How to Build an Ecommerce Brand in 2024

TL;DR

Build an ecommerce brand by defining clear creative guidelines, preparing a minimum viable brand document, and validating that the product can scale on its intended sales channel. The experimental cleaning paste has low average order value, limited Facebook and Google evidence, and potentially fewer repeat purchases, although organic social activity is encouraging. Read on for practical guidance on briefs, packaging, product selection, and channel validation.

Transcript

• Hey, everyone. Welcome back to our, how to build a million dollar brand YouTube series. Today's episode we're gonna go over how to build the brand itself; all the logos, all the labels, all of those kinds of things for our product. We haven't quite landed on a product yet. I've still been doing a lot of research just to make sure that we pick the... Read More

Key Insights

• A brand is the way a customer base feels about a product, rather than simply a logo, label, or color palette. Visual elements reinforce that emotional response, but the response is also shaped by messaging, customer service, product quality, creative culture, and every other customer interaction.
• Brand consistency is essential across fonts, colors, packaging, social media messaging, and other customer touchpoints. Each element should reinforce the same intended emotion and reflect clearly defined brand values that align with the values of the target customers.
• Strong branding is a competitive moat because loyal customers can support and share the product. That loyalty can strengthen the business and lower customer acquisition costs, making branding one of the most powerful elements of a sustainable commercial strategy.
• Early-stage companies need a balance between branding and direct-response marketing. Neglecting branding can make a product unprofitable when acquisition costs rise, while overspending on creative agencies can reduce the money available for advertising, website optimization, and scalable revenue generation.
• A minimum viable brand document is a practical starting point for packaging, labels, and websites. A clear brief helps founders and consultants understand the required guidelines, intended positioning, design direction, and boundaries before they begin producing creative work.
• Product validation should consider the channel intended for launch. The cleaning paste idea carried additional risk because competitors were not clearly scaling it through Facebook, and little supporting Google data was found, although organic social activity provided some encouraging evidence.
• Low average order value makes paid Facebook acquisition difficult, especially when a product also lasts a long time and may generate fewer repeat purchases. Organic social content can suit such products because its customer acquisition cost excludes the people required to create the content.
• Bundles and upsells can strengthen the commercial offer around a core product. Cleaning gloves were considered as a post-purchase upsell or bundle for the paste, while broader all-purpose cleaning formulas were explored to serve a larger audience and improve the product concept.
• "I've got a minimum viable brand document." (4:22)
• "Briefing is really important because you need to be very clear if you're going to use consultants." (4:04)
• "I didn't really find much data on Google either." (5:13)
• "We saw that they were scaling on organic social, which is a good thing." (5:29)
• "Organic social, obviously $0 customer acquisition costs, asides from the people that, you know, need to create your content for organic socials." (5:35)

Questions & Answers

Q: How do you build an ecommerce brand in 2024?

Start with a clear brief that defines the guidelines for packaging, labels, and the website. Use a minimum viable brand document to guide the design work, then confirm that the product or trend can scale on the channel where you plan to launch it.

Q: Why is a creative brief important when building a brand?

A brief helps consultants understand exactly what they need to create. It also forces the founder to clarify the guidelines for developing packaging and the website before design work begins.

Q: What is a minimum viable brand document?

It is a document used to establish the initial direction for a brand. In this example, it supports the briefing process for the dishwashing paste and can guide packaging, label, and website development.

Q: What are dielines used for in product branding?

Dielines represent box or label packaging in the correct dimensions. Designers can place a label on them, develop the design, and prepare it to be applied to the product.

Q: How should you validate a product before launching it?

Look for definitive evidence that the product or trend is scaling on the channel you intend to use. The cleaning paste was considered riskier because competitors were not found running it on Facebook and there was not much supporting data on Google.

Q: Why is low average order value difficult for Facebook advertising?

The speaker says low average order value makes it tough to get Facebook to work. For this reason, the recommendation is to choose a high average order value product that is already scaling on Facebook.

Q: Why might dishwashing paste have weak repeat purchase rates?

People reported that dishwashing paste lasts a very long time. While that can be a product benefit, it may reduce how often customers need to buy it again.

Q: Why can organic social work for low average order value products?

Organic social has a customer acquisition cost of $0, aside from the people needed to create the content. The cleaning paste had evidence of scaling on organic social, making that channel encouraging despite the uncertainty around Facebook and Google.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Branding is the way customers feel about a product, not merely its logo or color palette. Visual identity, fonts, messaging, social content, customer service, and product experience should consistently reinforce a defined emotion. Brand values are most effective when they align with the values held by the intended customer base.

• Early-stage ecommerce businesses need an appropriate balance between brand development and direct-response marketing. Products without branding may become vulnerable when acquisition costs rise, while excessive spending on creative agencies can leave too little funding for advertising, website optimization, and revenue growth. A minimum viable brand offers a practical middle ground.

• Product and channel validation should precede major branding investment. The cleaning paste concept showed promise through organic social activity but lacked clear evidence of competitors scaling through Facebook or Google. Its low average order value and potentially weak repeat purchasing increased risk, while bundles, gloves, and broader cleaning applications offered possible improvements.