Utilizing User-Generated Content In Ecommerce

Do you sometimes feel frustration, as you are building a product to get the management off your back, rather than address the users? Here are 6 ways to become user-centric again: 1) Prioritize in a transparent way This is a great place to start. If your backlog is prioritized based on data and potential opportunity, risk, and cost, it will be easier to put forth user-centric initiatives ahead of those that came from upstairs. At the very least, you will have a good basis for an educated discussion. 2) Utilize users' perspective using user stories and personas If your team understands the users and their problems, it will be easier to craft something great that will later appeal to the same users. Just keep up the empathy of creating something by people for other people, and not get some metric magically go up! 3) Make user feedback public If everyone in the company can see the themes that come from user feedback, it will be way harder to ignore it in favor of some corporate nonsense. Let those voices be heard by everyone! 4) Have the NPS and user ratings at the forefront The same goes for a single metric representing the general product sentiment. If the number is low or, worse, is going down and everyone can see that, the responsible Product Manager has to react. 5) Focus on your product goals Now, upstairs mandates might not be the only distraction you face when trying to improve your product. To survive them all, focus on one thing: your product goals. This will allow you to demonstrate you are doing what you are asked for and you can use user feedback and points 1-4 to pursue those goals. Thus, it's like killing 2 birds with 1 stone. However, you can also simply: 6) Have the confidence to say "No" Not all company/legal/management requests can be ignored. Sometimes changing the law or a wider company initiative will require you to comply and that is OK! However, there will also be times when someone will try to force your compliance. This is where you need to be confident, and exercise your Product Manager's independence, especially when there is no data to support a specific request. There you go! My 6 ways you can become a user-centric Product Manager. How about you? Do you address your users or your management first and foremost when developing your product? Sound off in the comments! #productmanagement #productmanager #usercentricity

Demand gen is utterly broken. It's overly complicated & lacks the soul and creativity that consumers deserve. I promise there's a better way. Here's the 3-pronged content engine we're building for companies at storyarb: Principles: - Treat your content as the product, not as marketing for another product - Unique insights + Unique voice + Unique packaging = Unique content - Pick topics that make your Market of 1 better at their job Channels: 1) Deeply researched long-form content Purpose: create data-driven OR interview-based website content that is deep enough & insightful enough such that a reader feels the need to bookmark & reference later. Good examples: Lenny Rachitsky: "How the biggest consumer apps got first 1,000 users" - Lenny interviewed hundreds of founders, identified patterns, and broke down the seven strategies consumer apps used to grow. Carta: "State of Private Markets: Q3 2024" Report - Using tons of internal funding data by Carta customers to pull together trends in startup funding for the quarter. HubSpot: "My First Million's Business Idea Database" - Aggregating & organizing 57 startup ideas shared by past MFM podcast guests into an e-mail gated database 2) Editorial email newsletter Purpose: create the best industry read for your market of 1 that allows you to build an owned audience of current/future customers. Good examples: - Content Examined by Alex Garcia: the best read for consumer content marketers, which acts as a perfect nurturing tool for his community, course, and agency - Big Desk Energy by Tyler Denk 🐝: a window into building a high-growth startup as it's happening by the founder of beehiiv - Exploding Topics: a snapshot of 4 emerging trends (based on google search data) that founders & investors should be aware of. 3) Personal brand social content Purpose: allow your market of 1 to build a parasocial relationship with your company through 1-4 personalities (execs, founders, etc) who enable connection with your faceless brand. Good examples: - Adam Robinson: fully transparent monthly breakdowns of his companies' (Retention.com & RB2B) performance with lessons learned & plans to fix key issues - Peter Walker: Head of Insights at Carta uses first party data from the company to share unique startup ecosystem trends + his own POV - Kieran Flanagan: AI & GTM expert who shares deep marketing insights, playbooks, and predictions that help build his & HubSpot's brand If you want help building this 3-pronged engine at your company, shoot me a DM or email at alex@storyarb[.]com.

