John discusses the commoditization of Shopify theme development, competition in the agency space, and pricing strategies.
More brands are making the leap from custom platforms to Shopify Plus. Avex shares what’s driving this shift, from reducing the total cost of ownership to the appeal of a flexible, scalable platform.
Listen in for insights on adapting teams, overcoming resistance to change, and the powerful short- and long-term returns brands are seeing on Shopify.
In this episode of the Agency X Podcast, John Surdakowski is joined by Yotpo’s VP of Product Marketing, Kim Winter, to unpack the genius behind Yotpo's groundbreaking "Loyalists: Unmask Your Brand Heroes" campaign.
With insights from over 3 million shoppers, Yotpo uncovers the key behaviors of your most loyal customers—your brand heroes.
Tune in to find out how this campaign can reshape your approach to customer loyalty and long-term engagement.
Has the headless commerce hype run its course? In this episode of the Agency X Podcast, we dive into the debate surrounding headless architecture. Join us as we look into why some brands are shifting away from headless solutions, highlight situations where it’s still the right approach, and look at how Shopify’s native features can meet the needs of most eCommerce brands.
Visit our website to learn more about our Headless Commerce Services
Thinking about migrating your retention platform or already in the thick of it? This podcast is for you!
Join John as he answers the most common questions merchants have about retention platform migration. We’ll discuss important considerations, share best practices, and help you set clear expectations for the process.
Tune in to catch all the insights, and stay for a special offer at the end!
Visit our website for more insights on our retention marketing services
In this episode, Tommy Harris takes center stage to ask John Surdakowski, the founder of Avex, the questions everyone wants answers to. From client relationships to agency growth, John offers his perspective on the highs, lows, and everything in between when running a successful agency.
Tune in for a real, no-holds-barred conversation about agency life.
The agency X Podcast is back. We have some new programming, topics and guests. Stay tuned for more.
In this episode, John Surdakowski touches on some of the core things he focused on in the early days to grow Avex Designs, an eCommerce agency, as well as provides a little background about how he got started.
We've been seeing more and more luxury brands migrate to Shopify Plus. In this episode, John Surdakowski takes an in-depth look into the rationale that drives those brands to re-platform and examines what lies ahead for the world of e-commerce.
5 years ago it was easy to grow a DTC brand with social media ads….
Today, it’s 100X more difficult.
Here are 3 things successful eCommerce brands are doing today, that you’re probably not.
Social media ads still need to be part of your advertising plans, but if you're not focusing on these three things, you’re leaving money (and customers) on the table.
Everyone wants an easy solution, but growing a successful brand is never easy.
The brands winning right now do these 3 things very well, and it's not a one-size-fits-all approach.
Brand awareness is how familiar customers are with your brand and what it stands for. Focusing here helps you to attract new customers and build relationships with existing ones. Beyond just running branded ads, you need to focus on organic social, storytelling, and…our next point. Community.
Building a community around your brand means creating a group of people who are passionate (or obsessed) about your brand and its products. A strong community will help you to build brand awareness, generate word-of-mouth, and get feedback from your customers.
Brand collaborations and partnerships between two or more brands are great for reaching new audiences, cross-promoting your products, and increasing both brand awareness and community. When done well, brand collaborations can be a win-win for both brands involved.
If you’re struggling with performance marketing right now, you’ll thank yourself 5 years from now, because you started to focus on your brand.
In this episode of the Agency X podcast, John Surdakowski unveils 10 game-changing tips to skyrocket your Shopify e-commerce store's conversion rates. Whether you're a new or experienced Shopify store merchant, this episode is packed with actionable advice to help you achieve your conversion goals. From enhancing product presentation and AB testing UX changes to understanding your customers and effectively conveying your brand story, the strategies shared in this episode are simple yet powerful, making a significant impact on your bottom line.
Additionally, we highlight some of our favorite e-commerce tools and their features that can further enhance your store's performance
Tune in and transform your Shopify store into a conversion powerhouse.
More E-commerce and agency tips shared weekly on John's Commerce & Bull$hit LinkedIn Newsletter.
As a Head of Marketing at Wonderment and ex-Head of Partner Community at Attentive, Blake Imperl has extensive expertise in building and scaling retention marketing programs for D2C brands.
