E196: Silvia Sygrist

Carrianne Dukes [00:00:04]:
Hi, and welcome to episode a 196 of the eCom@One podcast. In this episode, Richard has the absolute pleasure of hosting Sylvia Sigrist, the head of marketing at Seep. Sylvia shares her journey into the world of eCommerce and the mission behind the Seep brand. Seep aims to eliminate 1,000,000,000 plastic cleaning tools from going to landfill by 2030. Richard and Sylvia discussed the importance of focusing on the specific niche, how building a strong online community can influence the engagement and brand loyalty. Sylvia also shares how brands can use referral programs in a smart way to incentivize customers. There's all that and more in this fantastic episode. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, hit the subscribe or follow button wherever you are listening to this podcast.

Carrianne Dukes [00:00:55]:
So you're always the first to know when a new episode is released. Now let's head over to this fantastic episode.

Richard Hill [00:01:06]:
Hi, Sylvia. How are you doing?

Sylvia Sigrist [00:01:08]:
I'm great. Thanks. And you?

Richard Hill [00:01:09]:
I am lovely. It looks very very sunny where you are today. I'm very jealous.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:01:14]:
Yeah. I've just pulled down the shades. So

Richard Hill [00:01:17]:
yeah. Okay. So that's I I really looking forward to this one. Really looking forward to what you've been doing at SEEP. But before we get into the nitty gritty, I think it'd be great for you to introduce yourself and tell our listeners how you got into the world of ecommerce.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:01:30]:
Yeah. Yeah. Of course. So kind of I started my career out agency side, actually. I spent almost 3 years agency side working for, big multinationals. So HP, Consumer and Business Electronics, and Fleetwood Campina, which was, which is a dairy FMCG brand. Kind of after being there from agency side for quite a while, I really wanted to kind of expand my skill set, be involved in a lot more variety of kind of, like, marketing projects. And that's when I decided the start up world seemed the right thing for me and I guess is.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:02:08]:
So I went on to work for Skinsenets, which was a skin and appearance clinic brand, in London. I also went on to work for Albright, which is a businesswomen's network, you know, offering courses, events, networking opportunities. And then kind of, like, I ended up at SEAT. Like, I hadn't worked for a sustainable brand before, but I think what SEAT was doing was really different. I hadn't seen products, you know, plastic free, cleaning tools specifically in cleaning hours before, so I thought, like, it was very different. I thought the purpose and mission was was really exciting. So, yeah, I went straight into it. But, yeah, I think I I definitely started my career kind of working on those, you know, big multinationals and corporates and then Yeah.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:02:52]:
Went into, like, smaller, smaller kind of, like, startup world, scale up world.

Richard Hill [00:02:58]:
Yeah. So you've seen it from both sides, big maybe big budgets, and that's just this grand thing, and, you know, agency side, and no fear, and maybe but then, obviously, they're very different when your client side's networking and selling courses and things like that. You know, obviously, ecommerce, work with big big brands, you know, a whole vast array of different experience, dealing with different budgets, and different challenges. So that's yeah. You've seen a lot, I'm sure. Yeah.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:03:24]:
I think, like, definitely agency side, it well, like, it's very different strategies, isn't it? Because, like, agency side, when you're working with bigger brands, it's all about kind of, like, driving awareness. You've got more budgets to play around. You can test around with more things, and then you go into a start up, and that's more, like, acquisition focused, you know, using the budget as efficiently as possible, trying Yeah. New things, but then not being drastic and, like, you know, spending all the money on the test that you don't think about.

Richard Hill [00:03:50]:
Scrappy, a bit more agile, a bit more conscious of the money. Yes.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:03:55]:
A lot more conscious of the money. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Definitely.

Richard Hill [00:03:58]:
So yeah. I mean, so, SEEP. I think it'd be great for you to tell our listeners about SEEP and sort of the mission behind it because I think it's it's fascinating.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:04:08]:
Yeah. Yeah. So at SEEP, we're on a mission to eliminate 1,000,000,000 plastic cleaning tools from going to landfill by 2030. So the traditional cleaning tools that we see in your house today are all made from plastics, so either plastic or polyester. And when they break down, they release microplastics. So what we wanna do is our mission is to encourage people to switch to a more sustainable alternative, a plastic free alternative that can be composted or recycled. And even if it does land in landfill, it'll break down, and not release or, leach microplastics kind of into the earth or, it'll basically biodegrade harmlessly. So that's kind of like what we wanna do, since launching in 2020.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:04:53]:
So we've been trading for 3 years. We're in a 4th year. We've prevented 3.5, over 3.5, actually, 1,000,000 plastic cleaning tools, going to landfill. And we estimate that around 55% of those products have not reached landfill at all because they've been composted by our customers or recycled or put into food waste. So, yeah, that's kind of, like, our mission and and what we're we're here to do, basically.

Richard Hill [00:05:18]:
It sounds fascinating. I mean, we've we've had various of your we had a delivery, you know, a few weeks ago from you guys. Thank you very much for that. You know, we like to look at the the brands that we're having on the on the podcast, obviously, in more detail than than just going, yeah. Come on. Make sure everything, sort of, matches our ethos and, sort of, you know, our our own, sort of the way we run our business. And, you know, the way that the delivery was received, is that how customers get the delivery? Obviously, the way it was packaged and the way I think that was just really nice, the way it was, you know, packaged up and presented. I think that was a a nice sort of, moment.