If I was a marketing manager right now, I’d (part three, consumer focused edition)… ✅Make the feed the moodboard Consumers will literally search up brands they like to moodboard, get inspo, and tap into a feeling. Maebe are killing it right now, and it’s not all about an aspirational life (though we love to see the holiday pics sprinkled in). Now that we’re moving into Autumn, focus on everyday luxury, attainable moments then they’ll want to get the set to match, and keep your brand in mind. ✅Feed the ego Half the reason people buy into brands isn’t function, it’s what it says about them. Think about how an Erewhon smoothie or a Stanley 1913 cup instantly give the buyer something to flex. I’d ask: how does owning or using our brand stroke someone’s ego? Whether it’s exclusivity, aesthetics, or bragging rights, give consumers something that feels like a status symbol and they’ll do the showing off for you. ✅Step outside the product Some of the most viral brand moments aren’t about the product at all. Butter and ice blocks stamped with the JACQUEMUS logo work because they feel native to the feed, not forced into it. I’d be asking, how can we show up in culture without shoving the product in every frame? Create something aesthetic, weird, or timely enough to get saved to moodboards first the product recall will follow naturally. ✅ Sell the ritual With rhode skin and REFY, it’s never only about lip gloss or brow gel it’s about the moment around it like the tidy bathroom counter, the mirror selfie, the ‘get ready with me’ ritual. I’d stop pushing features and start designing the lifestyle cues around the product. ✅Make the consumer do the work The best campaigns don’t come from brands, they come from consumers. Spotify Wrapped, Apple’s Shot on iPhone, and the LEGO Group Ideas all prove it give people the tools, the data, or the canvas, and they’ll create the marketing for you. Lean into personalisation and watch them push your brand harder than you could with a single campaign. ✅Get unserious Brands like SURREAL are winning by doing things some marketing teams would clutch their pearls over. They lean into chaos: swapping their logo for random words, poking fun at cereal itself, even roasting their own ads. It feels human, not corporate. Candid, funny, even a bit unhinged will always cut through the corporate noise. Because if I were creating content right now I’d be less worried about the next campaign calendar, and more about how the brand earns its way into someone’s mood board, mirror selfie, or brag post. That’s where the real influence is…

Here is how to build a B2B marketing function that influences the whole buyer journey: 1. GTM STRATEGY. Develop a clear GTM strategy and align leadership, sales, and marketing, including: - Goals and objectives based on revenue metrics and sales pipeline velocity - Focus market segments and clusters - ICP - Marketing message - Narrative (with what strategic challenges you want your product been associated with) 2. CUSTOMER RESEARCH. Define key accounts in prioritized segments and interview your Champions about their buyer journey. Here are 5 groups of questions: a. Buying triggers. What leads them to start looking for solutions like yours? b. Research process. How do they evaluate vendors? What information are they looking for? c. Decision-making process. What influences their decision? Who is involved in the purchase process? What questions do they ask? d. Product value and impact on jobs-to-be-done & KPIs. Look at before/after and highlight tangible improvements of KPIs your Champions care about. f. Educational processs. What platforms & communities do they use to learn? Who do they follow? 3. BUYER JOURNEY. You don't sell to companies, you sell to specific people. They have different KPIs, reasons to buy and decision-making process. Analyze all visible digital touchpoints with key customers. Interview Account Owners about deal history. Combine insights with the customer research and visualize the buyer journey for the most important buying committee roles: - Champions - Decision-makers - Influencers - Blockers - Power Users 4. CORE MARKETING PROGRAMS AND MOTIONS. You don't need 50 different tactics. Map out different marketing and sales activities across the buying process that help to: - Create awareness and attract attention - Generate demand for your product - Capture buying triggers and high-intent signals to start engaging with the buying committee - Enable buyers to sell your product internally - Accelerate time to value with your product - Upsell and cross-sell to other units 5. ASSIGN ROLES. Assign the roles to run these programs and define the necessary skillset. Ensure cross-functional collaboration. --- This diagram might be perceived as a linear buyer journey which is obviously not true. I wanted to describe how to align B2B marketing function with different buyer journey stages. The B2B buyer journey is not linear. Your buyers might skip steps or repeat some steps. The goal is to ensure that marketing, sales, CS and RevOps work together to influence the entire buying process, create pipeline and drive revenue.

