I often focus an “Ecommerce Conversations” episode on Beardbrand, my enterprise. I try this to not promote the corporate however to share our challenges and successes within the hopes of serving to others.
In 2024 alone, I’ve addressed final yr’s gross sales decline, continued hurdles, and the trouble of altering success suppliers. I additionally interviewed our legal professional, who efficiently defended us in a lawsuit alleging accessibility violations.
We’ve now overcome lots of our operational setbacks. We needed to relaunch sure merchandise and swap our producer. We’ve moved to a warehouse right here in Texas, which provides us extra oversight. With these issues solved, the main focus shifts again to development and discovering new channels.
That’s what I’ll talk about on this episode. My whole audio is embedded beneath. The transcript is edited for readability and size.
Black Friday, Cyber Monday
Our 2024 Black Friday and Cyber Monday campaigns didn’t meet expectations. Historically, our BFCM focus is product launches as a substitute of discounting. We wished to introduce a brand new product for Black Friday, however the launch was delayed till Cyber Monday after which pushed to mid-December. This disrupted our vacation promoting. Gross sales weren’t down, however the missed product launch made a noticeable dent.
Final yr, we launched a bundling promo — purchase three objects, get a fourth free — and it carried out so nicely that we saved it as a everlasting function. We had no related Black Friday promo this yr. We thought-about a subscription-based low cost however determined towards it as a consequence of considerations about sending the mistaken message to clients and the potential complexity of managing it.
I additionally despatched an e-mail inadvertently encouraging clients to attend for Cyber Monday as a substitute of profiting from Black Friday offers.
Cyber Monday was our greatest income day since Black Friday 2023. We had deliberate to launch our utility deodorant this yr, but it surely too bought pushed to mid-December.
We reverted on Monday to providing pre-launch pricing to loyal clients. That they had a brief window to buy the product at a cheaper price. This technique is my most well-liked strategy to deal with reductions as a result of it feels much less like a markdown and extra like a product launch with dynamic pricing.
We despatched three emails all through Cyber Monday selling the eventual launch, which helped enhance gross sales. Nonetheless, there have been some logistical hiccups. Our pre-launch pricing wasn’t displaying accurately, and we needed to repair it final minute. Regardless of the challenges, the promo went nicely, and we hit our gross sales targets.
Gross sales Progress
November 2024 gross sales had been up about 8% in comparison with final yr. Nonetheless, we’re changing misplaced natural YouTube gross sales with advertisements. In 2022, 48% of recent buyer gross sales got here from YouTube, producing roughly $670,000. By 2023, that dropped to $366,000; this yr, we’ll be fortunate to succeed in $250,000. With YouTube turning into much less efficient, we’ve needed to shift to social platforms akin to Fb and X, bringing our general 2024 promoting spend 75% increased than final yr.
Adapting for 2025
As we transfer to 2025, we’re in a greater place operationally, however we’d like development channels. Beardbrand’s merchandise are consumable — ideally, clients will reorder. We might discover new fragrances or product sizes in 2025 however received’t go overboard with launches. The objective is to concentrate on top-selling merchandise with constant buyer schooling and communication.
Our enterprise is basically shifting. We should assess the expansion potential of natural channels akin to YouTube or, as a substitute, shift to promoting for buyer acquisition.
I by no means set gross sales targets. I focus as a substitute on the inputs and let the outputs comply with. Companies ought to recognize the laborious work and energy, no matter whether or not it pans out. Components like timing, market situations, and even packaging can affect success, as can a little bit of luck.
In the end, it’s important to benefit from the journey. Day by day is a present. There’s no proper or mistaken strategy to construct a enterprise — it’s about aligning it along with your values and targets. That’s the great thing about being an entrepreneur.