Richard Hill [00:05:52]:
That unboxing moment, is is that all part of the process and the strategy?

Sylvia Sigrist [00:05:56]:
Yep. Definitely. I think we we definitely wanna create experience. I think you received a personal Yeah. Personalized message, so that wouldn't go into every order, Because we just wanna, you know, say thank you, but it usually comes with a leaflet, but that would be, like, the unboxing experience, you you get. Yeah. We're like, an online first usual first kind of, like, business. So, yeah, that experience is really important, and I think that's one of the things that sets us apart that, we do care about, you know, how our brand looks, how how you receive it.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:06:26]:
We we want you to open it and make you feel good about what you're seeing inside or exciting to use our products. So, yeah, it's all part of it.

Richard Hill [00:06:35]:
Yeah. I mean, it's a it's a part. I think it's a huge part. It's obviously get you getting that order will come to you. But, obviously, once you've got those that initial order, you know, it's obviously that experience get that that experience of unboxing, that experience of receiving that package is just absolutely key for a product like yours where, obviously, the idea is those people become customers for life as many of them that we can make ask ask them to be and encourage them to be. And I'm sure you'll be sharing a few strategies on how you're doing that as well. But so the mission you said at the beginning, 1,000,000,000 pieces or 1 mill 1,000,000,000, you know, items. And I think you said you'd you've shipped 3a half 1000000.

Richard Hill [00:07:12]:
So if my math is correct, you're at 96 and a half percent. Is that right? Yeah. But to go sort of thing. I I think my maths are right. I'm sure somebody will check it in the comments and tell me I'm off, but

Sylvia Sigrist [00:07:23]:
Yeah.

Richard Hill [00:07:23]:
I'm sure it's correct. Or we'll we'll edit it again to make sure it's right. But

Sylvia Sigrist [00:07:27]:
Yeah. Yeah. 96 point this one.

Richard Hill [00:07:30]:
Yeah. Yeah.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:07:30]:
I'm just going with what you're going with.

Richard Hill [00:07:32]:
Is gonna be my thing. So I think I'm I'm bang on there, but I'm sure somebody will tell me I'm a I'm a decimal point out there. Anyway, so, obviously, a relatively young brand, 3, three and a half years in, coming up to 4 years, and, obviously, you know, a great, sort of, ethos behind the brand and, you know, a 3 and a half percent there. But, obviously, breaking into the market and the ecospace and sustainability, You know? Yeah. How have you what have you done to really try and break into what is a very, very, very competitive space in such a short short space of time? What are some of the things you've done, and what are some things that our listeners can think about that are trying to break into, niches, maybe eco, maybe sustainability, maybe not, but, also you know, ultimately, is trying to be quite scrappy and, and positioning. And but what would you say about that? What have you what would you what have you done?

Sylvia Sigrist [00:08:23]:
Yeah. Yeah. So there there are few things that I can think of. I think one of the big things is just having a focus. So, for example, I'll just take sleep and kind of apply the examples. But, like, the cleaning cleaning aisle, you have cleaning liquids, sprays. I don't know. You've got capsules.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:08:40]:
You've got laundry. So, actually, that category is really big. What we've really done from the start is really focused specifically on cleaning tools. And if you look at cleaning tools specifically, which are, like, your sponge scours, you know, the cleaning cloths we use, bin liners, and lops. Yeah. You'll see that actually there aren't that many, you know, alternative eco products. Like, if you go into your local Waitrose, I doubt you'll see a sustainable product on shelf offering, a plastic free alternative. You'll see the Spontex and Viletas, which are kind of the big legacy brands.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:09:14]:
So I think Yeah. Us, like, having a clear focus and sticking to it and not diversifying from that has, really allowed us to, you know, focus all our efforts in one area of, like, the clean house. So I think definitely having that focus is really important. Yeah. And it's second, I guess How many

Richard Hill [00:09:33]:
products are in the how many products are in the line then or in the category?

Sylvia Sigrist [00:09:38]:
Do you mean generally? Or like how many

Richard Hill [00:09:42]:
we Yeah. Yeah. How many products do you have in in SEEP?

Sylvia Sigrist [00:09:46]:
We have around 20 different products. So some of them are kind of like different variations or pack sizes, but we have, 20 different products, in our range.

Richard Hill [00:09:56]:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Sorry. I think I I did interrupt you there, so apologies. Can you please carry on?

