Optimized Ecommerce EP 008 – Ecom Success During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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Business Tech Ninjas | May 27, 2020

Welcome to Episode 008 of Optimized Ecommerce – Ecom Success During the COVID-19 Pandemic. We are your hosts, Tanner Larsson CEO of BGS and Matthew Stafford CMO of BGS.

BGS means Build Grow Scale! It is a community that we founded where eCommerce entrepreneurs and physical product sellers come to learn how to take their businesses to the next level.

Here’s just a taste of what we talked about today:

E-Commerce is Booming Despite the Global COVID19 Crisis

Matthew Stafford’s part of the business is dealing with all their partner stores. Build Grow Scale has about 25 partner stores. So, trust Matt when he says that Online Shopping is booming!

Now, these partner stores are from a wide spectrum of industries. But regardless of that, their numbers have gone up significantly! And this is across all of their partner stores. Literally, the best numbers that they have ever seen.

The fact that only about 10% of shopping was done online before the global pandemic is the main reason why there is a rise in numbers. A number of people already shop online but considering how big the globe is — everyone has been forced to stay home and work from home.

A lot of things that they used to do outdoors are now done online from home. And people are getting used to this type of habit. They’re actually realizing that it saves them time too. And I mean, literally across every industry that we’re in. We’re just seeing it explode.

If You Turned Off Your Ads, TURN THEM BACK ON!

There are companies that run media for Build Grow Scale partner stores. And these companies have something interesting to say about ads.

Surprisingly, the ad media is cheaper than it has ever been. A lot of the big brands have nobody in their factories and brick and mortar stores. So, they are not buying ads right now.

There is an enormous amount of ad inventory. Not only are the people buying consumables and the other smaller items, but the ad costs are much cheaper too. So these stores are getting the eyeballs to their stores much cheaper.

If you turn your ads off, turn it back on! Right now! Build Grow Scale has members who think, “I turned all my ads off because I thought it wasn’t gonna work.” And then they switched and turned them on! There are members reporting their March numbers have beaten all of their Q1 numbers! JUST IN MARCH!

There are Resources Available to Keep Your Business Afloat

The global pandemic is bad. It is scary. But from an e-commerce perspective, it’s really a good thing. It is changing the way we do business. There are lots of available options for small businesses.

Facebook and Google are now doing advertising grants. They are giving free ad credits to different small businesses to help them advertise and keep making money during this tough time. That is free money to advertise!

If you are in the US, there are federal monies available for you to help your business stay afloat. There is the EIDL – Economic Impact Disaster Loan which is a grant of up to $10,000. Matt and Tanner got their $10K grant a few weeks back as well a lot of business owners in their circle.

And then, there is the Paycheck Protection Program or PPP, which is another round of loan option. It is a forgivable loan option if used to pay rent, inventory, payroll, and other operating expenses for your business.

There are many options and resources to keep growing and keep your business open. This is unprecedented levels of money access, at least in the U.S. If you pay U.S. taxes, you can get those kinds of loans.

We also discussed a few other fun topics, including:

  • Customers’ money didn’t go away, it simply shifted from the brick and mortar into online stores and the e-commerce world.
  • This is pretty much the Gold Rush all over again for the internet where a massive shift of wealth is happening in the next 12 months. It will be a great opportunity for your business amidst the global pandemic.
  • In the U.S., the brick and mortar stores that are no longer open are now creating online presence because customers are not coming to their stores.
  • Build Grow Scale has 26 partner stores and almost 500 ecom stores being educated through the business accelerator program. This alone makes The Optimized Ecommerce Podcast even more relevant than ever.

But you’ll have to watch or listen to the episode to hear about those!

How To Stay Connected With Tanner Larsson and Matthew Stafford:

Want to stay connected with Tanner Larsson and Matthew Stafford? Please check out their social profiles below.

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