Social Commerce Secrets: Outperforming Million-Dollar Ads

Ready to rethink what retail growth actually looks like? We bring back Twilla Brooks, president and CEO of Lynette Create and Innovate, to unpack a fast, practical playbook for building brands that last, from the first e-commerce listing to staying on shelf at scale. Twilla draws on years launching brands at Walmart and Macy’s, then flips the script as a founder running a digital-first consulting firm with a sharp focus on brand strategy, marketing, and community impact.

We dig into the real startup mechanics no one talks about: ACH setups, business banking fees, and how to pay yourself without starving the business. Twilla shares how she prices work, avoids “resentful checks,” and customizes every engagement like a recipe, because value looks different for a small, diverse-owned startup than for a Fortune-level supplier. We walk through the moment most brands miss: the work accelerates after you get into Walmart. Content quality, OTIF discipline, and data storytelling drive staying power, and your pitch needs a content strategy from day one.

On the digital front, Twilla shows how social-first marketing and micro-influencers are outpacing million-dollar ad buys. We explore TikTok Shop, Amazon Live, and event-driven influencer seeding that compress discovery and purchase into a single stream. The team’s AI stack; Otter, Canva, Adobe Firefly, boosts speed without sacrificing voice, thanks to rigorous human editing. When category data is scarce, Twilla builds proxy datasets from reviews, competitor benchmarks, and creator sentiment to craft credible merchant narratives. And for suppliers stuck between Amazon and Walmart.com, she lays out a clear path to make Walmart’s marketplace a true growth engine rather than a checkbox.

If you’re navigating retail media, e-commerce content, and social commerce while trying to keep the lights on, this conversation delivers field-tested steps you can use tomorrow. Tap play, then tell us: what’s the one growth lever you’ll pull this quarter? Subscribe, share with a teammate, and leave a review so more builders can find the show.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:10

Hello and welcome to the Retail Journey Podcast. I'm one of your hosts, Charles Greathouse. And I am James Harris, and today we are talking to Twyla Brooks. Twyla is the president, CEO, and founder of Lynette Create and Innovate Consulting Group. This is Twyle's second time on the retail journey, this time a year after launching Lynette. Welcome to the retail journey.

SPEAKER_00 0:32

Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_02 0:33

Welcome. A whole year of your own company. How are you doing?

SPEAKER_00 0:39

I'm doing good. You know, every day is a different day. When someone asked me, well, what's your daylight? I was like, we could talk about it. Oh, but that's the exciting part, is no day is the same.

SPEAKER_02 0:50

Yeah. So Lynette Create and Innovate. Well, give us the high level who you are, who I am, what you do.

SPEAKER_00 0:58

Okay. So Lynette Create and Innovate. Most people wonder how did the name come about? Uh Lynette is my middle name. Um, and then when I was at Lomart, I was constantly being moved from uh different areas to help innovate and create new brands.

SPEAKER_01 1:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:15

And so when people said, Hey, you know, why would you want to do something on your own? I was like, well, I want to be able to do something that's created and innovative. So um it kind of just stuck. Uh trust me, we went through a bunch of names. Yeah. Um, but you'd be surprised how many people have the initials TLB.

SPEAKER_01 1:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:36

Uh so that didn't work out very well.

SPEAKER_01 1:38

Stop doing that.

SPEAKER_00 1:39

Uh and then I was like, maybe I'll use my last name, which is Brooks, but that's a pretty popular name.

SPEAKER_01 1:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:44

Uh taken by a pretty big uh electrical company, Ibidit Dow. Um, and so I kind of had to pick outside the box. And that's really what Monet Creating Anime is.

SPEAKER_02 1:54

Yeah, I love it. It's got a great ring to it.

unknown 1:56

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 1:56

What are your what's the highlights of the last year?

Naming The Firm And Year-One Highlights

SPEAKER_00 1:59

Gosh, the highlights over the last year, um, we launched a company. We're going into our second year. We launched our website. Um, we have quite a few consultants that work for us. And the great thing is I think we really are starting to understand and learn what the what our company is. And so um it's digitally based, right? If you think about the world that we live in right now, you're not building something, whether it's a digital brand or you're looking at the different type of platforms, then you're not gonna win. Um, and which is amazing for me considering I grew up in retail where I started in retail before you know we really used a computer. Uh to now with the fact that um AI has kind of taken over and it's helping us be better and built better. And so overall, Lynette created and innovates a brand and marketing company uh where with an emphasis on community relations. And so the goal is also giving back to the Northwest Arkansas community, which this is my home. Um, and I try to be a part of it as much as possible.

SPEAKER_01 3:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:07

And there's a lot of entrepreneurs to find in the community, yes, there is, especially in Northwest Arkansas. So it just makes sense that that's a pillar.

Hard Lessons: Cash Flow, Fees, And Focus

SPEAKER_02 3:14

Yeah, yeah, for sure. Love that. What have been um some of the harder moments in this first year? It's hard to get something off the ground.

SPEAKER_00 3:22

Well, you know, here's the thing, which is crazy. What they don't tell you is I worked for a corporation my entire life, right? So even when I was in college, I was an athlete, right? Where they paid you kind of, you know, when you're an athlete, so that someone paid for something. And then even when I worked for Robinson's May or Macy's or for Walmart, for the most part, I always got paid on the first and the 15th. So that money was always coming. Uh, I didn't really know how to pay myself. Does that make sense? So like I didn't really understand how, like, I would reach out to a client and I would be like, Well, you haven't paid me. And they were like, Well, we don't know how to pay you. And I'd be like, Oh yeah, that's interesting. So I could learn what, like, you know, would you just make it show up in the account?

SPEAKER_02 4:08

That'd be great.

SPEAKER_00 4:09

That's what I thought.

SPEAKER_02 4:10

They were like, Oh, okay. Um, ACH, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:15

We don't have your ACH. I was like, What's an ACH? And they're like a direct deposit.