Sylvia Sigrist [00:10:01]:
It's all good. And so I think, like, secondly, as I mentioned, there are quite a lot of legacy brands in in kind of, like, the to to and probably in other as well. But we well, we started the brand kind of digital first. You know? She started selling her products through her econ website as kind of, like, her first channel. Yeah. So I think that gave us an advantage in the online space. So our website looks great. She's been able to build kind of, like, an online, community.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:10:30]:
We have, like, a bigger social following than some of the, like, some brands have. So we're able to kind of really engage with our online audience and community really well. We also have quite a loyal kind of founding customer base called our C suite. And, like, with them, any feedback that we need or any new prototypes or designs that we create, we always kind of, ask our c suite to test them, try them, give their opinions and feedback so we know that we're always developing new useful products that that do actually really work. So I think that kind of, like, digital foundation has really given us advantage in the online space, which, you know, a lot of things like c brand don't have. They started out, like, ages ago and, like, you know, online at ecom wasn't really big. So I think that's given us an advantage, yeah, in in in the aisle. And then, also, I think, generally, our brand stands out.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:11:26]:
So we went through a rebrand last year. So I would say that our branding looks quite clean, modern, but it still has, like, that energy. I think it's really interesting because if you think about the cleaning out, it's all about, like, power, efficiency, strength. And when you think of eco products, you think of brown, beige, maybe like kind, gentle, subtle.

Richard Hill [00:11:47]:
Yeah. So

Sylvia Sigrist [00:11:48]:
I think what we really needed to think about is how can we still convey that energy, and also show that, you know, our products do work because there's nothing more annoying than buying a clean product and it not doing the job. Like, you will just not buy again. Right? Like, if a spray doesn't clean or if a sponge just breaks down, you're not gonna buy it again. So I think we found a good balance in kind of conveying, like, kind of a modern brand and kind of the sustainable messaging as well as, that kind of energy. And also our products are not wrapped in plastic, which is what you'd usually see in in the aisle.

Richard Hill [00:12:29]:
Yeah.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:12:30]:
So I think we've really thought about how our brand can set up stand out on shelves, but also, like, on our ecom website, and how we can make it look different to anything that's out there at the moment.

Richard Hill [00:12:41]:
You covered a lot of ground there, Sylvia, haven't you? I'm thinking where's the best way to go? Because it's like you you know, we we talked about, obviously, folk well, you talked about focus. You know, you've got a very focused set of products in a very specific niche vertical. You know? So in terms of, obviously, then trying to target marketing makes it easier. I'm not saying it's easy because we'll we'll come to the marketing piece next. Yeah. And then you're building a community around it, obviously, focusing on the social aspect, the, the community aspect, the eco, the sustainability. But I think, like you said about the branding, obviously, standing out on the in the aisle and standing out online, it was, was that quite a lengthy process, the branding? Obviously, Mooch, you know, was you probably work you working with a branding agency or internally? Or

Sylvia Sigrist [00:13:27]:
Yeah. So we work with, a really small brand agency. They don't even have a website. They're, like, very

Richard Hill [00:13:32]:
niche.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:13:34]:
Yep. So, but we found that through, like, founder recommendations through the community, which is always really helpful in in the kind of, like, startups, scale up world. But they really supported us in creating kind of, like, the guidelines around our branding, you know, the graphics. And it was quite a lengthy process because there were definitely things that we didn't want we didn't want it to look eco. We didn't want it to look, you know, subtle. We definitely want it to to stand out. We don't wanna be referenced to, you know, the usual things you think about when you think of sustainable brands like the ocean or maybe like turtles. You know, we didn't want, anything like that.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:14:11]:
So, yeah, I think it went through a lot of reviews, but I think when you have, like, a solid foundation, then it's needed to then roll out across your different channels.

Richard Hill [00:14:21]:
Yeah.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:14:22]:
So yeah. No. We definitely needed support, in that aspect, and we did get it from from a from an agency.

Richard Hill [00:14:28]:
Yeah. So I think yeah. We we maybe should do you wanna tag up the, the branding agency that are responsible for the branding?

Sylvia Sigrist [00:14:34]:
Do you wanna give me a shout out? Are we Yeah. They're called Fly. So, it's Darren and Natalie, who helped us. I think they're like a team of 2, Amy, and they've got other team members that work with them.

Richard Hill [00:14:47]:
We'll link that up because I think, you know, it's important. Obviously, you you said they don't have a website. No. Obviously, they're sort of they'll know they're known in the space, and I think, you know, we work with a lot of partners like that that are maybe slightly under the radar, and there's a reason for that because they're quite maybe a bit selective of who they work with, and they'd be very, very good work. Yeah.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:15:04]:
Yeah. You know, all like you said, selective. Yeah. But they're they're really great to work with.

Richard Hill [00:15:10]:
So, you know, you talked about, you know, obviously, the branding, leading into the marketing, you know, all part of the marketing. But, you know, channels, the actual mark let's get into the marketing. Obviously, you know, you've you've shipped 3 and a half 1000000 pieces, you know, relatively young brand. You know, that's a lot of lot of products. You know, marketing channels, you know, what marketing channels have you been focusing on? Are you focusing on now to grow the brand?

