• by Nina Lentini , Staff Writer @Nina_Lentini, May 15, 2019

Reid Greenberg isn't a fan of omnichannel but, as he admits, "the new front door to my store is now my front pocket. It's the force of commerce, the e-force of commerce. It's everywhere." 

But, the president of Bag Balm -- a 120-year-old skin care product that started out as a balm for cows' cracked udders -- said the brand has gone back to basics with a clear call to action, "buy now, buy now, get a coupon. Make sure you have really key metrics. How many people opened email, clicked to product page and actually purchased. Having a DTC site gives you a front-row seat to that data."

Its marketplaces strategy includes Etsy, eBay, Target and Amazon and covers how to go to market with ecommerce-ready items that won't interfere with retail partners. "If you're not focused on a market place strategy, somebody is and will sell your product for you. Some third-party is going to be selling this [at an inflated price], and the customer is going to be pissed off, and you'll get a bad review."

Direct to consumer is "absolutely the place you want to play regardless of product because you get first-party data, one-on-one conversation with consumer. Name acquisition and CRM is what it's about. We are really focused on growing that database."