SPEAKER_02 4:19

All the stuff every entrepreneur wants to work on the wild of really just like setting up like all that.

SPEAKER_00 4:25

The other thing that I learned is there's a big difference between a personal account and a bank account. You know, uh, there's a lot of fees when you run a business. Um, so really understanding the revenue. Um, and I think I think for me, like um trying to balance the time uh where before I was worthing a lot when I was at Walmart. I'm worthing a lot now, but it's just a little bit different. Uh and then lastly, choosing what I'm gonna work off. And so for my team, we all vote when a client comes in. And so we have like I take all the client meetings, we come together, and then we when we have our team meetings, we go through all the new business development and all the new clients. And then we talk through like what we think as a team we could do. Is it a pass? Is this something that we want to do? And that's kind of how we decide.

SPEAKER_02 5:21

I got fun.

SPEAKER_00 5:21

Um, so a lot of it is trial and error. Um, but um, but it's been fun.

SPEAKER_02 5:26

I mean, I know a lot of entrepreneurs, small businesses, that is the hardest part of saying no to business, particularly in the early years.

SPEAKER_00 5:34

Right. Another unique, different position when building a company um is because I have a little bit of a fallback, meaning that I invested in my career at Walmart. And because I was an officer for seven years, I was really conscious about saving. And I was a part of the deferred compensation program. So when I went into building this company, I was like, well, if I don't make any money, that's fine because I have my deferred comp.

SPEAKER_01 6:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:00

So I set goals for myself and I was like, well, maybe the first year we won't make anything, and then the second year, and then so far. Um, and then when I realized, oh well, you can actually really make money at this. So understanding what are our goals, uh, really trying to figure out uh what to charge people, how to charge people. One of the things that I learned is every single relationship is different, and the recipe has to be different because if the recipe is not different, then you're not listening to that client or the customer. Exactly. And so that's the interesting, and not every single recipe is right for that individual person, that customer, or that client.

Pricing, Value, And Deal Structures

SPEAKER_02 6:40

Yeah, I love that. I've as the the growth guy here, I get to cur try to create most of the deal structures to make sure that they work. And there's a couple of like uh principles. One is I feel like you know we should earn our keep day in, day out, like long-term contract. That's a dumb reason to have to work with someone. You should work with someone because it adds a lot of value. And the second one for me is like, I don't want to receive a resentful check from a client. When they write you a check, it should be like, yeah, yeah, thank you for all of the work you did. Like it's so worth so worth this value exchange. You created all this value for us, and we're thrilled to be able to pay you as a partner. And it's like early on, not really um understanding how to structure deals and just making sure that they're right. You're totally right, but like they're not all this the same. There's just nuance because some things are more important near term, some more important long.

SPEAKER_00 7:37

And I learned a lot, you know. We had one client who uh it was a preparation, but then we had to do a conference and we ended up having to be at that conference for the most part 24 hours. And I realized the all in that I negotiated for me and two of my people, it was never gonna be enough.

SPEAKER_01 8:00

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 8:01

Right. And so do you go back to that client and say, Hey, you actually own the XYZ? Um, or do you just say, you know what? When you know better, you do better. Uh and then at the end, when that client was like, All right, we have another another conference that we want you to do, well, mistakes were made.

SPEAKER_02 8:19

So yeah, I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 8:21

So you find like if you're buying selling houses, you know, like what it costs to build a house in 2015 is substantially different than what it costs to build a house in 2025.

SPEAKER_01 8:30

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:31

Uh, and then learning your value too. And I don't know, and that probably is a big thing for you guys is understanding what your your value is, and then how do you put a dollar amount to that value? That's something that I don't know if I'm ever gonna master because I think you're always learning and understanding. Um, and my value to a small business owner, a small diverse owner versus a Fortune one company is completely different.

SPEAKER_02 8:58

Yeah. The perspective shift um happens. And it's really just about, you know, we tend to think of it as like, what are the problems to solve? What are the the areas of opportunity, and how do we help make sure that our partners are able to walk confidently into the room um and put their best foot forward, not be surprised by what was around the corner, um, or not show up not knowing you know what was happening behind the scenes, that data could have helped them better understand you're creating and innovating, uh, which is uh, you know, there's there's a lot of nuance to that. Yeah. And and a lot of the realization of the value, it probably comes later. You know, you're you're building something that's going to launch and then over time mature. Yeah. Yeah, that's what I was gonna say. The the the varying recipe, uh, especially in a creative environment, has to be very nuanced.

SPEAKER_00 9:51

It's interesting because like so. We have one client that I've been working with for the last nine months, right? And when we first started a make it up, their ultimate goal was to just get into Walmart, right? Uh, where there's so many things to get into Walmer, right? But then once you're now in, like your job's not over.

SPEAKER_02 10:10

Right.

SPEAKER_00 10:11

Um, because I isn't a stationary thing. It's not a stationary thing. And so it's constantly evolving. And it's like, all right, well, here's the marketing, who's insuring the execution, who's doing that. Sometimes you can get caught up with saying, Hey, your job is done here. Now it's also up to the client. Do you want my job to be done? But then it's my job to say to you, hey, that's just step one. Yeah. Right. Because I mean, truth be told, the easiest thing you can do is get in.

SPEAKER_02 10:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:39

The hardest thing to do is to stay.

Beyond The Pitch: Staying On Shelf

SPEAKER_02 10:41

Well, there's so many conversations I've had where it starts like, hey, do you have everything you need? And their answer is yes. Like, oh, good. So, you know, you're fully equipped online, you've got good content scores, you're effectively using utilizing the growth tools available to you on dot com. Great, you're you have no OTIF fees. You know, you walk into a line review and you you're using data to to tell the story of why your item didn't just grow your brand, but the category. You and by the end of those conversations, it's like, yeah, actually I need I do need help. You know. But you don't know what you don't know.

unknown 11:16

Right.