Sylvia Sigrist [00:15:35]:
Yeah. So, yeah, we're still, like, very much our DTC drives a chunk of our sales, so that's a really big focus for for me. We also have other channels like Amazon, and then our wholesale kind of retail. But, like, I'm pretty much focused on DTC because, you know, it's our biggest channel. Digital marketing channels are just very effective. They produce results really quickly, which is always what people want to see. So, those are really important for us. I think the the big one is meta ads.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:16:05]:
As I assume, it is for a lot of kind of, like, scaling brands. So we've invested a lot of time in kind of creative testing, through our our meta ads. Also, I mentioned it briefly, but organic social channels are really important as well because that's kind of something that differentiates us from competitors. It's really important for us to continue to educate, engage our audience, drive interest in in what we're doing. It's part of, like, the founder storytelling, I guess you could say, and also, like, how our brand is represented online. So it's really important for us. We are starting to invest more in, like, influencer gifting, social gifting or UGC content type of thing that showcases, our products in different ways or different ways to use them. So that's something that we're we're testing out and looking, into more now.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:16:59]:
I mean, there's a huge, like during the lockdown, it was, like, clean talk or a huge, increase in, you know, clean influencers. And I don't think we've really tapped to that, like, very well. So Yeah. I think there's really room for us to kind of engage with that community more as well.

Richard Hill [00:17:15]:
So so what content is working well right now? You know, when you obviously talk about meta, talk about, you know, organic social, but maybe maybe meta ads and and, you know, getting stopping the scroll, getting the orders, you know, building the brand on socials. What sort of content is working well? What ads are working well?

Sylvia Sigrist [00:17:33]:
Yeah. So I would say, like, for meta ads, there are 2 things that, like, never disappoint. So one is, our founder videos. They just have worked really well since the start. Like, we've always ran, founder videos, and it's usually kind of a Laura, our founder, holding up a plastic sponge. Like, did you know the sponge is made from plastic? Or, hey. I'm Laura. I'm the founder of Seat.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:17:59]:
I started Seed because I hated these. They're made from plastic. So I think something that always references the the traditional version of the product because the truth is that people kind of can relate to, you know, that yellow green spudder scour. But so I believe that people haven't seen, like, an eco spud before or knows what that looks like. Yeah. So we found that always having that familiar references is really, really important for us. And I guess that's the same. So the second theme that works well for us is the us versus them, themes.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:18:35]:
So, again, showing the plastic sponge, what's bad about it, it's not washable, not compostable, low quality versus our better solution.

Richard Hill [00:18:45]:
Yeah.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:18:45]:
And, again, it's using that that reference point, which had been like a really big learning for me because, you know, whenever you you're thinking of bringing new products to the market, you think, like, oh, people will just know what it is or, but I think that people just for example, ads that don't work well are the ones where we just show, like, our product in hand. Yeah.

Richard Hill [00:19:06]:
And I

Sylvia Sigrist [00:19:07]:
think people just

Richard Hill [00:19:07]:
like, what is what is this? Yeah. When you're educating them before that. Yeah.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:19:12]:
Yeah. Because our product is white. So, and it just looks I don't think people know what it is. Maybe, like, they think it's for the body, which you can use it for your body if you want to because it's completely, like, plastic free and made from plants. But, yeah, I think, like, it's more mysterious, I guess, whereas people know what a yellow yellow one is.

Richard Hill [00:19:30]:
Now you might be looking for an SEO boost, a down to earth digital PR campaign to share your story, or maybe just some straightforward technical help to amp up your performance. Now that's where Ecom Now comes in, a partner that's all about making things easier for your online store. Our services cover everything from creating professional content for your ecommerce categories to refining your product descriptions. Now whether you're just starting out or been in it for a while, we're here to deliver real impactful results that add to your bottom line without unnecessary commitments. You can order one off or multiple projects with a quick turnaround. Simply choose what you need. So, yeah, comparing the 2 and just educating. Oh, I didn't know that.

Richard Hill [00:20:14]:
I didn't know that. I didn't know those green ones didn't didn't they know, you know, they don't compose and decompose, sorry, in landfill. Oh, well, maybe we should, you know, educate, educate, educate, then try, have a really good experience. Yeah. Not like that a lot. Yeah.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:20:29]:
Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. And what we found is that, actually, you know, why that is so important is people don't realize that their their sponge is actually made from plastic. I don't think people think about it a lot. You know? Like, they they may buy the eco clean sprays. You know? There are a lot out there, like Method, Neat, Ecover. But, we don't think about the tools or maybe they use it, but they a lot of people did real don't realize when we ask them that those yellow ones are made from plastic.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:20:55]:
Yeah. They might think it's some other material, but it is actually plastic. So I think we have, like, a big job of agitating, you know, firstly, that it is bad or that, it is made from plastic, but also that there is an alternative because people don't know that there are other options out there. They just you know, they're so used to using the plastic version that, you also have to show that Yeah. You know, there is there is an alternative,

Richard Hill [00:21:21]:
like Another way.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:21:22]:
Yeah. Exactly.

Richard Hill [00:21:25]:
So you you touched on, UGC, you know, and and but I think that, you know, what a lot of, clients of ours and and people we speak to, you know, struggle to, you know, maybe do do the do the deals and, with with the influencers or to maybe even start that process. You know? What are some of the some advice that you would give to listeners about potentially incentivizing, creators to, you know, work with brands on with UGC or customers more so, I think?

