DFO CMO Alex Brown presents at iStack's July 2019 event in Barcelona on eCommerce, choosing the correct product, broad vs. niche products and processes to obtain product desirability.

1. Sink Or Swim
Choosing the Best eCommerce Product
Alex Brown
Chief Marketing Officer

2. About Me
🌴🌴 Grew up and live in San Diego, CA
🎓🎓 Business degree from USD
💣💣 First business? Unsuccessful website
company
2008 – 2012
Sports Marketing Account Executive
2012 – 2017
Director of Marketing, Instant Checkmate &
TruthFinder
2017 – Present
CMO of DFO Global Performance Commerce

3. About DFO
is
A performance agency and network
An eCommerce technology provider
A product and brand builder
Today’s
Focus

4. Why is picking the right
product so important? Run downhill, not uphill: If you have the
right product, it sells itself!
This means your marketing can be
simple, compliant, and effective,
yielding…
• Higher CTRs
• Better Ad Engagement
• Better Conversion Rates
With the right product, scaling and
optimization is used to take sales to the next
level (rather than salvage profitability)

5. Not Picking the
Right Products: The Fallout
Tons of
Unsold Inventory
Terrible CPA’s
Lost Time

6. Why Do People Buy Products?
• Solves A Basic Need
Is this food or shelter?
• Lowest Price, Best Value
I can’t pass this up!
• Avoid Pain*
Pepper spray, supplements, & home security
systems
• Gain Pleasure
We buy things that make us feel good
• Niche Identity
We want to fit in with our tribe
• “Girl Scout Cookie” Effect
Your purchase helps others
Remember
People buy based on
emotion and justify their
decisions with logic
after the fact.

7. VS.BROAD NICHE
Vegan, Hippie, Anti-Vax MomsMoms

8. Broad
Pros
Cons
• Major Scale
• Cheaper CPMs
• Less Burnout
• Lower CVRs
• Competition/Pricing
• Easily Ripped

9. Niche Products
Pros
Cons
• Evangelists
• Spending Power
• Community
• Limited Reach
• Must Be Authentic
• Pricier Traffic

10. Testing Products:
The Old Way
Have a
Good Idea
Invest Time
on Creative
Invest Money
on Inventory
Roll Dice on
the Media
1
3
2
4
We Did It This Way!
• We had good ideas,
so it worked . . sometimes
• When we picked losers, we sat on
tons of inventory
• We tried to optimize our way out of
trouble – and set a ton of media
dollars on fire for our efforts

11. DFO’s Product Rollout Process:
Fast Track
We test products using a 3-stage process
called Fast Track
The goal? Invest the minimum amount
required (from a development and investment
standpoint) at each stage to see how the
market responds to our product.
This allows us to rapidly test products that
meet our core criteria, kill losers fast, and
invest incrementally in products that show the
most promise.
Time
Money

12. Criteria For Consideration
🤑🤑 Does this product have a high perceived
value?
💳💳 Likelihood a customer will buy more than 1
unit
📦📦 Is it small, lightweight, and easy to ship?
👪👪 Does it have universal appeal?
Male/Female, Old/Young, etc.
✅ Is it compliant with traffic sources?
🛒🛒 Are there clear upsells?
🌎🌎 Will this product sell globally?
Just a few items from the list. . .
Before a product can enter Fast Track, it
must pass our key criteria survey.
There are 25 criteria on this list
Each product gets scored 1-10 on how it
meets each key criterium
We have several key decision makers in
the company take the survey – so there
is less bias
Product must get at least a 70% score to
be considered for Fast Track

13. Fast Track: Phase 1 – Gauge Interest
Criteria
• Media Spend: $500/product
• Broad Targeting: ex. USA, M/F 35+
• 4 Unique Ads
Process – Dry Testing
1. Send traffic to a SIMPLE FUNNEL
2. Allow user to SELECT # OF UNITS &
INITIATE CHECKOUT
3. Once they add to cart, fire fb pixel and
inform them that we are out of inventory
4. No credit card is taken, no payment
processed
This can be done via ClickFunnels or Wordpress template.
Goals
1. Unique Link CTR > 5%
2. Positive Comment Sentiment
3. 1.5x Target CPA Add to Carts
We are only looking for interest in this phase
If goals are met,
product moves to
Phase 2

14. Fast Track: Phase 2 – Conversions
Process
1. Add merchant processing
2. Acquire minimum quantity of products
(drop-shipping an option)
3. Develop custom lander
(presell or advertorial)
4. Develop custom FB video ads
5. Spend $2,500/product ($500/day for 5 days)
6. Test 4 different ad sets
• Two creatives per ad set, including one new
video and best creative from Phase 1
7. Optimize ads and presell after 1-2 days
Goals
1. Presell CTR above 25%
2. Ad CTR above 5%
3. Conversions around 1.5x target
If there are no sales after $300, pause
and review
If goals are met,
product moves to
Phase 3

15. Fast Track: Phase 3
Process
1. Add in upsells
2. Conduct pricing split tests (if necessary)
3. Further optimize landing page
4. Spend $2,000/product ($500/day for 4
days)
• 2 creatives per ad set, including best
ad from Phase 2 and 1 optimized
version
5. Optimize campaign after 1-2 days
Goals
1. Profitable Conversions: enough that
campaign can be scaled to other
traffic platforms (search, native,
display)
2. Presell CTR stays above 25%
3. Ad CTR stays above 5%
If goals are not met, product goes back to
optimization team
If goals are met,
offer is
fully built

16. Alex’s Short List for Success
💵💵 Will it save a customer money?
🤯🤯 Can it be classified as a disruptor?
i.e. this tiny company is disrupting a $17 billion industry
😡😡 Does it go against an industry people despise?
i.e. cable, internet, airlines, lawyers, etc.
🌱🌱 Does it have an eco or charity component to it?
🎯🎯 Is your target CPA between $40 - $70?
If your product meets most or all of the above – it’s most likely a
winner

17. Thank You!
Alex Brown
Chief Marketing Officer
DFO Global Performance Commerce