SPEAKER_02 11:17

Right. And that's that's kind of our job in the consulting world is to help people know that no, there is like you know your product really well. There there's this other thing. And it's whoever you're trying to sell to, your customer, your butt I'm also learning that they think they know their product.

SPEAKER_00 11:33

Yeah, they know it in a subset. Sure. Right. And then I think with, you know, we're in a paradigm shift right now where you you have to really understand that, like, in order for you to grow, if we're specifically just talking Walmer, like you can't just say, Hey, I have this amazing item and I think you gotta have it to the merchant, and they're gonna be like, Oh yes, we love it for a thousand stores. That those days are so far gone. Yeah, and that if you're not necessarily thinking about all the possibilities, then you're setting yourself up to fail.

SPEAKER_02 12:04

Yeah. Yeah. Well, launching new brands, developing brands, creating and innovating namesake, was like your reputation at Walmart. I think there's a ton of people who are who would love to launch new brands. Um, you want to talk to us a little bit about the journey of like bringing in new brands to Walmart, both maybe even from your internal perspective, but now you're on the outside, you kind of have the whole picture for a lot of people.

Brand Building: Data And Story Matter

SPEAKER_00 12:34

Ironically, I think it really started like Daf when uh I became a buyer at my first company, uh, which was uh Robinson's Main, Southern California, where you know I was I've often always been the younger side of developing something. And so I go into a room, and at the time I was the plus size buyer. And like years ago, like plus sizes was kind of frowned upon, and there was no options, no clothing. It was like basically you wore like a camp shirt and a button-up shirt and you wore shorts. That's all that you did. Um, and then you know, my challenge then was like, how can you make it younger, hipper, newer? Because at the time, the fastest growing of plus size women at the time were 18 to 24. And our average age at the time was like 40 and up.

SPEAKER_01 13:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:28

And I was like, but we're never gonna win here. And so I think there's quite a few things when it comes to building brands. I think the data's very important, um, understanding what the customer wants uh and being open to kind of trying new fakes. Yeah. And so that actually helped me get my job at Basie's. Yep. Um, where when I was at Macy's, I literally just sat in a room for a year and built brands. Uh, and then from there, they were like, oh, you know, she's young, but she's really good. So we're gonna throw her in where she's gonna work with like Tommy Hill figure and Ralph Lumer and Oscar De La Renta, and we'll see how she does. Um, and I think then is when I learned that it wasn't just about the brand, it was about the person and the people. Yep. The people fall in love not only with the item and the product, but they fall in love with the story.

SPEAKER_01 14:24

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_00 14:25

And so right then and there, I knew that it wasn't just about the product, but it was also what the story was. And that story could be what are the benefits, what's the education, what does the customer want, what the data. So it was for me, it was all about reading the data and being curious about how to evolve something. Uh, and then that's how I got my job at Walmart.

SPEAKER_01 14:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:47

Is because I had launched Tawny Hillfinger and Oscar De La Renta. And uh my mentor was like, I got a call from Walmart and they're looking for a buyer to move to New York. I told them that you are already moving to New York for Macy's, but it's gonna take a little bit to move you away from Macy's. Yeah. Um, but what intrigued me about Walmart was that I got to launch starter and dance yet. Yep. And then from there it just became kind of like this ripple effect. And I became kind of like, all right, you're gonna go do this and watch this brand.

SPEAKER_02 15:20

We need something launched.

SPEAKER_00 15:21

Yeah, we need something launched, we need a paradigm shift.

SPEAKER_02 15:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:25

Um, so at the time, which was probably the biggest um jump was bedded back.

SPEAKER_01 15:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:32

Walmart was losing market share to bed, bath, and beyond. Um, their price points were not right, they couldn't go after the better, best customer. Um, their AUR, they were win, they were winning at the opening price point, their quality. And so for four four to six months, we just collected data.

SPEAKER_01 15:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:50

We asked all the suppliers the same four questions.

SPEAKER_02 15:54

Over that.

Challenging Old Retail Assumptions

SPEAKER_00 15:55

The questions were if Walmart was going to change programs, which program do we need? What are we missing? Yeah. Um, do you think we could sell a higher price uh towel or a sheet? And what are the edu educational toponents? We asked all the suppliers the same thing. And so my theory was if you can get most people to say the same thing, you know you're on the right path. Right. But until you ask the question, you're never gonna know. And so we were surprised at what so many people said.

SPEAKER_02 16:29

I love that sort of leaning in on those that are in the industry, they know their product, they know the space to then have the conversation that at times feels like it's tough to have. I've noticed that being like a core strength of Twilight. Yeah, of taking a situation that feels complex, that's maybe not going the way it should, and just driving clarity to the customer, right, to the actual thing that they're asking for, what is needed, and then developing the solution to go do that, and just a very like, yep, let's here's what we need to do, and here's where do it.

SPEAKER_00 17:04

Well, my other thing too is a lot of people say no, or they tend to say no, or they're like, Well, we can't do this. Yeah. And so my biggest question is normally like, well, why?

SPEAKER_01 17:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:14

Like, why do you think that that like we were in New York together and we were looking for uh some brands, and there was a supplier, quite frankly, who had an old way of thinking, was like, Well, if we bring you something, then Walmart's the only one that could have it. And I was like, Well, why?

SPEAKER_01 17:33

Right, why?

SPEAKER_00 17:34

You know, because back the five, seven years ago, you know, the big bad Walmart, like if we had something, nobody else can have it. And I was like, Well, actually, I think it's the opposite. Anything, the goal is to give them access.

SPEAKER_02 17:46

Yeah, and give them what's like shopper watching.

SPEAKER_00 17:48

And so I've kind of built my career kind of off of trying to figure out the why, the why.

SPEAKER_02 17:54

Yeah, yeah. So you had a unique platform with Macy's and Walmart. You got a lot of data, you're talking to all the major players. How would you advise someone outside of retail? And how do you how do you outside of retail spot the things that the big companies are missing?