Sylvia Sigrist [00:21:56]:
Yeah. So, interestingly, on the customer side, we've tried that. So we've incentivized, you know, customers to to send us content of them using our products, by giving them free products or giving them credit, to buy products on our website. And while maybe there's interest in it or people are interested in doing it, what we found is, like, content is not, like, the quality that we would need to kind of, like, create an ad with. So I think that is, like, a big challenge for us. I think maybe so our audience is kind of like busy moms, 30 to 55. Like, it's really different to, like, a Gen z audience that might be, you know, really in tune with the latest trends, really text savvy, knows, like, the TikTok stuff.

Richard Hill [00:22:38]:
TikTok videos every day.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:22:39]:
Yeah. Versus, like, you know, busy moms, they just don't have the time. So I think, like

Richard Hill [00:22:44]:
Yeah.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:22:44]:
Getting that contact with customers has been a challenge for us. So if you've got any tips, I think that would be great. But what we've done instead is, as I mentioned before that we're we actively reach out to, influencers. We usually target kind of, like, nano, micro, so influencers with

Richard Hill [00:23:02]:
Mhmm.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:23:02]:
Smaller followings. And you'd be surprised that a lot of them are so so willing to support Seed and so willing to support small businesses because they believe in what we do or they love how our products look. Like, our design is very different. It's, you know, they're keen to try it out. So that's the way that we get into the hands of, like, I guess, like, content creators, influencers, and we've seen that we get, like, some really great content from that, that we can then use, you know, organically on on our website as well as on socials. So I think it's really, I guess, finding the right fit, but also, you know, being upfront that you are a small business. You know, like, their support means a lot. Some of these, like, creators, we, like, work with on a continuous basis, so we're able to send them you know, we always send them free products.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:23:50]:
Whenever we launch a new product, we we'll send it send it to them. So it's also building those strong relationships with those, smaller influencers. And they must have had a Yeah. Yeah. And we've tried bigger ones, but I think and I think what a lot of people are finding out is it's usually the smaller ones where you see the higher engagement or the the higher engagement in your brand because they're genuinely interested in kind of, like, what we're doing.

Richard Hill [00:24:13]:
Yeah. So do do do you request a video review as part of your post sort of purchase? Obviously, a week or 3 after, is it part of your post purchase sequences? You know, like, different different review platforms, obviously, inherently have that functionality built in. Quite a lot of them. I won't mention any now because we're not doing a podcast about review platforms. We've done so many of those. But there is a couple of fantastic review platforms, that obviously have that built in as part of the process, you know, after the order's been received, so forth. It's an opportunity to then leave, you know, a video review, some form of UGC, and then, obviously, tying that into potentially some sort of incentive, whether that's, you know, points in a, you know, incentive program, you know, a a VIP program. You know, are you doing a are you doing those sort of things?

Sylvia Sigrist [00:25:03]:
Yeah. So we're we have our reviews platform, that we use. And when someone leaves a review, we there's always an option to leave, like, an image, a video, whatever Yeah. You know, you want. It's not used that much, I would say. Like, people are just happy to leave a review. I guess it requires more effort. But when someone does leave a review, we give them a discount or, like, points towards a loyalty program.

Richard Hill [00:25:28]:
Yeah.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:25:28]:
So that's kind of, like, the incentives that we we offer. And you'll see that usually there if someone does kind of capture content, they usually be imagery. But that then again isn't, like, very exciting to then use across our soulfuls because you just pick a picture of your skin. Like, it's not that. You know? That revolutionary cleaning

Richard Hill [00:25:48]:
isn't,

Sylvia Sigrist [00:25:48]:
like, really that, you know, sexy. Like, you wouldn't you wouldn't be cleaning. You're like, oh, I really need to take a picture

Richard Hill [00:25:53]:
of that.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:25:53]:
So it's a very different product.

Richard Hill [00:25:56]:
We're on a mission to make steep cleaning tools sexy, Aileen, to get them.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:26:01]:
I mean, like, we'd love to make it very sexy. A whole new hashtag

Richard Hill [00:26:04]:
coming, I think. Cleaning is sexy. Good luck with that one. So, you touched on that sort of incentives and, you know, and building, community. And, you know, maybe, you know, for the listeners, I think there's a lot of, you know, a lot of ecom stores that we speak to still don't have some form of loyalty, you know, sort of focus on that loyalty piece. You know, getting pay obviously, getting the customers initially is one thing. You know, we talked about acquisition a little bit. But that loyalty and retention, you know, is absolutely key in in in this era we're in right now.

Richard Hill [00:26:34]:
You know, what sort of things are you doing? Obviously, you get that order, when maybe they've ordered, you know, a bit of everything or 3 or 4 things. They've had a beautiful experience of unboxing, you know, as beautiful as you can with your sponge. You know, what are you doing to build loyalty post purchase?

