The Virtual CMO Podcast
Season 5, Episode 11
Hosted By: Eric Dickmann
With Guest: Joe Scartz
Our Featured Guest
Joe Scartz
CHIEF DIGITAL COMMERCE OFFICER - Velocity Commerce GRoup
Joe Scartz is the Chief Digital Commerce Officer of Velocity Commerce Group and TPN+. He is an experienced executive with over 20 years of quantifiable marketing, digital marketing, and ecommerce success.
Joe has worked across industry verticals like retail, travel, CPG, automotive, branded manufacturers, and government to drive innovative and impactful marketing and e-commerce solutions with proven success. Whether in an e-commerce start-up or in a larger agency, Joe has worked well in team settings as an inspirational leader, mentor, and team member. Joe Scartz is an accomplished marketing executive, and as Velocity Commerce Group’s fearless leader, he is responsible for overseeing all digital commerce strategy and execution, including mobile, social, and traditional e-commerce.
He has contributed to more than 20 years of success for brands including Harley-Davidson, United Airlines, Budweiser, Clorox, and Hershey. Joe Scartz has an impressive history of helping agencies and Fortune 500 companies meet their strategic and financial goals.
What's Hot?
"Velocity Commerce Group identifies and develops the opportunities that are right for your brand to build commerce success.
We're a commerce consultancy that works across digital and personal channels.
We combine the right tools, people and partners to build unique and powerful solutions that drive results."
Velocity Channel Group is an omnichannel commerce consultancy backed up by the power of TPM+ and spearheaded by Joe Scartz. They are a complete commerce group who have deep expertise in omnichannel retail, Amazon, DTC, and pure-play eCommerce retailers. Velocity Commerce Group is composed of a group of industry veterans and business experts who help small and big clients with their marketing and account strategy, eCommerce management, content creation, supply chain consulting, and Amazon listings.
JoeScartz
if you have the time to do it yourself, do it yourself. See what you can learn by doing it for a while."
What We Discussed with Joe:
On this episode, host Eric Dickmann interviews Joe Scartz about selling online and building a successful e-Commerce business. Here are some highlights of our conversation:
- [00:02:15] The past year's trend - Joe shares that since the pandemic, brands have started to shift quickly online. Grocery stores are a great example with their growth in e-commerce exceeding 10 percent with more growth to come.
- [00:07:31] Amazon, Shopify, eBay, Etsy - These four major online marketplaces appeal to diverse kinds of businesses looking to sell an array of products to specific target markets. Scartz tells us that Amazon is great for anybody who wants to sell products to consumers across numerous categories because they provide a wide range of products and provide an excellent experience to both buyers and sellers. Etsy is a different type of platform focused on creators wanting sell directly to the consumer. Shopify and eBay also deliver specialized experiences to service their niches. Joe adds that these eCommerce platforms may offer similar type of experience, but they differ in the buying process and seller support.
- [00:13:12] How Shopify helps your business - Shopify helps businesses build their online store. This platform can help businesses simplify the process of plugging into a third-party logistics company, finding partners for merchandising and warehousing, and then ultimately providing an Amazon-like experience.
- [00:17:00] How eCommerce stores continually improve their customer experience - In the past, 2-day shipping didn't seem possible. However, with significant investments in logistics, warehousing, and shipping services, companies have raised the bar and are able to offer lower costs and faster shipping to the buyers which has driven a surge in eCommerce activity.
- [00:23:24] Why Amazon removed their affiliate fees - There are two reasons why Amazon reduced their affiliate payments. The first is the rise of influencer marketing. Amazon decided it was unnecessary to pay higher affiliate commissions since it costs much less to get the same traffic from influencers. The second is fake reviews and recommendations. Fake reviews from bad actors trying to scam the platforms while generating affiliate income had become too big a problem.
- [00:29:40] Do you need to hire an agency for eCommerce? - Joe shares that Velocity Commerce Group caters to both small clients and Fortune 500 companies. Large businesses might consider consulting eCommerce experts or Amazon specialists to manage complex eCommerce strategies while small businesses with limited budgets could benefit from the consulting knowledge of experts who can keep them from making costly mistakes.
Resources Mentioned
- Velocity Commerce Group - Company Website
- TPN+ - Company Website