SPEAKER_00 18:10

Well, I think because I I would like to think that I built some credibility with my fears and a lot of the people inside of Walmart. So there's a trust level, right? So they know that I'm gonna do the research, right? And I'm really only going to point out or bring something that I truly believe is a boy. Right. Now it's still up to you whether you choose to bring it on, but I might say, hey, I really think this is an opportunity. Yeah. Uh and so it, you know, it's it's a unique thing right now. Um, the world that we're living in.

SPEAKER_02 18:41

That's part of what's so important in this space and yours of like saying no. Yeah. Of having the courage to pass. Because if you're saying yes to things that you don't actually think are a good idea, like then you lose your credibility. And that's that credibility we've earned, you've earned over time by just like holding to conviction and and understanding the market, knowing the customer well enough.

SPEAKER_00 19:07

And people will start to kind of A, you lose trust, and people will start to really kind of, you know, question yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:14

Right? You know what I mean? And so, you know, Charles and I had the great opportunity to go to New York or we met with so many different people that are offered us so many different things. And, you know, we were very nice, you know, during it, but then after we had our beefers, we're like, beat, why would we ever? Right? Is that if anything, the metrics to get past F us has to be even higher. Yeah. Um then before we would even consider it. And so, um, and that's what I want my clients to know is that I'm gonna treat you um as if that I'm pretty much running your company, right? And I'm not gonna put you in a situation that I don't personally think is the right decision. Now, I'm not gonna get everything right. I, you know, I do make my own mistakes. Um, but I mean, if you don't try, how are you gonna know? And then if you go in the if by if and I'm very clear that I'll be like, I don't have the answer for that. Um, but the data tells me that this is where I think you should go. Well, there's nothing that's 100%.

SPEAKER_02 20:16

Well, you bring up a good point, you know, when we when you're in a circumstance like us where we're trying to find opportunities, brands, companies, uh, match them to opportunities. It's easy to see and hear what you want to see and hear. Yeah. Right. And to but to keep that clarity of no, this is this is where I'm going. You kind of already have to have a little direction in mind before you walk into the room.

SPEAKER_00 20:38

And I love uh walking competition. I love seeing what's happening in the store. I love to see where ever people everyone's doing. We try to do that twice a month on my team. Uh going for all the categories for just kind of walking. Um, I think it's super important. Um, I was in a meeting today and I heard someone say uh that uh stealing shamelessly is not a problem, it's just research.

SPEAKER_01 21:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:09

Yeah, you live where we call it stealing with pride.

SPEAKER_00 21:11

Exactly. Exactly. So yeah, yeah, yeah.

Digital Tools Stack: AI, Canva, Adobe

SPEAKER_02 21:14

Yeah, a lot of research, and we got to see a lot of retail in New York. That was fun. Um a lot of new ones. So you mentioned digital earlier. Um can we talk a little bit about that? Um, it's been a big part of your growth. What, you know, what's what are some I don't know, somebody's starting out some practical digital strategies they could employ that don't also bearing in mind like we don't all have those enormous budgets, right?

SPEAKER_00 21:41

Well, I think you know it's interesting because um people say to me, um, it's so different what you were doing at Walmart, right? Where like I was in merchandising for the most part, I had like a hundred people, now all of a sudden I have like five people, and I've having that build decks, work on social media, do different things, which is completely different than what. I was doing before.

SPEAKER_01 22:01

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 22:01

Um, but a lot of it is there's a lot of people on on social media and on these platforms that are doing so much of a better job than we are, right? And so, like with AI, you know, you have to be careful, right? But we use chat to VT all the time. When we have our meetings, we do otter AI. We take the meeting notes, right? Because there's a bunch of stuff that might have been said from someone else that's a really good nugget that we might have missed. Um, so I think that that's really important. Um learning how to build your own websites, right? Learning how to use QuickBooks and do different financials. It's all a platform.

SPEAKER_01 22:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:40

Right. And the great thing about these platforms is some of a lot of them are free. Right. So some of them may not be as great, but then some if you if you're spending$129 for a year and that's going to help build a small company, right? Then you have to decide, is the risk really worth it? And I think it is.

SPEAKER_01 23:01

Of course.

SPEAKER_00 23:01

And so, you know, we do a lot of us, a lot, and our company is building brand assets. So Canva's a huge, yeah, huge. I mean, everything that we do, and most of my young teen, they average our average ages, well, not my average age, but they're average like three, four years old.

SPEAKER_02 23:19

Oh, yeah. Well, and that the AI plugin in Canva that came out this past year, it's really transformative.

SPEAKER_00 23:26

Well, not only is it transformative, it's like you don't have to use a separate third party, yeah, like to do it because Canva will do it for you. We use Firefly for Adobe a lot, uh, which to be quite honest, I probably would have never used if it wasn't for a client Ad Fury AI that we took on at the beginning of the year and we went to the Adobe Summit in uh in Vegas. I we would have never used that, but we use that to help us build strategic decks uh because PowerPoint's kind of out there. Yeah. Um, and then I have another person on my team that does product development and sourcing, and she builds all her decks uh all the AI.

SPEAKER_02 24:07

It's a brave new world. So it's it's it's it's staying. Yeah. Just got a proofread, make sure it didn't have yes, a lot of times. Any brain farts along the article?

SPEAKER_00 24:16

Is it's like the platform, you you have to be careful because sometimes you so part of what we're also building is building relationships and that authenticity. So a lot of times when I I'm going through it, I'm like, does that sound like something that I would say?

SPEAKER_01 24:30

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_00 24:31

And then sometimes I still haven't found the perfect platform that really meets the customer where they need to be, and that's where I am.

SPEAKER_02 24:39

Yeah. Yeah. And I don't think it fully replaces human capital.

