A Shopify Podcast To Grow Revenue And Loyalty
Welcome to another episode of eCommerce Fastlane. Today, we’re excited to have Ben Sharf, the Founder of Platter. Platter is a game-changing company that’s transforming how Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) brands optimize and manage their Shopify stores. Ben brings a fascinating background to his role, having been a Division 1 hockey player and an eCommerce expert at Gopuff, which gives him a unique perspective on discipline and innovative thinking.
In this episode, Ben shares incredible insights into how Platter has helped businesses like Kaged, a brand that jumped from 7-figures to 8-figures in revenue, largely due to Platter’s optimization strategies. He explains Platter’s unique approach to streamlining operations, reducing app overload, and dramatically increasing conversion rates. By using Platter’s theme and app bundle, brands can significantly improve site performance and profitability.
Throughout our conversation, Ben reveals how companies can save money, boost conversions, and simplify their tech stacks, ultimately making their Shopify store faster and more efficient. If you’re looking to take your store to the next level, you won’t want to miss this episode packed with valuable tips and strategies from one of the industry’s leading experts.
This is Ben Sharf’s Story…
Ben, the Co-Founder of Platter, has an impressive background as a former Division 1 hockey player who turned down a professional sports opportunity and an M&A consulting job at one of the big four consulting firms to pursue his entrepreneurial dreams. After gaining valuable experience working at Gopuff, where he helped build their “Powered By” business unit to unlock instant delivery for ecommerce websites, Ben partners with his co-founders, Mike and Kieran.
As they worked together, consulting with D2C brands, the trio identified recurring pain points that many Shopify stores faced – bloated tech stacks, app overload, and developer dependencies leading to slower websites and lower conversion rates. This realization led them to build Platter, a platform aimed at helping brands streamline operations, reduce app overload, and boost conversion rates.
By productizing repetitive work and building a theme and app bundle, Platter empowers brands to create high-converting storefronts quickly and cost-effectively. Today, Platter is helping brands like Kaged achieve remarkable success, with the company leaping from a 7-figure to an 8-figure business largely due to Platter’s optimization.
Ben’s journey from hockey to eCommerce innovator is a testament to the power of passion, discipline, and entrepreneurial spirit in the ever-evolving world of online retail.
Key Takeaways From Our Conversation:
1️⃣ Conversion Rate Boost: Platter helped the brand Kaged achieve a remarkable 45% increase in conversion rate, playing a key role in their growth from a 7-figure to an 8-figure business by optimizing their ecommerce storefront.
2️⃣ Streamlined Operations: Platter’s bundled theme and app solution consolidates multiple apps into one unified offering, reducing app overload, improving site performance, and potentially saving brands thousands in operational costs annually.1
3️⃣ Continuous Innovation: As a subscription service, Platter releases new features and updates every quarter at no additional charge, ensuring your storefront stays optimized with the latest conversion best practices.
Summary Of What We Covered:
- Ben’s background as a Division 1 hockey player instilled discipline and a competitive mindset that translates well to entrepreneurship and driving performance in ecommerce businesses.
- Major pain points observed in DTC brands included bloated tech stacks, app overload, slower websites, lower conversions, and over-reliance on developers for simple changes.
- Platter differentiates itself with a high-converting theme built around best practices, with native functionality like mega menus, cart upsells, bundle builders, etc. consolidated into one solution.
- For Kaged, Platter enabled a 45% increase in conversion rate, helping them grow from a 7-figure to an 8-figure brand by optimizing their ecommerce experience.
- The primary value prop for Shopify Plus is Checkout Extensions in the Platter app, with one brand seeing a 42x ROI in the first month by implementing this feature alone.
- Platter’s quarterly updates ensure the platform stays current with the latest conversion tactics, without additional development costs for brands.
- Platter streamlines operations for aggregators managing multiple DTC brands by consolidating apps into one unified solution with centralized operations.
- Core Platter features like cart drawers, incentive bars, sticky CTAs, etc. increase profitability while reducing reliance on third-party apps.
- Platter directly addresses tech stack bloat by bundling popular marketing/conversion apps into their theme and app to simplify brand’s operations.
- As ecommerce evolves, Platter is committed to continue optimizing for maximum conversions by releasing new functionality quarterly based on emerging best practices.
Unlock the Secrets to Scaling Your Shopify Store
Are you ready to take your Shopify store to the next level? Join Steve Hutt every week as he sits down with expert guests to uncover proven strategies for expanding your business and boosting your bottom line.
Each episode is packed with actionable tips and insights, including:
– The top Shopify apps to streamline your operations and drive sales
– Cutting-edge marketing platforms to reach and convert more customers
– Essential growth tactics used by successful brands in DTC, ecommerce, and retail
If you’re not constantly innovating and optimizing, you’re falling behind. That’s why I’m excited to bring you the latest trends and best practices from industry leaders each and every week. – Steve Hutt
Whether you’re a founder looking to scale quickly or a marketer aiming to improve key metrics, the eCommerce Fastlane podcast will give you the tools and knowledge you need to thrive.
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