On this Agency X episode, Blake, along with John, talks about the importance of leveraging retention marketing channels to create exceptional customer experiences:
It's that time again: Shopify just announced its 2023 Winter Editions with 100+ products and updates for merchants, developers and partners to build long-lasting relationships with their consumers.
John, Founder and CEO at Avex, shares his initial take on the released updates including:
From building and scaling eCommerce businesses to commerce components for Enterprise brands and developer tooling to customize any commerce experience, the Shopify Winter '23 Edition is all about performance, flexibility and customization.
In this episode, John Surdakowski is joined by Dhanesh Shelat, global digital marketing director at one of L’Oreal’s leading skincare brands and a real estate entrepreneur.
Dhanesh brings years of experience in SEO and digital marketing along with a lot of interest in AI and branding to an engaging conversation that taps into:
We are moving towards more immersive online experiences that blend hyper-personalization, AI, metaverse, AR, and VR. Early adopters are the most to benefit.
To get a full understanding of the new normal shaping the eCommerce industry, check out The Future is Now eBook by Avex and Shopify in collaboration with leading eCommerce partners. Now available for free on Avex Website.
Shopify just announced Commerce Components, the modern composable stack for enterprise retail. In this episode, I discuss my thoughts on why it's important, who it is for, and some of the benefits.
Allyn Hane, President & Founder at Yard Mastery (https://yardmastery.com/), brings niche brands direct to consumers on Shopify. Allyn, also known as The Lawn Care Nut, grew what started as a hobby to a +500,000 Subscribers Channel on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@Thelawncarenut)
In this episode, John and Allyn touched base intensively on exciting topics related to digital marketing, lawn care, product development, and the creator economy.
+ lawn care tips for all enthusiasts tuning in today!
Sean McGinnis is President & Integrator at KURU Footwear (https://www.kurufootwear.com). Sean has been a digital marketing leader since 2006 and has led customer acquisition and lead gen for Fortune 50 and Startup companies across a breadth of products and services. Sean is currently focused on meeting the growth targets of KURU Footwear, a rapidly scaling D2C eCommerce company focused on building stylish shoes to fight foot pain.
In this episode of Agency X, John and Sean discuss
2:00 EOS and using a paid implementor
6:00 Changes in digital marketing over the years and getting started in law, home theatre, and DVD reviews and keyword stuffing on long running pages
16:25 Challenges within the business of growing (Magento 2)
20:00 Going from being an IT business with Magento to an ecommerce business with Shopify
25:45 Impact of iOS 14.5
33:00 Impact of Google changes on SEO 3
7:00 Growing your affiliate and content network with a product that solves a problem
Tim is the founder of Fern Studios - a consultancy focused on reframing the way agency leaders think. Before that, he was a founding member of We Make Websites, a Shopify Plus agency acquired by the Born Group in 2021. In his spare time, he hosts the Your Basket Is Empty podcast and does a little angel investing.
In this episode, Tim and John break down:
- What agencies need to reframe, and the way that they think.
- Building We Make Websites with his cofounder and former guest Alex O'Byrne
- Growth Strategies that always work
Jon Bausman is the former Director of Marketing at Vitality, a booming athleisure brand headquartered in Denver, CO. His 15+ year marketing career and portfolio of several outdoor brands such as Cabela’s, Columbia Sportswear, Airhead, as well as Eli Lilly & Company, DowAgro Sciences, and Super Bowl 46. In a past life, Jon served as an Entertainment TV Host, starred in Walmart commercials, and was on several episodes of Parks and Rec. He enjoys snowboarding, hiking, camping, and believes quoting movies is his second language.
Key moments in this episode.
3:00 starting out as an actor and moving into marketing through the lens of a social media marketer.
5:30 Moving into Vitality from other brands and the lessons Jon brought.
7:50 Building community and brand
12:30 The importance of founders communicating with customers
16:15 The challenges of building a community
21:00 DTC Brands shifting their expectations with rising costs of acquiring customers
30:00 SEO and fundamentals pay the bills
32:00 Vitality’s approach to data driven analysis
36:00 Is selling wholesale and in market places inevitable?
42:00 Shifting strategies to win when there is no right or wrong answer