Human Voice Over Pure Automation

SPEAKER_00 24:44

And I think that that's what people need to understand. I think you need to understand it. You need to accept it and make it be a part of the process, but remember that you are that human connection.

SPEAKER_02 24:54

I read a really fascinating article a week or two ago, and it was from a group that expected AI to win this debate. And it was they put a group of 10 coders in this room and gave them a project, didn't have AI. A group of 10, same project, did have AI, and they were looking for efficiencies. And the group with AI took 20% longer than the other group because there were errors in the card. Right. So you so you gotta check the work, and it will get smarter over time, and you can train your own GPTs to help to pick up your voice to pick up those things. But yeah, it's uh it's a continuum. Like it's uh makes 100%. It's a use and a trust boot curve.

SPEAKER_00 25:35

And I have like people that like, you know, I'm really I really love Serena Williams because obviously I was an athlete. She just watched uh Stockton um place or Stockton Street because they grew up on Stockton Street and in uh Compton. Uh so her and her sister. So she's talking about venture capitalism and entrepreneurs and how to look, how to spot different types of clients that uh and it was like eye-opening for me, uh, because everyone's like, oh, you're into so many different things. And so for me, is it's about the curiosity of me also wanting to know like about that particular segment, where before I was kind of uh a little bit in the same segment at all work. Does that make sense?

SPEAKER_02 26:23

Yeah, so you have a vertical, you you you have this area you're responsible for.

SPEAKER_00 26:26

Well, you know, I've been able to do like technology and like social media at PR and brands and strategies and you know, home and food and bev out like all over zaplet. Yeah, spirits.

SPEAKER_02 26:41

Yeah, I enjoy the uh diverse experience in in this kind of world where you get to work across a lot of different and I'm doing that intentional in. Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_00 26:52

So I'm because everyone's like, well, why aren't you uh, you know, you have such a experience in apparel. Yeah, right. You were in apparel for 25 years. Why aren't you why don't you have any apparel companies? I'm doing that intentional.

SPEAKER_01 27:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:06

Yeah, yeah. Well, and and it's it's the problems from one category to another, some of them are the same. Yeah, but then it's kind of fun to like learn that new thing.

SPEAKER_00 27:16

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:17

And and then you can reapply it to the original.

SPEAKER_00 27:19

Yeah, like which is my favorite two categories, which is weird, is um for me, because I don't have experience with either one of them mostly is spirits, right? I don't really drink like hard liquor, right? But I find myself rapping an alcohol company and a bourbon company. Yeah, right, which is very interesting. Yeah, right. And then we just have on a pet company where I have the pets, right? Like, I mean, I would probably have like a fish or something. Yeah, um, but my pets are like my pets. Like, I'm sorry, my plants. Yeah, non-bumps of pets. But it comes down to the customer, the data, and what does the customer want, not what the I want.

SPEAKER_02 28:01

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:02

Right. Uh and I think that that's important.

SPEAKER_02 28:04

When the plants you can just set it to be water and you don't have to pet it.

SPEAKER_00 28:07

Not really. But I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_02 28:11

So when it comes to understanding what customers want and um helping them find the products they're looking for, this new age of digital marketing, there's a lot that's changed. This is also a core strength of where and how you show up.

unknown 28:27

Yeah.

Rethinking Marketing: Social-First Wins

SPEAKER_02 28:28

Where do you see people walking in with the wrong assumptions uh into digital marketing? Where do you typically have to help people readjust their plans?

SPEAKER_00 28:39

Oh, I think right now it's having a lot of them, especially a lot of the big companies who've had so much success with just being in store, I think they're struggling the most, right? Because they look at it as it's the work is harder and it's easier for me to just bring an item and then get it online. Uh, and I feel as if that a lot of them are not willing to adapt because they think it's gonna be harder.

SPEAKER_01 29:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:05

Right. And so, um, and for me, what I'm figuring out is just offering a piece of the solution, right? We're not changing it uh because I'm not a company that has, you know, hundreds of millions of dollars, but I'm actually arguing the exact copyright. Right. So even if you think about market, right, gone are the days where people are well, people are still doing it. It's nothing against very large advertising companies that you have millions and millions of dollars of budgets to hire a huge actor um to commercial to really go after a product. Yeah, right. A, you everything from your phone, right? These phones are like really good.

SPEAKER_01 29:49

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 29:50

Uh and you could really target a subset of people and get immediate feedback without having to wait a month to basically negotiate that actor's contract to figure out how to align schedules, to come up with the brief to do that. You know, uh sometimes it does take a while, but you know, we had one campaign that we participated in uh with Walmart for it was a Barney commercial with Mattel, and it was all done basically for a social media campaign. So it might have been a hundred thousand dollars versus a million dollars, yeah, but the metrics on that hundred thousand was so much better than the million dollars because it was going after everybody on social media.

SPEAKER_01 30:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:36

So understanding the target, understanding how what's the best suit way to basically sell that product, uh, and my job is to go after that younger customer.

SPEAKER_02 30:48

Uh and so thought it's not just about, you know, bang for the buck or spending less. It's about no, no, you you just you're not gonna reach the customer you're looking for in that platform or that I don't think I classify to be that younger customer. And every Sunday I'm humiliated when I look at how many hours a day I was on my phone. Never watch television as long as nobody looked at me quite those. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:14

And I think that that's what's so exciting. And that and it it's kind of a connected thread uh for me because even when I was at Walmart, it's just the model is continuing to change.

SPEAKER_01 31:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:26

And it's whether or not we're willing to uh understand what access, access looks a little bit different, yeah, how they're basically engaging with that uh that content and then go from there.

SPEAKER_02 31:38

So, future question what's the future of e-commerce and retail?

SPEAKER_00 31:43

Well, I mean, I think the future of e-commerce and retail, no one really knows it, which I think it's actually good.

