Building a brand and pursuing business success is harder than ever, but there are more tools than ever at our disposal. So how do we make sense of the ever-changing e-commerce sector? How do we build brand loyalty? How do we hire the right people? To answer these questions and more, Sharon Gai was joined by Samir Balwani, the CEO of QRY, on the B2B Breakthrough Podcast to discuss effective campaigns, the importance of resilience and problem-solving, and strategies for growing and scaling brands.
Table of Contents
Who is Samir Balwani?
Pursuing “extreme success”
Building a community and fostering loyalty
Who is Samir Balwani?
Samir Balwani is the CEO of QRY, a media agency for direct-to-consumer (DTC) and e-commerce brands. QRY enables brands to accelerate their growth and increase their revenue by rapidly optimizing campaigns and identifying new opportunities. The agency’s unique approach blends full-funnel advertising with rigorous ad experimentation. Samir is also an author at Chief Advertiser.
Pursuing “extreme success”
Being a business owner is hard. There are no two ways about it. However, despite the difficulty, being a business owner allows you to pursue what Samir calls “extreme success”. You’ll rarely achieve extreme success in a 9 to 5. You’ll rarely experience the highest highs in a normal job. As Samir says,
“I think about it as a sine wave, right? So you have high and low amplitude, and when you work a 9 to 5, you have highs. You have lows, but they’re kind of like a little muted of a sine wave, and then you become a manager. Your S wave gets a little bit higher because now you’re a VP, say. There are more responsibilities. The highs are a little higher because you’re the benefits of it and the lows of it. And then you become a business owner and you get to enjoy the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.”
Extreme success also comes at a cost, which is why Samir stresses the need for resilience. You can’t let extreme success go to your head, in the same way that you can’t let failure affect you too badly. This is why things like work-life balance are so important. Despite all this, as Samir says, once you’ve tasted extreme success, there’s no going back:
“Once you do experience those high highs and low lows, that sensation, that feeling, that excitement, it’s so hard to go back. It’s why you hear so many business owners say, once they start, “I can never work for anyone else.”
Building a community and fostering loyalty
In today’s rapidly evolving world of e-commerce, where competition is fierce and customer loyalty is fleeting, one thing remains constant: the power of building a strong and engaged customer community.
To build a loyal customer community, Samir suggests several strategies:
Firstly, brands must understand their target audience and tailor their messaging and content to resonate with them. By understanding their pain points, desires, and aspirations, brands can create content that adds value and builds trust.
Secondly, brands should actively engage with their customers through social media, email marketing, and other channels. By responding to customer inquiries, addressing concerns, and providing valuable information, brands can show their commitment to their community and build stronger relationships. Additionally, brands should leverage user-generated content and encourage customers to share their experiences and stories. This not only creates a sense of authenticity but also allows customers to feel like active participants in the brand’s journey.
Finally, brands should reward and recognize their loyal customers. This can be done through loyalty programs, exclusive discounts, and personalized offers. By making customers feel valued and appreciated, brands can foster a sense of loyalty that goes beyond mere transactions.
Samir says:
“If you don’t have that core customer that loves you and is excited, and is helping you grow your community, well, then you’re just acquiring a new customer. They’re looking at your product like a commodity and then leaving, and they’re not going to be excited. When you launch a new product line or have a new category launch, they’re not going to help build your base. And so that’s why I say, for a lot of brands, having that foundational community is key for growing and reaching any new stages of growth.”
In conclusion, building a loyal customer community is the key to e-commerce success!
Interested in more of what Samir has to say? Check out the full podcast episode via the links below. Be sure to subscribe, rate, review, and share!
