Ian Leslie, CMO at Industry West, shares his journey scaling a bootstrapped furniture brand. Discover how moving from a B2B, sales-rep-driven model to a D2C e-commerce focus, optimizing marketing channels, and implementing best practices led to explosive growth, with e-commerce revenue rocketing from 20% to over 50% of total sales.
Key takeaways
Transition from a heavily trade-focused (B2B) model to a D2C e-commerce model by actively building out consumer-facing practices, even if you started with strong B2B sales (Industry West's e-commerce sales went from 20-25% to 50-55% of revenue).
Invest in owned marketing channels like email, social, and eventually print, even for aspirational brands with long sales cycles, to stay top-of-mind and nurture leads over time.
Once initial marketing best practices yield growth, continuously seek new channels and strategies to sustain momentum. Industry West diversified from heavy Google reliance to Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, influencers, and publisher partnerships.
Don't be afraid to divest from channels that become less effective. Industry West significantly reduced Google ad spend (except Shopping) in favor of social and publisher networks when their customer acquisition strategy evolved.
Implement foundational digital marketing best practices (email campaigns, SEM optimization, social advertising) early on to achieve an initial 'hockey stick' growth, then focus on diversification for sustained growth.
Ian Leslie is the CMO at US homewares brands Industry West and Favor. It all started with Industry West in 2010, and then Favor launched in 2019. The 2 ecommerce sites are experiencing YOY growth exceeding 80% and combining for 8 figures in sales annually. On this podcast, we talked about getting help from partners at some point in the business, the benefits of having a longer sales cycle, why Industry West might not be successful if started today, and so much more! To learn more, visit: http://honestecommerce.co Resources: Industrial, mid-century and modern furniture and decor for home or office industrywest.com Connect with Ian linkedin.com/in/irleslie Scale your business with electriceye.io Level up your customer support gorgias.grsm.io/honest Get a free trial at klaviyo.com/honest Get a 14-day free trial at getmesa.com/honest Get 1 month of automated Shopify backups for free at rewind.io/honest
Transition from a heavily trade-focused (B2B) model to a D2C e-commerce model by actively building out consumer-facing practices, even if you started with strong B2B sales (Industry West's e-commerce sales went from 20-25% to 50-55% of revenue).
What does this episode say about paid acquisition?
Invest in owned marketing channels like email, social, and eventually print, even for aspirational brands with long sales cycles, to stay top-of-mind and nurture leads over time.
What does this episode say about email & sms?
Once initial marketing best practices yield growth, continuously seek new channels and strategies to sustain momentum. Industry West diversified from heavy Google reliance to Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, influencers, and publisher partnerships.
What does this episode say about brand & content?
Don't be afraid to divest from channels that become less effective. Industry West significantly reduced Google ad spend (except Shopping) in favor of social and publisher networks when their customer acquisition strategy evolved.
What does this episode say about dtc strategy?
Implement foundational digital marketing best practices (email campaigns, SEM optimization, social advertising) early on to achieve an initial 'hockey stick' growth, then focus on diversification for sustained growth.
