‍Who Is Eli?

Meet Eli, NEW VP of Retention Advocacy at Yotpo, previously the Senior Director of Customer Experience and Retention at Jones Road Beauty and Director of Customer Experience at Olipop.

Eli’s CX Journey

Through the experience of travel in his early 20s, Eli came to the realization that, though naturally introverted, he was drawn to “the science of people.” The more he traveled, the more he realized companies could distinguish themselves in the CX space.

“Brands like Zappos and Chewy,” he noted, “Their only edge was a great customer experience.” It occurred to him that some companies weren’t only focused on growth. Retention and CX were important, too.

Where It All Began

In 2016, Eli joined a Kickstarter-funded startup that was 2 years delayed in production. “My first real job,” he says. He soon realized the startup was at a CX disadvantage. “The problem was we spent all the money. We have no levers to pull—no discounts, no refunds—and just had to tell people, ‘Hey, you’ll continue waiting.’”

Fundamentally, Eli knew he wanted to be honest and transparent with customers. “Getting what’s behind the curtain out in front of the curtain,” is how he describes it. He also wanted to build on the unique connection between startups and the hybrid customer-investor. “Investors are looking to be a larger part of the story,” he notes. “You have to put the human in the company.”

Eli’s fascination with CX continued to expand over the years, through multiple startups. He thinks of his influence in the CX space in terms of innovations that fit with his introverted nature. “How to share what I know without actually being there,” became his watchword, and emerging channels—Discord, newsletters, social media—enabled his platform.

Eli’s Learnings From Olipop

Olipop had a difficult space to occupy, but overlapping pressures pushed the product forward and CX brought up the rear.

“Functional soda for $3 a can? That should not have been a thing,” he says, adding that factors like the downturn in the kombucha market, coupled with COVID driving people to question their high-sugar soda choices, created product appeal.

At the same time, the CX department at Olipop was given the latitude to offer exceptional customer service at scale. “All the surprise-and-delight, the amount of gifts we’ve sent out, the amount of above-and-beyond…,” he mused. “We had someone reach out because they couldn’t get their soda during a hurricane, so we sent them a $50 DoorDash gift certificate for dinner. Someone said their mom was enjoying Olipop root beer in hospice care but passed away. We sent them flowers.”

“I joined Olipop at the tipping point when it really took off, so it was exciting,” he says. Olipop was the first time Eli felt excited about company culture. “Before OLIPOP, the word ‘culture’ just gave me an ick,” he says. “It can mean whatever anyone decides it means, but Olipop took the idea of ‘failing upward’ or ‘move fast and break things’ very seriously. Their culture is a big part of their success.”

He was just as impressed by Olipop’s recovery from marketing failures as its speed at raising capital, building DTC and retail channels simultaneously, using DTC for branding, and forging intriguing celebrity ties.

“In the collaborations they did with Camila Cabello and Minions and the ads that took a dig at Pepsi, they were using DTC as a channel to get out there,” he says, adding, “It might not have anything to do with CX, but something I’ve learned from Olipop is the idea that more retail doors is not always a good thing. Selling a $3 can of soda in Walmart in 2019 was absurd, but in 2023, Olipop is doing better in Walmart than they were doing in Sprouts on Day 1. Building distribution with brand in tandem is a masterclass that I have not seen very many brands do like Olipop did.”

Eli’s Learning From Jones Road Beauty

Jones Road was an interesting challenge for Eli because he had to learn what the customer experience was like from a non-consumer standpoint. “I never used makeup before. I had no idea about the space. Period,” he says. “I not only had to learn about the space and the products but also what a customer journey looks like and how do I deeply embed into that.”

Eli focused on mining data from returns and social channels. He interviewed 50+ consumers via video chat. He then put knowledge into action.

Eli implemented two ideas to increase growth and LTV at Jones Road. “The two interesting things on CX we were able to scale and worked crazy well were concierge shade matching and consumer education.” Shade matching was remotely performed by licensed cosmetologists, and Jones Road saw a bump in 70% on 90-day LTV, and 94% on 6-month LTV.

Consumer education was integrated into everything from branding to proactive customer care. “There are so many touchpoints,” he says. “Ad copy, for example. When customers switched to Jones Road products, they knew why they were switching. An informed conversion is an LTV lift and not just a quick sale.” he says. “When someone doesn’t buy, then ‘Why?’ They didn’t know how to use the product. If the Return reason is ‘Too Oily’, we know that they’re using too much.”

His team exploits all channels as product description pages. “Maybe they didn’t see the email on how to use the product, so we sent SMS, videos, and direct mail pamphlet cards. We post on Facebook and our website. If there’s one thing our customers know, it’s how to use the product.”

With the added emphasis on education, Jones Road saw Returns on a hero product drop to half.

Jones Road was also Eli’s first purely direct-to-consumer company. “DTC gives you a lot of power,” he says. “Unboxing is often viewed as an opportunity for another sale, but I think the thing, especially in consumables, should be, ‘This thing is magical.’ Luxe packaging and education links are better than a re-purchase QR code.”

What’s Next For Eli

To sum up his tenure in the CX space, Eli says brands can do a lot more to attract and keep customers. “In all the consultancies I’ve done and all the brands I’ve looked at and everything I’ve touched, CX is always on the deck, it’s always something that’s talked about, but very few companies are willing to put their money where their mouth is.”

Shortly after we interviewed Eli, he announced his new position as the VP of Retention Advocacy at Yotpo. “I’ve spent my whole career on the brand side,” says Eli, “And I’ve always had a ‘What if?’ around what would it be like if I tried tech or if I went from DTC to B2B.”

“What if I could take my knowledge from building on the brand side and leverage that to build the Retention Platform and technology of the future?”

“What if, instead of 1:1 change on the brand side, my impact can be massively outsized by going wider and thinking about the E-Commerce industry as a whole?”

“Yotpo is poised to make the most dramatic product strides E-Commerce Retention has seen in decades, and I’m honored to be at the forefront of that.”

With a plethora of knowledge from his time in the CX space, there is no doubt that Eli will continue his successes at Yotpo and continue to revolutionize how E-Commerce brands approach CX and customer retention.

Stay In Touch With Eli

Eli is active on his LinkedIn and X pages, sharing updates and thoughts about CX, retention, and everything in between!

Eli also does a weekly newsletter that’s full of valuable insights (Trust us, we subscribe and it is DEFINITELY worth a follow!)