SPEAKER_01 31:49

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 31:49

Does that make sense? Because that still gives you the vessel where you're constantly going to learn and there's something new to learn, right? Versus right now, if you're not figuring out how to utilize social media and the platforms in order to drive digital marketing, then you've already lost. Yeah. Right. So what I say to my customers, every single item that I bring on, I need to understand what is your what's your content strategy. That's a part of your pitch.

SPEAKER_02 32:14

Yep. Social commerce is the thing that I'm wanting to learn about right now because I mean it's big here. Yep. Uh, but if you look in like in China, for instance, yeah, we're China where they were seven or eight years.

SPEAKER_00 32:26

Seven or eight years ago. We're we're we're already beyond, right? So if you look at TikTok shop, TikTok shop was the number three Shah on Amazon, and that was basically a bunch of TikTok people who are basically driving commerce through items. And now one of the fastest growing segments is kind of an old segment, is taking, you know, the home shopping network, sure, right, which was QVC and doing it on Amazon Live, right? And typically, or if you take a different model, let's take the US Open for tennis, right? They were they're trying to figure out why the US Open one of the most profitable competitions, championships, like sports, is because if you look at all the boxes, all the boxes are companies. And what do they do? They're selling product. What do they do? They get 10 to 15 influencers come in where they basically pay them a little bit of money, right? Give them all free product, get them into the US Open, right? Where typically to go to the US Open to be in a box,$1,000 to$2,000, right? So now they're like, oh, all their followers are like, wow, you're at the US Open. And now, you know, I mean, look at Raising Cates, right? Raising Keynes has one of the most social and marketing profitable businesses you'll ever know. And you just thought it was a drive-through. Right. But if you think about what they're doing from a social media and a commerce standpoint, their marketing is beyond. And so, in order for you to be successful in this day, if you're running a broker ship and consultant or whatever you're doing, you have to be aware of what's out there. Truth be told, I was not aware. We had the little fakes when I was in men's and we worked with Shapp or we worked with Kevin Darnett, and we had the whole and one thing. We used to do uh, you know, the basketballs and the parks or whatever like that, but it's a completely different thing.

SPEAKER_02 34:17

Yeah. Now it's a primary vehicle, not primary vehicle, not an ancillary thing that some people are into.

SPEAKER_00 34:23

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 34:23

Um, yeah, it's perfect. As far as like this sort of myth, I feel like is misunderstood. And I think a lot of people are are sort of stuck on where marketing spend should exist, where it shouldn't. Another area is like e-commerce. So you you start with Amazon, you've got a great business on Amazon, you open a Walmart third-party marketplace, and you're like, nah, it doesn't do that well, and you end up spending your time on Amazon. I think people are just missing the point of how this platform can be so effective in talking to uh suppliers or brands as they're trying to prioritize where they can grow. How do you help folks understand the opportunity that does exist with Walmart.com?

SPEAKER_00 35:09

Well, I think the reality of the situation is Walmart versus Amazon, Walmart has an opportunity, right? So, you know, but they're it's a unique subset, right? Because they have all these stores and they're very successful and they're doing great. Uh, and so they have to get out of their mind that A, they're never gonna be Amazon. To be frank, they should be Amazon, yeah, right, because they are unique in their proposition and Amazon can never do what Walmart could do.

SPEAKER_02 35:36

Right. Be Walmart.

SPEAKER_00 35:37

Be Walmart.

SPEAKER_02 35:38

When it comes to advice for the supplier and like, hey, what what do people typically miss? Yeah. If like, hey, it's not working for you right now, what should you be doing differently to really get the most out of this e-commerce platform?

SPEAKER_00 35:52

Well, I oh, first of all, I think that they it has to be a part of their model. So I think every supplier, if they want to be successful, they have to be on moment.com.

SPEAKER_02 36:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:02

Right. Number one.

SPEAKER_02 36:03

And being on, yes. And succeeding aren't necessarily the same thing. Totally different. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 36:08

And then understanding what is it that you're getting from your merchant, right? Are you one P? Are you three P?

SPEAKER_01 36:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:15

Uh, what type of resources do you have to ensure that you have the integrity of what you have? That's something at your comments, what's your how are you shipping, all that? That's vital. From there, I think, is if you're truly trying to drive a product, right? What type of marketing are you doing?

SPEAKER_01 36:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:31

Uh so I think that that is where there would have been time where even I would have been like, huh, Walmart got God. Uh, but if you look at where the world is right now, like Walmart's gonna figure it out. You just don't want to be a left one.

SPEAKER_02 36:46

Yeah, yeah. Well, it's growing rapidly. And yeah, I think a lot of folks have sort of set in their minds what it is and what it isn't. Yeah. And the reality is like it's it's changing, it's rapidly changing. And what it takes to succeed there is kind of the future of what it takes to succeed in retail.

SPEAKER_03 37:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:03

Um, like it's the it's the front door into Walmart. You're looking to be at Walmart, you're probably gonna start online. Um, get to have firsthand data and understand the experience the customer has with your product on this platform before you get to experience other sides of the platform. I think. And when you get in the store, it doesn't change. I mean, it doesn't change. You walk around and people are looking at the Walmart app in the store going through which product they want to buy.

SPEAKER_00 37:28

Like it's very much a married and here's the thing it's like you also have to fight for yourself. Yeah, but if you individually feel as if that you can't give feedback, because you know a lot of the suppliers with fear of like get kicked out, then that's where you hire a hunger impact, you hire me because we're in the middle. And so knowing that we're not going to tell you what you always want to hear, but we're gonna fight for you with Walmart and say, hey, because they trust our relationship to say, Hey, so-and-so really needs your help because they're online, they're not getting any traction. Um, what is it that we need to do to help them be successful? Yeah, because this is vital to the success of your business.

