“The idea has always been trying to crack the system of what makes brands work and what makes brands fail in some cases, and then reverse engineer it” @markpatchett  #DTCPOD“The first bit is to really understand the core fundamental numbers of your actual business” @markpatchett  #DTCPOD“Take care of the right people that are going to amplify my brand because it compounds and increases your conversion rate and allows you to spend more money.” @markpatchett  #DTCPOD“When you're starting out, go to where the audience is largest and the platform is most sophisticated.” @markpatchett  #DTCPOD“Brand is really about the continuity of a strong message across all of the different touch points when someone comes into contact with your company.” @markpatchett  #DTCPOD“As you start scaling your brand to new audiences, you may find that you need to tweak the way you communicate what your product does and what your brand is about to actually work for that large audience.” @markpatchett #DTCPOD We Speak About:[00:56] Mark introduces himself and Growth Shop  [02:11] Previous entrepreneurship that led to creating a successful brand [04:40] Advice to brands before scaling a business [07:31] Acquisition strategies for inventory  [09:47] The importance of paying more when it comes to contracts [11:01] Implementing personal relationships to maintain customer engagement    [13:17] Where to disperse spending when scaling a brand  [16:37] Major components of scalable growth  [18:37] What a brand really is [21:23] Breaking down marketing activities for retention and new customer acquisition[22:23] Why brands should evolve [23:33] Building an unfair advantage[25:21] The framework for product differentiation[28:52] Pivotal roles in brand growth[31:30] The importance of a collaborative customer service [33:17] Where to find Growth Shop and Mark Patchett onlineHow a past in entrepreneurship led to the future of Growth ShopMark Patchett, founder of Growth Shop, joins the POD to give some insight on the business’s strategy for helping brands scale their business without outside capital. Growth Shop is an eCommerce organization that advises, invests, and acquires direct to consumer brands and supporting technology platforms. Mark realized from his experienced past as an entrepreneur that he had gained important insight as to what makes a brand work and what doesn’t. He then founded Growth Shop as an embodiment of this knowledge with a goal in mind of helping other brands scale their business. A unique perspective on scaling a business is taken by an emphasis on evolving your brand. Mark views a brand as a product that continually changes as the consumer expands. Mark recognizes that brand is continuity, and maintaining a strong message across all touch points for your brand is crucial for growth. Sometimes in DTC, it’s all about building an unfair advantageGrowth Shop stands out as an eCommerce company that helps direct to consumer business grow exponentially and sustainably.The business enables brand growth by prioritizing key roles such as acquisition strategies, maintaining product excitement, and iterating the importance of customer service on all levels of operation.Mark takes a further approach to achieving successful growth emphasizing the importance of having an unfair advantage for your brand.  One simple strategy Mark has suggested for achieving this is through customer engagement. By asking why customers buy your product or what would make your product better, an unfair advantage can be curated. Mark recommends implementing personalization into your brand and keeping operational costs as low as possible.Stay tuned as Mark dissects the meaning of a brand and how a collaborative customer service can make or break your company. 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