Sylvia Sigrist [00:26:53]:
Yeah. So, well, one thing that we've tested is a loyalty program, which has been points based. Actually, what we're seeing is that we're thinking of sunsetting, actually, because I think people, like, sign up to it, but then disengage with it. And even though it's kind of, like, integrated into our email flows, I think people aren't using it as much. Although, the ones that do use it, they use it a lot. So you'll see, like, some super loyal, customers that just collect so many points and are really engaged with it, but then the majority just aren't. So what we're moving to is, you know, a pure referral program, which currently makes up, our loyalty program at the moment, but we want it to just be kind of like pure referral, make it very simple and easy so that we're focusing on just getting customers to refer their friends and offering an incentive on that, like, get 5, get 5. And in our email flows, we've also got kind of, like, different so we've got loyalty flow.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:27:49]:
So, like, if you spend x and have done this many orders, you're in our silver, you know, segment Yeah. And there's a gold segment and the VIP. And so with each of the and as part of those different segments, you get, like, different benefits Yeah. Or you might get a discount or you might get free product. So, we're kind of we've built that out, quite recently. We've also got post purchase flows. If you've bought something, we'll remind you to, like, stock up.

Richard Hill [00:28:15]:
The the platform you're using, does it begin with a k?

Sylvia Sigrist [00:28:18]:
Yes. It does.

Richard Hill [00:28:21]:
Yeah. I thought so. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No. It's a

Sylvia Sigrist [00:28:25]:
great platform. Yeah. Yeah. I love it. I think it's one of the best, that we've used.

Richard Hill [00:28:30]:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We we we very much, you know, manage dozens of brands, Klaviyo accounts. Yep. Yeah. Yep. Fantastic.

Richard Hill [00:28:39]:
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So let's just change direction a little bit. So, obviously, you've got the the, you know, the d two c, a huge part of the business, but we've got a retail side. You know? And I know you're sort of working with Ocado. You know? Why did you sort of decide to do that? What what how was that sort of part of the the road map of the plan?

Sylvia Sigrist [00:28:57]:
Yeah. So I would say that retail has always been part of our our strategy, our go strategy. Like, we want to reach as many people as possible. We know that there's demand in the market for our products, and we want to make our products accessible. So, like, when we when the business started out, I think we started selling into small, like, wholesalers, like your local refill shops, boutique shops. We've slowly grown, from that, and we started supplying more, like, local retailers. So we went to Plant Organic and Whole Foods, which is, I think, is very local to to London. Yeah.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:29:34]:
And then, like, more recently so, like, this year, we've really targeted bigger national listings like Ocado, Boots and Lakeland. So it's kind of been a gradual growth. And actually, we've been accepted to onto the Tesco Accelerator program. So you'll be seeing us on Tesco shelves soon, which is a huge milestone for us.

Richard Hill [00:29:55]:
Yeah. Yeah.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:29:56]:
But, essentially, like, we don't want to just be a pure ecom brand. Like, we have, like, bigger ambitions than that. We wanna be there on the shelves with the legacy brands. We wanna be a household name. Like, if you're not buying a a plastic sponge, you're buying sleep. At least, like, that is a dream. Maybe my dream. Yeah.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:30:14]:
I think that would be, like, the ideal scenario. So, yeah. Yeah. We've got Yeah. Those those big dreams, I think.

Richard Hill [00:30:21]:
So it won't be long if you've got anything to do with it before the majority of our readers, listeners, are walking through around their favorite supermarket, and we'll have a a SEAP, section, or a SEAP, end of aisle, even better. End of aisle piece.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:30:40]:
Hopefully. That would be great. Yeah. And if the listeners, they're in they're gonna be in Tesco's one day and cc'd, make sure you check out one of our sponges. Help us out. Support us. Yeah.

Richard Hill [00:30:55]:
So you obviously touched on a few things there around the different flows. You know, just stepping back a second before we move on, but you you touched on a few things there around, you know, building out different flows based on, you know, different actions, you know, and sort of building, like, VIP customer segments and flows. They're very much sort of Klaviyo language and email marketing language. But what else have you sort of been sort of testing, AB testing, and what what sort of results have you had from that testing? It sounds like you like to, you know, segment and test and test and test, and you you have to be. You've been a a newer brand, been very scrappy with the budget and making sure where, oh, we've just spent $10 over here and sold 1 sponge. Obviously, that's not gonna you're gonna have a difficult conversation, are you? So what have you been AB testing? What have you been testing?

Sylvia Sigrist [00:31:40]:
Yeah. So, one of the things that we've recently tested so this is more like campaign wise, is kind of a very limited time offer, which we've never done before. So this was actually this year on on Prime Day, which I think was the 16th, 16th July. And it was a 24 hour offer, which we've never done before. And kind of, like, the messaging around that email was, you don't need to be a Prime member to get Prime discounts. Here's 15% off seat. And we've seen that email per outperform like any email we've done before in terms of sales. Yeah.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:32:14]:
It was really surprising to us because we've never done it before, and we didn't think, like, you know, that urgency messaging and, limited time, it just works so well. And we actually replicated that on our campaign for back to school, which we ran for 48 hours in that last weekend of August, and we saw similar results. So Yeah. That's definitely something we'll, continue doing, definitely.

Richard Hill [00:32:38]:
I've not heard that one. So, obviously, Amazon Prime Day, you know, with Ava, you know

Sylvia Sigrist [00:32:41]:
Yeah. Do it.