Making Data Work When Data Is Sparse

SPEAKER_02 38:07

Yeah, yeah. Shifting gears, maybe just a little bit, uh still staying with the digital. Uh, I want to move to kind of the data. Yeah. Uh so you get some data on e-commerce platforms, some get more than others, but then on social, that's a whole different kind of data, first person data. You know, one, what are you all looking at and analyze and be able to like stay close to the customer? And what could a new startup say, uh, you know, direct to consumer, if they got dreams to be in stores in three or four years, what's the data they should really be focusing on?

SPEAKER_00 38:35

I mean, we're on social, we're obsessed with the analytics, with the insights. I mean, if anything, social could tell you basically tell tells you when to post, once your most successful post, who's looking at you, what time, what age range, everything.

SPEAKER_01 38:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:53

Right. And so you actually can get more data on social uh than you can on a regular uh website or platform, which is why I think real-time data, meaning like if you partner, I'll make it up with a microinfluencer, or you do a campaign online, you can immediately get feedback on who's looking at it, one time are they looking at it, what they think of it, right? And so we're looking at our data. I mean, I'm a little crazy, so I look at my data every week, but we're pulling data uh sometimes daily, depending upon the subset and the event.

SPEAKER_01 39:30

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 39:31

So that makes sense. Um, and then once you're getting the data, what are you doing about it? Yep, because a lot of times you know, people are like, no, yeah, I got a three and a half. It's because that one person. No, no, no. What did that one person say?

SPEAKER_02 39:45

Right. Don't discount it.

SPEAKER_00 39:46

Yeah, don't don't discount it. And then he could sometimes you do have to be careful because some of it is AI, right? It's so starting to break that down and what it is. Um, but I think financially, uh the thing that's crazy is if you're really if you're not in food uh or you're not in some of the consumable categories, it's actually a lot harder to get data, right? You know, then like if you're at home or or in apparel or in a lot of the hard lights categories, it's really hard for you to get like market share data to really understand what's driving it versus a food and a consumable is like, oh, you could buy all that data. You know what I mean? And so a lot of in some of these categories that's driven mostly general merchandise, a lot of it is an emotional purchase subtops. Uh, because the reality is if you're going in the store and you're buying food, you know, most people are not going in for general merchandise. So you have to figure out how to take the emotional connection and receive the data that you can from the emotional connection.

SPEAKER_02 40:52

Yeah. So we call like home and sporting goods data deserts. Yeah. And a lot of times you have to take whatever kind of point out there that's not considered just a point. Number of reviews versus last month or versus last year versus your competitor, whatever it may be, and kind of create your own data points.

SPEAKER_00 41:09

Yep. And ask the suppliers too. Yep. So that's another thing that I do. I'll be like, Do you have any data? And I'll be like, send my and then I could somehow we put it all together and we try to decipher what that data is. Uh, and there's sometimes you'd be surprised. A lot of times, their data, they're just not looking at it.

SPEAKER_02 41:27

Yep. There's a great story that I like. Uh Elf Beauty, uh digitally native originally, a huge, huge, huge brand now. Uh big presence on TikTok. So they had a TikTok shop event going on. They were uh offering this particular product, but the comments that were coming in were asking for something that was on their 18-month innovation funnel. So they learned from them the consumer is much more ready for this than than we thought. So they moved it up 12 months. Yeah, they got it out in six months in the stores, and you know, huge, huge success. But they learned that by just reading the comments on their TikTok shop. Love that.

Who Lynette Serves And How To Engage

SPEAKER_00 42:03

Um, one of my clients uh was working with a big consumable brand, and it was uh uh in hard lights, and it was for an air purifier, and they had gone through it, was they're getting ready to set the mod, do everything. Um, and she posted about it. Uh, and she was like, you know, one of the my favorite places to do is to travel with it. It's so small, and we're gonna go to hotels and da da da da da. So somehow she ended up on Instagram live, right? And she had at one point when I looked at it was like maybe five, six thousand people on our Instagram line all about this humidifier. And the client was like, This is crazy, you've never seen that before. And we're like, We've never seen it before. And there was about a hundred comments on there about uh the way the purifier worked, and it was getting right in a set. And when they went back and tested it, it was a problem.

SPEAKER_02 43:01

Oh man. Oh wow, so they learned that before a big mistake.

SPEAKER_00 43:03

So there's that, and she just happened to go on about eight weeks before, and they were able to kind of go through and get with the manufacturer where a lot of it, so they were able to negotiate to pull to push back the mod four weeks to allow 12 weeks to try to go through and figure out what they could fix it. Now they had to kind of all the colors weren't ready uh because it was supposed to be in four colors, or they were able to get two phrase. So you just and this is by people saying, Hey, well, I've seen this and this is not working, and did it and so and I just thought that was interesting. And that was all kind of you think about from a TikTok or from with an Amazon live or for going Instagram live.

SPEAKER_02 43:40

Because you're not only saving the money on the returns and the the the buybacks, you're saving customer loyalty for the people that didn't know there was ever a problem that came, bought it, and went home and had a great experience.

SPEAKER_00 43:50

There's a lot of noise in there too.

SPEAKER_02 43:51

Oh, yeah, sure.

unknown 43:52

Sure.

SPEAKER_02 43:53

But listening and paying attention to the signals uh matters a lot.

SPEAKER_00 43:57

It it really is. I mean, essentially that's What I do is that I'm listening, trying to solve the problem, and trying to figure out how to uh come up with an innovative way to really shine a light on what it is, whatever it is of doer.

SPEAKER_02 44:14

So you're a year-end. And when you think about that, like who your ideal client, who like you need Lenette, create and innovate.

SPEAKER_00 44:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 44:24

Um, a little bit about who are they and then how do they find you.

