In this episode of "YouShouldTalkTo," our host Daniel Weiner chats with T.R. Wilhoit, VP of ECommerce at Case-Mate. The internet is now a huge part of our lives and that means it’s a huge part of ecommerce. We not only have to keep up with the ever-changing trends, but we also have to see which evergreen strategies are actually still evergreen. To get ahead, we’re speaking to someone who's been in the industry for years, both on the brand side and the agency side.

One hot take he has may shock you! He says that AI is overblown and not the savior all these ads are making it out to be. Or at least not yet. So whether you’re in an agency or with a brand, don’t get sucked into Shiny New Object Syndrome. It’s not worth it to put all your eggs in the AI basket just yet. Especially when so many companies are and are failing to keep up the same level of quality they used to have then they focused solely on their employees. If you want to get ahead, depend more on your people than you do on AI.

One of the best strategies that still works to this day is affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is flexible and can be adapted to any platform or audience. For example, right now TikTok's affiliate marketing plan is incredible for ecommerce. Companies are making millions of dollars off of their TikTok affiliate strategies and it’s because people are using TikTok as a search engine.

Tune into Wilhoit’s episode to hear more about how ecommerce is evolving and how you can keep up on the brand side and the agency side of things.

Guest-at-a-Glance

💡 Name: T.R. Wilhoit

💡What they do: VP of ECommerce at Case-Mate

💡 Where to find them: LinkedIn

Key Insights
AI is Overblown

How much can you really trust AI to do its job? It's a nice add-on, but it’s not replacing people any time soon. The best work often comes from companies that depend on their employees more than they depend on the next new AI program. Don’t get Shiny New Object Syndrome, it’s not always worth it.

Agency Nightmares

When asked about the worst agency experience he had, Wilhiot said he had to call up his point of contact because they were raising fees without being attentive to his account. He knows how agencies work and he knows he’s not their only client. But it was becoming pretty obvious they were phoning it in and they had to work it out before they could move forward.

Consumer Behavior Pre and Post-Election

We know that consumers tend not to spend too much during an election year. But now that the election has passed, consumers are not spending like we thought they would. This might be the start of a new trend in consumer behavior and it might be time we start adjusting our strategy to keep up with the changing times.