Richard Hill [00:32:42]:
Not obviously. It's not listed on Prime where you're doing it on your own, but just sort of piggybacking that. Everyone's aware of Prime Day ish if you listen to any type of media and you've got an account, but then you're piggybacking that sort of language, that terminology, that day or 2 days. Is it? I think yeah.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:32:58]:
Yeah. Yeah.

Richard Hill [00:32:59]:
I like that. I've not heard that one from the independent agents. Yeah.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:33:02]:
Yeah. And I think I guess people are in the buying line and sets, so maybe that plays into it as well. You know, people are looking for the best deals, things like that, so maybe that just worked in our favor. But, yeah, sense of urgency, I've learned, really important. Yeah.

Richard Hill [00:33:16]:
Nothing like a deadline, isn't there? We've got we've got, I'll I'll I'll give it a shout out. We've got our 200th episode, coming up, and, we look at peep we we'll have about 200 guests there. And, obviously, you're more than welcome to join us for the day for the day as well, Sylvia. But, when we look at, like, organizing a big event or fairly big event, like, nothing like urgency and deadlines, because, you know, obviously, the event has a date. But we know, you know, 2 months out, hardly anybody's booked, 6 weeks out, a few people have booked, and then 4 weeks later, you know, 2 weeks to go, you're like, it's like a 100 tickets in, like, 3 days is what we expect. So I think I'll let you know if it goes to flood, if I'm sitting in an empty city empty every man on the day, but that the deadlines and the timelines and and just, obviously, genuine deadlines, timelines, changes in price, and, you know, being straight with it. Yeah.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:34:04]:
And maybe your last 24 hours will be your best, day.

Richard Hill [00:34:09]:
Maybe. Maybe. Yeah. Yeah. So, obviously, it sounds like you've obviously had some, you know, fantastic success in in such a fairly short space. You know, the podcast this podcast started way before you started the brand, you know, before c c began. So it's a, you know, very new brand. And obviously, you're doing some amazing things, you know, getting some amazing listings, you know, in the big retailers, you know, and big plans to get more.

Richard Hill [00:34:34]:
But I'm guessing, you know, there have been quite a lot of challenges along the way. I think it's important that we talk about this this sort of thing, you know, this side of ecommerce and running a business, especially for our listeners. You know, everyone knows that, you know, working in any role potentially or definitely running and owning an ecom store, it's not all rosy, is it? You know, there's challenges on the way. You know, what's been some of the biggest challenges, SEEAP have had over the last 3 years, and maybe how did you overcome them?

Sylvia Sigrist [00:35:01]:
Yeah. So well, I think our biggest one is, you know, as we grow retail, like our retail channels, our retail listings, driving rate of sales in our national listings while also, driving growth in our other channels, I think that that's a big challenge for us because you're thinking about marketing more across a lot more different channels. It's kind of like multichannel strategy, where we've been focused a lot on acquisition, as you can imagine, kind of like on the digital side, the DTC side. Now we're thinking about awareness and branding and marketing. So I think there there's a lot that goes into, you know, organization communication within the team, planning, forecasting budget, and where we should allocate it, what are the results we're expecting to get, and just, like, a better understanding of how all those different channels can come together, kind of like, you know, there are different puzzle pieces, and we have to find, like, the best way that they they can fit together to create the biggest impact. And I think, like, that's probably, like like, the biggest challenge for us. Like, what is you know, what are the best levers? How much? Yeah. So, yeah, as we grow that

Richard Hill [00:36:11]:
Deciding which channels, how much to spend on each channel, testing, you know, when you take one brand, say, in the UK, but there's 20 channels you can look at, but then you in you you add another country that might have 20, 30, 40 channels. You add another country, and all of a sudden Yeah. You maybe got dozens and dozens, if not 100, depending on your sort of bigger bigger plans, of channels. And then you and what what technology the technology you use to run your Google Shopping, 2 years ago might not work in France. Yeah.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:36:41]:
And I was just gonna say, like, with that, we're still, like, a very lean team. You know? Like, it's still the same kind of team, but you're just doing more. So, like, finding that focus, finding the parties, what's gonna make the biggest difference, is also really important. And I guess one thing that I've really seen as well is just, like, the sheer volume of content that is required. I don't know if people, you know, like, probably other brands, feel this as well. Like, you know, we have, like, packaging design, leaflets, catalog ads. You've got your meta ads that you still have to do. Oh, are listening on Amazon, the a list content.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:37:16]:
Like, there's just so much content that you need. So Yeah. You know, prioritizing those and making sure you have, like, the the capability of producing all of that as you you grow is, yeah, really important.

Richard Hill [00:37:27]:
Yeah. So it's been fantastic still to have you on. Is there anything on the road map for SEEP that you'd like to share that's sort of, any sort of bigger plans that maybe aren't known that you're able to share? The sort of on the road map for the next 12, 18 months or or sort of any bigger aspirations or new products that you're looking at possibly? You maybe can share that side, I would imagine. But anything you'd like with Jena that teams our audience with some things that you're working on in the background there?

