Building A Customer Service Legacy, with Eddie Lichstein of Autoplicity

Feb 2, 2017

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Very few companies can claim to have a customer service legacy. But Eddie Lichstein, coFounder of Autoplicity.com can point to the customer service approach they've taken to build the company. His auto parts company has gone from 0 to 50 million dollars in 4 years. He is also the Founder of THMotorsports.com that sells car parts - and the company celebrated 10 years and over 100,000 customers just recently. Eddie is also the coFounder of Rejoiner.com, an email marketing automation software for Ecommerce companies.

Here's a glimpse of what you'll learn:

[0:15] Jeremy's introduction to this episode with Eddie Lichstein.
[2:28] Why Eddie is focused on building a legacy that helps others.
[8:47] The beginning of Autoplicity and the idea for expansion.
[9:36] The beginnings of eCommerce 10 years ago.
[14:02] The process the company follows to help customers and others via social.
[16:49] The initial products and traction for TH Motorsports.
[21:36] Building the business' customer base on forums.
[24:49] The things Eddie recommends you have on your website to build trust.
[29:00] Learning how to setup your checkout pages from Amazon.
[31:52] The challenges the team faced with TH Motorsports.
[33:21] Managing cash flow when selling high ticket items.
[38:50] Building a catalog to fuel the desired customer service legacy.
[42:37] The team who runs the company at this point.
[46:29] The toughest part about building and leading a team.
[48:21] The key steps that grew the company so quickly.
[52:23] Software the company uses.

In this episode…

Eddie Lichstein and the team at Autoplicity and TH Motorsports built their business by establishing a customer service legacy. They hit the ground running - not through marketing and direct sales but through interactions with real people in online automotive forums. And though they've grown beyond that practice, they haven't left it altogether. To this day forums are a huge place for the company's representatives to engage with potential clients - and the customer service legacy continues as a result.

When you think about what Eddie Lichstein and his team have done - building from 0 to 50 million dollars in 4 years, you realize that it's an amazing feat for any company. But when you understand that they are selling in one of the most competitive markets - auto parts for all kinds of automobiles, including high profile sports cars - the task becomes even more amazing. In this conversation Jeremy and Eddie chat about how the company got its start, the things that contributed to its rapid growth, and how they continue to excel in customer service and product sales in spite of vicious competition.

Content is definitely king for Eddie Lichstein. He's built three companies on the back of excellent, helpful, incredibly detailed content that provides tremendous value to those looking to purchase anything from auto parts to email marketing services. His companies specialize in providing answers to the questions their potential customers have and they reap the rewards of it in increased sales. Building trust through powerful content marketing is not a theory with Eddie, it's a proven fact.

When it comes to eCommerce the team at Autoplicity and TH Motorsports have figured out how to create shopping carts, checkout pages, and follow up email sequences that bring in more purchases and therefore, more profit. But they didn't do it by reinventing the wheel. Much of the approach they follow, they learned from examining and analyzing the big brands that do it well - like Amazon. You can learn a lot from what Eddie Lichstein shares about the secrets to higher conversions that are right in front of you on every Amazon checkout page, so be sure you listen.

If you are going to start an eCommerce company that sells higher ticket items (like Eddie Lichstein did) he recommends one thing: Don't go into debt to do it. Take the time to raise capital - because cash flow is the main thing that chokes a startup business and keeps it from growing. You'll need to be able to do the things necessary to push past the obstacles you'll encounter - and you can't do that if you are worried about a load of debt or strapped for cash. That's just one lesson you'll learn from this seasoned eCommerce seller, on this episode of Inspired Insider.

Resources Mentioned on this episode

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This is part of the Skubana Ecommerce Mastery Series where top Sellers and Experts teach you what really works to boost your ecommerce business. Skubana is a platform to manage your entire ecommerce operation.