In a world where our attention is constantly being pulled in a hundred directions, one thing is clear: consumer attention can’t be bought—it must be earned.   We’re operating in a time where consumer attention is more fragmented and precious than ever before. The competition is no longer just other brands. It’s creators, media outlets, digital platforms, and the constant demands of daily life. People are overwhelmed, and their time is their most valuable currency.   But let’s be clear: not all attention is equal. The depth of engagement you earn from a documentary, for example, is far more meaningful than a fleeting glance at an ad while someone is multitasking at the gym. Brands need to move beyond being seen, to being felt.   What’s driving real impact today are brands that deeply understand their audience and show up in ways that are emotionally resonant, culturally relevant, and authentically human.   The brands winning in this environment are doing a few key things exceptionally well:   First, they embrace the power of entertainment. And entertainment doesn’t mean the same thing for everyone. For Red Bull, it’s high-adrenaline sports. For Liquid Death, it’s irreverent, disruptive humor. The Kegs for Pregs campaign with Kylie Kelce was a perfect example. It was unexpected yet rooted in a universal truth for pregnant women that made it unforgettable.   Second, they put their audience at the center, literally. Transformational content isn’t scripted testimonials or over-produced spots. It’s about real people, real experiences, and real moments that reflect the role your brand plays in their lives. Kodiak Cakes nails this with Zac Efron, a true believer in the product and lifestyle. At WW, that authenticity was everything. Our partnership with Oprah wasn’t transactional, it was transformational. She lived the mission, and that inspired millions to do the same.   And finally, they meet people on their terms. Consumers are in control. They skip, scroll, and curate their own content worlds. Your brand has to earn its place by being useful, meaningful, or simply delightful.   This is a mindset shift. And it starts with respecting your audience’s time, understanding their lives, and creating experiences that don’t just capture attention, but deserve it.

As an analyst, I was intrigued to read an article about Instacart's innovative "Ask Instacart" feature integrating chatbots and chatgpt, allowing customers to create and refine shopping lists by asking questions like, 'What is a healthy lunch option for my kids?' Ask Instacart then provides potential options based on user's past buying habits and provides recipes and a shopping list once users have selected the option they want to try! This tool not only provides a personalized shopping experience but also offers a gold mine of customer insights that can inform various aspects of a business strategy. Here's what I inferred as an analyst : 1️⃣ Customer Preferences Uncovered: By analyzing the questions and options selected, we can understand what products, recipes, and meal ideas resonate with different customer segments, enabling better product assortment and personalized marketing. 2️⃣ Personalization Opportunities: The tool leverages past buying habits to make recommendations, presenting opportunities to tailor the shopping experience based on individual preferences. 3️⃣ Trend Identification: Tracking the types of questions and preferences expressed through the tool can help identify emerging trends in areas like healthy eating, dietary restrictions, or cuisine preferences, allowing businesses to stay ahead of the curve. 4️⃣ Shopping List Insights: Analyzing the generated shopping lists can reveal common item combinations, complementary products, and opportunities for bundle deals or cross-selling recommendations. 5️⃣ Recipe and Meal Planning: The tool's integration with recipes and meal planning provides valuable insights into customers' cooking habits, preferred ingredients, and meal types, informing content creation and potential partnerships. The "Ask Instacart" tool is a prime example of how innovative technologies can not only enhance the customer experience but also generate valuable data-driven insights that can drive strategic business decisions. A great way to extract meaningful insights from such data sources and translate them into actionable strategies that create value for customers and businesses alike. Article to refer : https://lnkd.in/gAW4A2db #DataAnalytics #CustomerInsights #Innovation #ECommerce #GroceryRetail