Sylvia Sigrist [00:37:55]:
Yeah. I think, like, we definitely love to, like, explore internationalization. So we only retail in the UK at the moment, so I would definitely say, like, that's on the road map. Not sure what regions yet. We have, like, a bit of idea, but, like, we'd love to understand how we can expand into new markets. That would be really amazing. Yeah. Mentioned that we'll be in Tesco, so that will be a huge national listing.

Richard Hill [00:38:19]:
Yeah. We

Sylvia Sigrist [00:38:20]:
hope to to get more, like, any retailer out there that we thought. Yeah. We'd love that. So I think that's a really big point this year. And I think, our sales team have done, like, a really great job at that. So, yeah, I think the those 2 are kind of, like, the big one that's coming up.

Richard Hill [00:38:37]:
Mhmm.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:38:37]:
In terms of products Yeah. That's always, like, a question mark. We kind of have sponge cloths, for example, that have different, like, printed designs on them. So we'll we continuously refresh refresh those designs. So you might see kind of, like, different variations of our our sponge cloths. We do limited editions as well, which we'd like to kind of do more of to kind of create that engagement, enticing. We'd love to collab with other brands on kind of those designs as well. So that's something that we're we're thinking about, in terms of our products.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:39:13]:
But yeah.

Richard Hill [00:39:14]:
Fantastic. Nice. On the

Sylvia Sigrist [00:39:16]:
road map. I look forward

Richard Hill [00:39:17]:
to walking around Tesco very soon and seeing your products.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:39:20]:
We'll be the ones taking my selfies in the aisle. Yeah.

Richard Hill [00:39:23]:
I look forward to seeing that. I really do. I think that's, you know, very inspirational to the listeners. You know, a lot of brands looking to get listed in, you know, in various stores and, you know, that we could we probably could've do a whole episode on that piece alone, you know, just sort of that process, obviously, getting from from starting a brand to get listed in major high street stores, you know, such an achievement. So well done, guys. Yeah. Really, really good. So I like to finish every episode with a book recommendation survey.

Richard Hill [00:39:47]:
Do you have a book to recommend to our listeners?

Sylvia Sigrist [00:39:50]:
Yeah. So, I mean, this is one that I'm reading at the moment, so I haven't finished it yet. Yeah. But I'm, I'm enjoying it. Mhmm. So and it's probably a it's a very popular one. It's shoe dog by Phil Knight. So it's not, it's first of all, a memoir.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:40:04]:
So, this is the first time I'm actually reading a memoir because it's not really like a book that I'd go for, but it was recommended multiple times. It's not like super marketing specific. It's more about like the entrepreneurial journey. And I think like I can relate a lot to it at times.

Richard Hill [00:40:21]:
Yeah. I was gonna say

Sylvia Sigrist [00:40:22]:
that. Yeah. Yeah. So I

Richard Hill [00:40:24]:
think, like, you know story of Nike. Yeah.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:40:27]:
Yeah. Yeah. So Yeah. I think Yeah. You there's definitely something that you can take from it from marketing perspective, like, know the importance of storytelling, understanding your customer.

Richard Hill [00:40:36]:
Yeah.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:40:36]:
But generally, like, how to to build awareness from scratch, you know, build out your your marketing skills.

Richard Hill [00:40:42]:
I mean, I got I I already about 5 years ago on holiday. Yeah. It's like, yeah, going to different factories doing deals at the beginning in the beginning sort of thing and trying to to be able to afford that order sort of thing and then dealing with all the different things that come along and yeah. Fantastic book, you know, I so I definitely recommend that. Well, seal Silvio, it's been a pleasure. For those that wanna find out more about Seat, more about yourself, what's the best way to do that?

Sylvia Sigrist [00:41:07]:
So for Seat, go go to our website, the Seat company.com. There, you'll see, like, a whole product range. You can also add me on LinkedIn. So I'm at Sylvia Segrist. And, also, if you'd like a 20% discount, you can use that at checkout. So it's just Sylvia 20. So you apply that, and you'll get a 20% discount on your order.

Richard Hill [00:41:31]:
That's very kind. Thank you.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:41:32]:
Yeah. Wouldn't be a marketer if I didn't mention that.

Richard Hill [00:41:38]:
Yeah. I like it. And you can track how, worthwhile doing podcasts are.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:41:42]:
Yeah. Exactly. You nailed it back.

Richard Hill [00:41:45]:
It's not all about the order, but it's the Brad the warehouse and the

Sylvia Sigrist [00:41:50]:
UTM bank account code. I wish I could.

Richard Hill [00:41:55]:
Well, thank you so much. It's been a pleasure. I think, you are really, you know, really, really gonna be keeping an eye on SEEP. You know, I think it's fantastic what you're doing. You know, I look forward to seeing it in my local Tesco, and then, I think we'll get you back on in 18 months when you shipped about 10,000,000 products. And, you're in about 5 more retail, big brand stores, and we'll have a chat about that.

Sylvia Sigrist [00:42:19]:
Yeah. It's been great, speaking with you today.

Richard Hill [00:42:27]:
If you enjoyed this episode, hit the subscribe or follow button wherever you are listening to this podcast. You're always the first to know when a new episode is released. Have a fantastic day, and I'll see you on the next one.