hierarchy to provide a clearer flow of information. Move the price below the product name and utilize a “Remove” link instead of a trash icon. This is to ensure users’ familiarity with the action and avoid further confusion.

Suggestion 3: Surface an upsell section to increase Average Order Value (AOV). Add all the key details to get users to purchase and introduce a clear “Add To Cart” (ATC) link so your users can directly add the item to their cart.

Suggestion 4: Trust and credibility are cornerstones of conversions. The checkout button is a crucial conversion point. Add a secure lock icon to signify secure checkout which builds trust. Layer your free shipping offer below.

Empty Cart

Suggestions To Test:

Suggestion 1: Call-out the total number of items in the cart in the heading.

Suggestion 2: Add some brand voice to the empty cart to make it feel more cohesive with the overall site experience.

Suggestion 3: Surface your product categories and add in lifestyle imagery to help guide users into the shopping journey.

Suggestion 4: Pull out a full-width primary Call To Action (CTA) to “Shop All Products” and a secondary action to “Shop Bundles” at the bottom of the page. Surface your shipping offer underneath.

Suggestion 5: Test an alternative copy for your empty cart subheading and see which one entices users to click the links below.

Suggestion 6: Surface the product images instead of the lifestyle images as an alternative approach.

Pop-Up Offer

Suggestions To Test:

Suggestion 1: Test running a simple micro-decision prior to the email input. We found on numerous split tests that while it’s an added stage to the pop-up, it proves to increase conversion on email captures!

Suggestion 2: Add a lifestyle image showing some of your main bracelets in use.

Suggestion 3: Give more details to your users on what they should expect when subscribing and test a new CTA copy.

Suggestion 4: This could be a daunting task for users to give away their email to a site they most likely have never heard of. Reassure users they can unsubscribe at any time.

Best Sellers

Suggestions To Test: 

Suggestion 1: Pull up this section and surface your best selling products in rows of 2 on mobile, rather than forcing users to swipe off screen to access them. Test a new headline for this section; new users always want to see what other customers love the most.

Suggestion 2: Add all the necessary key traits like review badges to help build trust and get users purchasing. Align the product copy to the left for better readability.

Suggestion 3: Leverage a full-width CTA button to “Shop Best Sellers” and ensure it stands out. The CTA should communicate clearly where users will be navigated to.

Shop By Category

Suggestions To Test:

Suggestion 1: Add a headline as they act as a signpost for users to help figure out what the section is about.

Suggestion 2: Separate the buttons on your category cards to avoid accidental clicks; style them prominently to ensure they are easily seen. Also, make this section more accessible by converting it into a x2 column layout.

Suggestion 3: Add a CTA button to shop your products. You’ve shown and communicated all the great aspects of them — let the user take action now!

UGC / Social Proof

Suggestions To Test: 

Suggestion 1: Add a headline that calls out the number of fans you have. This will help validate your brand.

Suggestion 2: Showcase 1 post at a time and pull out a short review snippet instead of having your users click each post to view the review. This allows your users to focus more on each post and see the image better.

Suggestion 3: Add the reviewer’s username to provide some authenticity and make your brand more trustworthy.

Suggestion 4: Use carousel indicators to indicate the number of UGC cards in this section.

If you want loads of fresh insights like this for your site, check out our Quick Win 10-Pack and Full Reports!

Founders Five 🖐

Founder: Vasa is the Founder & CEO of growthbuster, a remote marketing agency that leverages story & creative to help food & beverage brands grow.

With nearly a decade of CPG experience working with and consulting for some of America's fastest-growing companies, Vasa is a proven strategic thinker & integrated marketer whose ingenuity, passion & tenacity make him an invaluable partner for emerging & established brands.

Most recently, Vasa has played a significant role as the CMO for Outer Aisle, one of fastest-growing companies in America (Inc. 500, 2020, 2021). Concurrently, Vasa has established growthbuster as a CPG marketing powerhouse (#15 Fastest-Growing, AdWeek, 2021 / #43 Overall Inc. 500 Pacific Regionals, 2022) with successful clients like Outer Aisle, Magic Spoon, Gigantic, and more.