Tactic 2 for influencing stakeholders from Jules Walter: Frame your message from their POV (not yours) It’s more effective to speak their language and demonstrate how your proposal will help them reach their goals, not yours. Stakeholders are focused on their own problems and are more receptive to proposals that address what’s already top of mind for them. A few years ago, when I was leading Monetization at Slack, we began to encounter diminishing returns in our product iterations, and we needed to take a bigger swing to re-ignite revenue growth. To do that, I spearheaded a controversial project to experiment with a new approach to free-to-paid conversion. The CEO, Stewart Butterfield, had strong reservations about the project. I knew from his previous statements that he didn’t want the company to be thinking about ways to extract value from users, but rather ways to create value for them. We had scheduled a review with the CEO and a few of his VPs to discuss the proposal. Since he was intensely user-driven, I framed the entire proposal around the benefits it would have for users (the CEO’s POV) rather than emphasizing the revenue impact of the project (our team’s goal). I started the meeting by anchoring the proposal on user-centric insights that we shared in a deck: - “About 10% of purchases of Slack’s paid version happen from users in their first day on Slack.” - “Paid users find more value and retain better. Yet we make it hard for people to discover that Slack has a paid version that’s more helpful.” - “How do we help new teams experience the full version of Slack from the start?” Once we framed the issue with this user-centric lens, the CEO was more open to our proposal and let us try a couple of experiments in this new direction. This user-centric framing also got the cross-functional team more excited and set an aspirational North Star with clear guardrails, which then enabled various teammates to contribute productively to the project. After we tested two iterations of our monetization experiment, we landed on a version that resulted in a significant increase in revenue for Slack (a 20% increase in teams paying for Slack) and we used what we learned to shift Slack’s monetization strategy into a new, more successful direction. Full set of tactics here: https://lnkd.in/gezP2EDw

How to Leverage User-Generated Content (UGC) Introduction: User-generated content (UGC) helps brands connect authentically with audiences, as people trust peer recommendations over ads. Showcasing real user experiences builds credibility, strengthens community bonds, and turns customers into advocates, driving organic growth and engagement. Key Concepts -Social Proof: UGC demonstrates trust and recommendations, often more effective than ads. -Authenticity: Real customer content fosters trust as genuine endorsements. -Community Engagement: UGC encourages customer connection and sharing. -Content Variety: UGC provides diverse, reusable content for multiple channels. Challenges in Implementing UGC -Quality Control: Curating UGC for brand alignment can be challenging. -Permissions: Obtain creator permission to avoid legal issues. -Negative Feedback: Be prepared to manage unfavorable UGC without harming your reputation. -Incentivizing Participation: Encourage customers to share experiences through incentives. Strategies & Solutions To gather and utilize user-generated content (UGC), brands can create hashtag campaigns, run contests for product photos, and showcase testimonials on social media for credibility. Highlighting curated UGC demonstrates real product use, while repurposing it in emails and ads maximizes reach. Engaging with creators by tagging and sharing their posts strengthens connections and encourages more sharing. Benefits of Leveraging UGC User-generated content (UGC) enhances credibility and trust by showcasing authentic customer experiences, leading to higher conversion rates. It fosters brand engagement and loyalty while being cost-effective, filling content calendars without high expenses. UGC also improves SEO by generating relevant content that boosts discoverability through branded hashtags and reviews. Insights for Effective UGC Campaigns To maximize user-generated content (UGC), prioritize authenticity by encouraging customers to share genuine experiences instead of scripted or promotional ones. Monitor UGC performance by tracking metrics like engagement and conversions to understand what resonates with your audience. Additionally, create a streamlined content submission process with direct upload links or clear instructions to make it easy for users to share their content. Conclusion: User-generated content (UGC) builds social proof, fosters trust, and engages communities. By incorporating UGC into your marketing strategy, you transform customers into brand advocates, enhancing reach and connections. Utilizing hashtag campaigns, reviews, contests, and social media features encourages sharing experiences and cultivates a loyal community that spreads your brand's message organically. #UGCmarketing #brandUGC #contentstrategy #digitalmarketing #usergeneratedcontent #UGCstrategy #brandengagement #socialmediastrategy #contentcreation #UGCcommunity

