“Design is so core to telling your story, and that's really what building a great brand is all about.” @LukasThoms #DTCPOD“There's no longer going to be a single channel business. Everyone is multi-channel, everything is multi-channel, and increasingly everything is more experimental.” @LukasThoms #DTCPOD“As it becomes easier and easier to create products or offer classes or sell content, the relationship that you build with your customer is going to be the biggest key.” @LukasThoms #DTCPOD“If you can tell a great story through a website, Tiktok, or an Instagram post, you're going to get someone's attention.” @LukasThoms #DTCPOD“The more ways that you leverage your brand, the stronger your relationships are and the depth of the relationships that you build.” @LukasThoms #DTCPODWe Speak About:[01:10] About Lukas and Squarespace[03:45] Squarespace’s emphasis on design for brand building[06:25] Breaking down the pandemic’s impact on eCommerce for today and tomorrow[11:55] Squarespace’s role in empowering SMBs[14:35] The importance of storytelling in business[15:45] Utilizing new platforms to help monetize your audience[17:20] Lukas’ view on the future of commerce[21:35] What the best entrepreneurs do to grow[23:35] Three non-negotiables for eCommerceTelling a story is core to creating a brand and developing strong relationships with consumers. Lukas Thoms, a Group Product Manager at Squarespace, joins the POD to talk about the importance of design in eCommerce and how Squarespace helps enable and empower that. Lukas has been in eCommerce for almost a decade, now focusing on building tools for small businesses for selling online. Design is at the center of everything Squarespace does and it's their biggest differentiator. Design is core to storytelling. For eCommerce, telling the story of your business and product is the most important thing you can do.With the pandemic, eCommerce has grown tremendously. This has forced businesses to experiment with different channels of selling.  Creating a strong customer relationship is important to building a strong brand. Small businesses that create relationships with their customers can use those relationships to fuel multi-modal growth.Where does Squarespace come in?Well they help brands showcase their strong, compelling story and unique product to customers. Once you’ve created your audience, you can also work to sell on other channels. This is a great way to create multi-channel growth.The more ways you can leverage your brand, the stronger relationships you can build with customers.Stay tuned as Lukas shares how to tell your brand story better, how to leverage your customer’s attention, and the future of eCommerce in response to the pandemic and social media. If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.Mentioned Links:Squarespace’s website: https://www.squarespace.com/Squarespace on Twitter: https://twitter.com/squarespaceSquarespace on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/squarespace/Follow Lukas on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lukasthoms