Lightning Round: Mistakes, Media, And Management

SPEAKER_00 44:28

Yep. So I think for year two, um, I think we're getting a lot of um, a lot of good companies, larger companies. And so what we're gonna be working on for year two is really going after our small businesses and entrepreneurs. And so what we did is a whole part of the business is as I grow, I want to also be able to make sure that I am bringing up kind of the ones that are just starting out. And so we're creating a separate toolkit uh just for entrepreneurs. It's completely different price points because a lot of times people are, you know how many times people have said to me, Well, I can't afford you. And I was like, What do you mean? Well, how do you know that you can afford me? And a lot of those people I actually brand on and I don't charge them anything, right? And then depending upon what we develop, then we think through that. Yeah, and so I would say is deferred compensation. Deferred compensation, exactly. I would say is uh you're never too small. Uh all ideas are great ideas, uh, some are harder to put into action. And so as long as you're open to um bringing someone along with your journey that can help get to get you where you need to get to, and then I'm open.

SPEAKER_02 45:40

Nice. Like it. How they find you?

SPEAKER_00 45:42

How they call me. Uh they can find me on my website, uh, which is uh www.linette create and innovate.net. And we can talk the differences of.net and dot com, but we won't. Um Instagram, which is Lynette Create and Innovate, uh, or or on Facebook, uh, or on LinkedIn. Uh so LinkedIn's under my name under Twila Brooks, uh, reach out. Uh I pretty much respond to every single opponent uh by myself um or um my team of social media marketing rock stars.

SPEAKER_01 46:17

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 46:17

Uh and we still try to operate uh the way Walmart does, where we try to make sure that we get back to you uh within uh the sundown rule by the end of the day. If we can't solve your problem, we kind of just send you an email and be like, saw your email. Um we, you know, when can we meet? You can't do it today, or uh or I do a lot of like reefhabs and so while I've watched in the Dodger name on answering the emails.

SPEAKER_02 46:41

There you go. All right, go Dodgers. All right, let's uh we like to do a lightning round. Oh, yeah. Oh yeah, I forgot about just a few quick uh few quick questions. So what's what's one big mistake you walked into this year that you've learned from that I think would be repeated.

SPEAKER_00 46:58

I don't know, but you get it. One of my biggest mistakes probably was I helped someone built something um and is doing really good, and I walked away from uh and I walked away from it um only because I wanted peace. Yeah. Uh and so uh so it might have been a financial uh mistake. Maybe not a mistake, but it was a big learning great learning for me. People matter um and just understanding, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 47:26

Feel that, yeah, for sure. Uh what about a book, podcast, or some content you're taking in right now?

SPEAKER_00 47:32

I told you, yeah. So I love um uh Stockton Street. I'm really uh everything that Phoenix Williams and Serena Williams do, uh, because they both were athletes as they transition uh their career to really being entrepreneurs and also giving back.

SPEAKER_01 47:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 47:48

And so I listened to then. Uh they just watched that podcast. Um, I know it's gonna sound corny, um, but I read good to great over and over again.

SPEAKER_01 47:58

Oh, I love the book.

SPEAKER_00 47:59

Um just because for what I'm building, there's a lot of principles that happen. Um so I think that that's like my most and then lastly, I know I'm gonna sound like a broken record because it's another athlete, but uh I pretty much listen to Arod after Samuel Shimori. Nice. And then I would say I think because of Walmart, um, I'm always on the crypt sheets, I keep the CNBC on all the time. Yeah. And so it's always good to be in the now.

SPEAKER_02 48:26

I love good to grade.

SPEAKER_00 48:27

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:28

Um, most surprising thing that a customer's taught you about your brand.

SPEAKER_00 48:33

Uh you know, I think uh there's a couple, but one of the most surprising things was uh she told me not to put myself in a box.

SPEAKER_02 48:43

Right. And so And you didn't realize you had been doing that?

SPEAKER_00 48:46

And I just assumed that I had to.

SPEAKER_02 48:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 48:49

Right. When you start off a business, you think, all right, well, what someone says to you, well, what do you want to do? And you just think, all right, I'm gonna consult and I'm gonna do this. But you know, the fastest part of our company has been brand building uh public relations and marketing. So and if I kept myself in the box that I was in for 20 plus years of just really being in merchandising, uh, I wouldn't have the company that I have today. And I think in year two, it's gonna change because I I'll tell you in June, I didn't have all the clients in the back half of the year. I wouldn't I never even knew about them.

SPEAKER_01 49:28

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_02 49:28

Yeah. Yeah. No, that's that's also the the surprises are congrats, year one. Most entrepreneurs fail. Yeah. In year one. Oh, do they? And you're uh you're thriving. Thrilled.

SPEAKER_00 49:40

I appreciate you to say that I'm thriving. Uh I still have a whole like crazy list of uh what are my intentions for year two, what are the goals, what are the things that we need to work on to be better.

SPEAKER_02 49:51

As you should. Yeah, come on.

SPEAKER_00 49:53

Yeah, and then how to take care of my people.

SPEAKER_02 49:54

Not sure that part changes though. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 49:56

I'm always trying to figure out how do I take care of my people.

SPEAKER_02 49:58

Yeah, yeah. James, you're uh was it 17, 18 for you? 18. Still still basically feel that way every year I figure out what we need to do better and how we take care of our people as we grow up.

SPEAKER_00 50:09

You know, the thing that's interesting is I'm dealing with a lot of people who are a lot younger, right? And you would think that financial is the most important thing to them. When you build their package, a lot of it is also access. What are the things that are important to that? Like I have one that like pays for coffee every single day. I was like, just give her a free coffee.

SPEAKER_01 50:30

Right.

SPEAKER_00 50:31

She's like, well, but then I realized she drinks like four to five coffee.

SPEAKER_02 50:34

Because uh, can we afford this?

SPEAKER_00 50:36

Can I afford this?

Closing And Where To Listen

SPEAKER_02 50:39

Yeah. So it's stuff like that. Thank you so much for your time. Yeah, you're generous to be here. And uh as always, thank you for tuning in. Uh, you can find us uh wherever you get your podcast or on our website, highimpactanalytics.com, or on YouTube. Thank you for joining us.