While auditing content for an Entrepreneurship course at UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture I discovered a secret. The secret to enhanced user-centric innovation: We often get "stuck" with what we're taught, and this sometimes affects how we think. We all learn about Design Thinking as a standalone tool, but there's MUCH MORE to it. Integrating Design Thinking, Lean UX, and Agile methodologies creates a powerful framework for driving user-centric innovation. Here's how it works: → Design Thinking: for deep empathy and problem definition → Lean UX: for rapid prototyping and validation → Agile: for iterative development and delivery ... And what happens when each is missing? • Without Design Thinking = "Misunderstanding" • Without Lean UX = "Wasted Effort" • Without Agile = "Stagnation" Combining these methodologies offers a holistic approach. Concept Exploration + Iterative Experimentation = Needs-and-Pain-point Discovery The initial stages emphasize brainstorming and prioritizing insights, leading to hypothesis formation that guides subsequent experiments. Continuous experimentation allows for the revision of hypotheses based on real user feedback, creating a dynamic loop of learning and adaptation. Here's how to integrate them: 1/ Design Thinking: Start with empathy. Understand your users deeply before defining the problem. 2/ Lean UX: Prototype quickly. Validate your ideas with real users early and often. 3/ Agile: Iterate. Develop in short cycles and adapt based on feedback. As teams build and explore new ideas, they foster collaboration across disciplines, leveraging diverse perspectives to refine solutions. This integrated framework not only enhances the customer experience but also drives sustainable growth. This helps founders ensure they remain competitive and relevant in their respective industries. George Dr. Kelsey Burton Yenni 👀 LESSGO!

With 61% of consumers saying that businesses actually make their lives harder, consumer skepticism directly hits your bottom line. To weather the storm, companies like Patagonia and Southwest use authenticity checkpoints to screen growth initiatives against core values. Rather than check-the-box exercises, these filters preserve the reasons that your customers choose you. The payoff? Organizations maintaining trust during growth can turn a 5% increase in retention into a 25-95% revenue boost. I recently worked with a client facing the classic warning signs: rising CAC, slipping conversion rates, and increasing pricing pressure. Despite this, they were hitting growth targets. So what was wrong? Their customers were losing faith in them. My client was not alone. Qualtrics research shows only 50% of consumers have confidence in the brands they do business with—a metric that hasn't improved since 2020 despite massive CX investments. My client realized it was a P&L emergency. Trust erosion is a vicious cycle that directly impacts unit economics through higher acquisition costs, shorter customer lifecycles, and vanishing price premiums. A small number of aggressive tactics had tarnished the credibility that made my client's growth trajectory possible. So they decided to create authenticity checkpoints—systematic filters that evaluate growth initiatives against core values. With hard work, their ACVs are rising, their clients advocate for them, and their CAC has stabilized. What makes effective authenticity checkpoints? Five critical elements: - Decision filters to evaluate initiatives against founding principles - Product validation processes that preserve core differentiation - Regular operational reviews to ensure a consistent customer experience - Values reinforcement for team members, beyond onboard - Structured forums to identify and address emerging vulnerabilities Implementing these checkpoints starts with three simple steps: audit your recent growth initiatives for authenticity impact, map your specific vulnerability points, and create accountability with dedicated resources and metrics. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eJbTcVMa __________ For more on growth and building trust, check out my previous posts. Join me on my journey, and let's build a more trustworthy world together. Christine Alemany #Fintech #Strategy #Growth