Vasa also launched his own low sugar soda company, Perfy, in February 2022 where he is on a mission to cut sugar intake in the US. The drinks are enhanced with nootropics & adaptogens!

Oddit: You’ve worked alongside many brands in the beginning stages, what’s one area you think founders put too much money into early on?

Vasa: I might get a lot of flack for this, but branding. There is always something that has to change in the early days. Very few brands nail everything from A to Z. But this doesn't mean have your cousin design it on Mario Paint.

Be thoughtful, but be frugal. Then nail it after you get early feedback. And if the money is there, swag out a little bit with the right group.

Oddit: You’ve also been around a ton of products and brands throughout your career and we assume you’ve had a million product ideas through the years. What made you decide a nootropics and adaptogens enhanced soda (Perfy) was the right product to launch yourself?

Vasa: It came from a place of need. I went through a lot beginning in 2017. I landed myself in a health mess with the way I coped with loss. And I supplemented with nootropic and adaptogen pills and powders to keep myself in the game. I think nootropics and adaptogens perform better in liquid form (and I prefer it this way) vs snack form factors, plus soda is my favorite beverage. So, I married the two. 

Oddit: What’s the most recent site adjustment you’ve made that had the greatest impact on revenue?

Vasa: We still haven't implemented 100% of our Oddit, and I imagine that will be the trick. But it's important to note we're not a DTC soda brand. We're a retail focused soda brand that happens to have a website. A website I intend to be a retention channel vs. an acquisition channel. So everything I do on the site has to make it simple for the shopper. I actually need to make it way quicker, so that's probably next. 

Oddit: What’s the biggest mistake brands make when working with an agency or marketing partner?

Vasa: Hiring someone from Big Food to manage us. Big bureaucratic ways of working aren't best for startups. Being nimble is life. And you can't test things when 14 people up the chain need to sign off on a singular vision.

Or not being clear in their own vision for the brand. You either know where you're going and what you stand for, or you need to engage someone to help be your north star. Whether that's an advisor, investor, hire, freelancer, or whatever. We can't tell you what to do with your brand. But once you know the path, we can light the way.

Oddit: What’s been the most unexpected, but successful marketing channel / strategy you’ve utilized? Could be for any brand you’ve worked on!

Vasa: Podcast. Creating Perfy's own podcast has opened opportunities in a very meaningful way. Buyers have come up to me at tradeshows and say "hey, I listen to your podcast". The podcast isn't meant for B2C customers. It's meant for B2B customers, like retailers, distributors, etc. And it has worked like a charm.

BONUS QUESTION!

Oddit: What’s your favorite food & beverage start-up right now, and why?

Vasa: I won't answer with a client. That's not objective. Objectively, Aura Bora is up there for me. They're being relentlessly themselves. And it's different, refreshing, and approachable.

I also feel like sauces are absolutely taking CPG by storm. I think of brands like Bachan's, Tia Lupita, Graza, and Fly By Jing. Graza and Fly By Jing are crushing co-branded partnerships. Tia Lupita and Bachan's have a very authentic and family-oriented brand story. They're all going to crush. Graza and Tia Lupita were also on Perfy's podcast called Food Chained.

One last brand, Mid-Day Squares. It is clear that they're building a media empire that happens to sell chocolate. I'm into it. It works. And they do it well. Jake's been on the podcast too!

Test this: "Our favorites" vs "Best Sellers" 

Classifieds 🔎

🚨 If you're struggling with your homepage header, copy this! 

⭐️ Listen to our Co-Founder Shaun chat all things CRO in his latest podcast appearance. 

🚀 If you haven't heard, the first part of our Product Page Guide is finally live!

🔵 New brands we discovered this month: BelliWelli, Yellowbirds, Halfday, and Lalo

Want your own brand-first breakdown? 🚨

Check out our full reports — Or even start with a Quick Win 10-Pack!

 If you don’t find any value you’ll get all your $$ back. No questions asked.

The Perspective is written by Shaun Brandt, Taylor Davies, and Thomas Schreiber

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