In Conversation with Ian Gruber, Apliiq

We met Ian Gruber, CEO of Apliiq, a print-on-demand eCommerce store that helps customers design their own apparel.

We spoke about the tips and tricks that have helped the brand scale, especially in the wake of COVID-19 and the eCommerce boom.

From the tech stack to strategy and entrepreneurship, we covered everything else that makes Apliiq click.

Here are 6 key eCommerce business questions that we covered:

1. Because this is a competitive space, what helped you differentiate your brand?

The key to building a GREAT brand? Being different.

For some, this comes from branding. Case in point: Apple.

For others, it lies in customer service. Case in point: Starbucks.

For Apliiq, niching down is what helped them differentiate their brand.

By finding their one true “purpose” and fine-tuning their strategy to offer value to a select (but quality) range of consumers, they were able to scale their business.

🎥More in the video:

• The value of niching down (and what it can do for your business)
• How Apliiq eventually found their niche & learned to do it better than anyone else.

2. What are some key rules that drove Lean Marketing for Apliiq?

With so many marketing opportunities in the toolbox, each one of them offers a chance to win.

And as Ian Gruber, Apliiq, put it, “the more of those things you can win on, the more quickly you can build scale”.

In comes lean marketing. Lean marketing is all about this: doing more with less.

The concept of lean is all about improving the efficiency, effectiveness, and quality of your marketing efforts.

🎥More in the video:

• How lean marketing forces you to narrow your focus
• How to build a lean marketing model to scale

3. What would you NEVER outsource?

When you’re building your own eCommerce store, outsourcing proves to be valuable.

After all, it’s economical, resourceful, and time-efficient.

Yet there are still things you should NEVER outsource.

Finding the balance within can help businesses solve problems, make fewer mistakes, and increase efficiencies for their customers.

🎥More in the video:

• How to be opportunistic & identify the necessary complementary resources
• How Apliiq manages resources in-house

4. How do you shape your content strategy to align with customers?

“A lot of our best content ideas just come from conversations with our partners”.

It’s true: every encounter you have is a chance for you to define your content strategy.

And it makes sense — the content is far more relatable and hence effective that way.

Ian Gruber, Apliiq, certainly agrees. Watch the video to know how they use everyday experiences to build their content strategy.

🎥More in the video:

• How Apliiq builds its content strategy on customer interaction
• The key elements for creating a relatable brand

5. What was your biggest takeaway from the journey with Apliiq thus far?

Every entrepreneur is familiar with two things: learning and growing.

Especially in eCommerce, where every avenue presents a new opportunity.

Thanks to its relatively nascent nature, eCommerce finds its way to keep entrepreneurs on their toes.

That is perhaps why several platforms, businesses, and agencies in eCommerce specialize in the skill they’re known for. For us, it’s conversion optimization and email marketing.

In fact, Ian’s biggest learning was that — sometimes, it’s best to leave certain processes to the experts to achieve their true potential.

🎥More in the video:

• Key learnings from a young founder
• Why some things are best left to experts

6. With customers proactively seeking Sustainability, what efforts are you making to meet their needs?

21% of the retailers in the UK have given up on their retail suppliers because they don’t meet their sustainability and ethical standards.

Why? Because sustainability is the need of the hour, or at least the conversation of the hour.

Consumers are actively seeking sustainable resources to help shape a better future, and are more likely to align themselves with brands that prescribe these as well.

So, it’s important for you to be a part of the conversation.

🎥More in the video:

• Why consumers are so conscious right now
• How to make it work for your brand

Keep watching eCommerce Growth Labs

At Convertcart, we're all about learning and improving. That is why we're launching this series where we meet eCommerce founders, growth managers, and experts to understand what makes them successful. Stay tuned and learn specific strategies and actionable tactics about eCommerce, entrepreneurship, marketing and more.